Andrew Roy "Andy" Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and teen idol, and the younger brother of Bee Gees Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. 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 in the Isle of Man, his brothers' birthplace, where his parents were living at the time. 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 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. 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 with Maurice.
At the urging of his brother Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974. Barry believed that as Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees it would also help his youngest brother. 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 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 to his brothers was that Andy was relatively independent 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. The planned single "Can't Stop Dancing" which was a Ray Stevens song, later a US hit for duo The Captain and Tennille in May 1977, but their version was not released, although Gibb did perform it on television at least once on the revitalised Bandstand show hosted by Daryl Somers.
Zenta would appear later as a backing band for Gibb, and they did not participate on Gibb's recording sessions around 1975, that session features a remake of "Words and Music" which was, that version was released, and he also recorded a rendition of Don McLean's "Winter Has Me in Its Grip" (not released), the backing musicians on the session was the Australian jazz fusion group Crossfire. "Words and Music" was released on the ATA label only in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Joye. It was his first single, the song, backed by another Andy Gibb composition "Westfield Mansions".
The single would eventually reach the Top Twenty on the Sydney music charts in 1976. Around the same time, he married his girlfriend, Kim Reeder. Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' manager, signed Andy to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he had heard some of Andy's demo tapes. Andy soon moved to Miami Beach, Florida, to begin working on songs with his brother Barry and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.
In late 1976 in Miami, Andy, with older brother Barry producing and recording in the famed Criteria Studios, set about making his first album, 'Flowing Rivers', around the same time as The Eagles were finishing their album Hotel California. Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh played on two songs on his first album. The first release from the album, and Gibb’s first single released outside Australia, was "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" which was written by Barry, who also provided backup vocals. It reached #1 in the United States and Australia and was the most played record of the year. In Britain it was a lesser hit, just scraping into the Top 30.
Eight of the ten tracks on the album were Andy Gibb compositions, mostly songs written during his time in Australia. These included a re-recording of his previous single, "Words and Music". In September 1977 'Flowing Rivers', with another #1 single "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water", a song co-written by Gibb and his brother Barry. To support it, quickly became a million selling album. That single broke in early 1978 during the time that the Bee Gees' contributions to the 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack were dominating the world charts.
In the United States it replaced "Stayin' Alive" at the top of the charts, and then was surpassed by "Night Fever" at #1 in mid-March. On 25 January 1978, he had a daughter, Peta Jaye, but the couple had already separated before Reeder discovered she was pregnant. They divorced later that year. Andy then began work with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album, 'Shadow Dancing', which was released in April 1978. The title track, written by all four Gibb brothers, was released as a single in the United States in April 1978.
In mid-June it began a seven-week run at #1, achieving platinum status and the honor of being Billboard's #1 song of 1978. In the United States, Andy became the first male solo artist to have three consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with all of the weeks at #1 from those singles just barely inside a year, from 30 July 1977 through 29 July 1978. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which reached #5) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached #9), were released from the album, which became another million seller. In 1979, Gibb performed along with Bee Gees, ABBA, and Olivia Newton-John (duet with "Rest Your Love on Me"), at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly which was broadcast worldwide.
He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final full studio album, 'After Dark'. In March 1980, the last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire" (written by all four Gibb brothers), was recorded for Bee Gees' 1979 album 'Spirits Having Flown' and featured their original track complete with Andy's original "guest vocal" track. A second single, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend and fellow British and Australian expat Olivia Newton-John, reached the top 20. Later in the year, 'Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits' was released as a finale to his contract with RSO Records, with two new songs: "Time Is Time" (number 15 in January 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last top 40 chart entry) shipped as singles, before RSO founder Robert Stigwood had to let him go due to his cocaine addiction and behavioral problems.
"After Dark" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were non-single songs added to the album, the latter of which was a duet with P. P. Arnold, who had previously worked with Barry Gibb, including singing uncredited backups on "Bury Me Down by the River" from 'Cucumber Castle'. During his relationship with actress Victoria Principal, Gibb worked on several projects outside the recording studio including performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway and Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in Los Angeles, California.
He also co-hosted the television music show, Solid Gold, from 1980 to 1982. Around the same time, Gibb was invited to sing the first verse on Queen's "Play the Game" and lead singer Freddie Mercury apparently was amazed with Gibb's abilities. According to some sources, the tape was found in 1990 in search of Queen archives for bonus tracks for CD but was not used. Since it has not been heard by any Queen collectors, its existence is somewhat doubtful. Although record producer Mack has also confirmed that the version did exist.
At around 8:30 am on 10 March 1988, Gibb's doctor told him that more tests were needed to determine the cause of his chest pains. Later that day, Gibb slumped into unconsciousness and died as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a recent viral infection (a diagnosis supported by William Shell, a cardiologist who had previously treated Gibb). With the announcement of Gibb's death, his ex-wife Kim Reeder was not surprised. "I always knew that one day I'd get a call with news like this. It was only a matter of time." The Gibb family would also maintain it was not an overdose that killed Gibb — as some media reports suggested — but natural causes after years of abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
''Words And Music (#78) / Westfield Mansions'' 1975 ATA
''Can't Stop Dancin' / In The End'' 1976 ATA
''I Just Want To Be Your Everything (#1) / In The End'' 1977 ATA
''(Love Is) Thicker Than Water (#13) / Words And Music'' 1978 ATA
''Shadow Dancing (#11) / Too Many Looks In Your Eyes'' 1978 ATA
''An Everlasting Love (#57) / Flowing Rivers'' 1978 ATA
''(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away (Edited Version) (#61) / One More Look At The Night'' 1978 ATA
''Time Is Time / I Go For You'' 1980 ATA
''Desire (#90) / Waiting For You'' 1980 ATA
''I Can't Help It [with Olivia Newton-John] (#62) / Someone I Ain't'' 1980 ATA
''All I Have To Do Is Dream [with Victoria Principal] / Good Feeling'' 1982 ATA
'Flowing Rivers' (#25) 1977 Interfusion
'Shadow Dancing' (#28) 1978 ATA
'After Dark' (#65) 1980 ATA
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gibb
http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/
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