Andy Gibb

Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and songwriter.

Andrew Roy Gibb was born on 5 March 1958 at Stretford Memorial Hospital in Stretford, Lancashire.

He was the youngest of five children born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb.

His mother was of Irish and English descent, and his father was of Scottish and English descent.

He had four siblings: his sister, Lesley Evans; and three brothers—Barry and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.

At the age of six months, Andy Gibb immigrated

with his family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of Brisbane.

He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the mid-1960s.

After moving several times between Brisbane and Sydney, Andy returned to the United Kingdom in January 1967 as his three older brothers began to gain international fame as the Bee Gees.

In his childhood, his mother, Barbara, described Andy as "A little devil, a little monster. I'd send him off to school, but he'd sneak off to the stable and sleep with his two horses all day. He'd wander back home around lunchtime smelling of horse manure, yet he'd swear he had been at school. Oh, he was a little monkey!"

Producer and film director Tom Kennedy described Andy's personality in his childhood:

Andy was always around—he was this cheeky little lad, Hugh and Barbara doted on him, so he would have a limo to go around London with his pals and twenty quid to go to the cinema.

It was unheard of in those days!

But he was just a cheeky little lad with a heart of gold.

He used to try to get me to buy him beer when he was underage—he would only have been about 11 or 12.

He quit school at the age of 13, and with an acoustic guitar given to him by his older brother Barry, he began playing at tourist clubs around Ibiza, Spain (when his parents moved there), and later on the Isle of Man, his brothers' birthplace, where his parents were living at the time.

Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through the early 1980s with eight singles reaching the Top 20 of the US Hot 100, three of which went to number one: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (1977), "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (1977), and "Shadow Dancing" (1978).

Gibb's first recording, in August 1973, was a Maurice Gibb composition, "My Father Was a Rebel", which Maurice also produced and played on.

It was not released.

Another track on the session performed by him was "Windows of My World," co-written by him and Maurice.

In June 1974, Gibb formed his first group, Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees song), which included Isle of Man musicians John Alderson on guitar, Stan Hughes on bass, and John Stringer on drums.

The group was managed by Andy's mother, Barbara, and had regular bookings on the small island's hotel circuit.

At the urging of his brother Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974.

Barry believed that, because Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees, it would also help his youngest brother.

Lesley Gibb had remained in Australia, where she raised a family with her husband.

Both Alderson and Stringer followed Andy to Australia with the hope of forming a band there.

With Col Joye producing, Andy, Alderson, and Stringer recorded a number of Andy's compositions.

The first song was a demo called "To a Girl" (with his brother Maurice playing organ), which he later performed on his television debut in Australia on The Ernie Sigley Show.

Sigley later informed the audience that it was from Gibb's forthcoming album, but it was never released.

In November of the same year, he recorded six demos—again produced by Joye—including "Words and Music", "Westfield Mansions", and "Flowing Rivers" (which was later released).

What may have detracted from the "training ground" aspect of Australia for Andy compared with his brothers was that Andy was relatively comfortable financially, mainly because of his brothers' support and their largesse; hence, the group's sporadic work rate.

Andy would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of work with no income.

Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to the UK.

Gibb later joined the band Zenta, consisting of Gibb on vocals, Rick Alford on guitar, Paddy Lelliot on bass, Glen Greenhalgh on vocals, and Trevor Norton on drums.

Zenta supported international artists Sweet and the Bay City Rollers on the Sydney leg of their Australian tours.

"Can't Stop Dancing" (which was a Ray Stevens song and was later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was mooted for release, but didn't happen, although Gibb did perform it on television at least once on the revitalised Bandstand show hosted by Daryl Somers.

In the early 1980s, he co-hosted the American music television series Solid Gold.

He also performed in a production of The Pirates of Penzance and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Gibb would later struggle with drug addiction and depression.

He died on 10 March 1988, five days after his 30th birthday.