Andy Gibb

At 30 years old, Andy Gibb has this physical status:

Andrew Roy Gibb (born 5 March 1958 – ten March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, performer, and teen idol.

Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb were the Bee Gees' younger brother. Gibb rose to international prominence in the late 1970s with six singles that made it to the top ten in the United States, beginning with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (1977), followed by three other top 20 singles.

Gibb's renown was short-lived due to heroin use and depression.

When planning a comeback, he died five days after his 30th birthday.

Source

Life and career

Andrew Roy Gibb was born on March 5th, 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, while his father was of Scottish and English descent. He had four siblings, including his sister Lesley Evans; and three brothers—Barry and Maurice, as well as fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.

Andy Gibb and his family migrated to Queensland, Australia, just north of Brisbane, just north of Brisbane. Andy returned to the United Kingdom in January 1967 as his three older brothers began to rise international prominence as the Bee Gees, after moving between Brisbane and Sydney.

Andy's mother, Barbara, referred to him as "a little devil, a little monster." I'd send him to school, but his two horses would sneak off and sleep all day. He'd wandered back home around lunchtime smelling of horse manure, but he'd say he had been to school.

Oh, he was a little monkey!"

Andy's personality in his youth, according to producer and film director Tom Kennedy: he's aspired to be a filmmaker and film director.

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

Gibb formed Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees song) in June 1974, a member of the Isle of Man band John Alderson on guitar, Stan Hughes on bass, and John Stringer on drums. Barbara, Andy's mother, was in charge of the company, and it had regular reservations on the tiny island's hotel circuit. "My Father Was a Rebel," Gibb's first recording, which Maurice Gibb also produced and performed on, was also a Maurice Gibb composition. It was not announced. "Windows of My World," co-written by him and Maurice, was another track on the session performed by him.

Gibb returned to Australia in 1974 at the behest of his brother Barry. Because Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees, Barry expected that it would also benefit his youngest brother. Lesley Gibb had lived in Australia, where she and her husband raised a family. Both Alderson and Stringer followed Andy as a result of meeting a band there. Andy, Alderson, and Stringer performed a number of Andy's compositions, according to Col Joye. The first song on his television debut in Australia on The Ernie Sigley Show was a demo called "To a Girl" (with his brother Maurice playing organ). It was later revealed by Sigley that it was from Gibb's forthcoming album, but that it was never announced. He performed six demos in November of the same year, including "Words and Music," "Westfield Mansions," and "Flowing Rivers," which later released). Andy's "training ground" experience in Australia was more pronounced than his brothers' involvement and their largesse, contributing to the group's sporadic work rate. Andy will be out of work for a few weeks, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of employment with no funds. Alderson and Stringer, who were dissatisfied, returned to the United Kingdom.

Gibb joined Zenta later in the band, consisting of Gibb on vocals, Rick Alford on guitar, Paddy Lelliot on bass, Glen Greenhalgh on vocals, and Trevor Norton on drums. On the Sydney leg of their Australian tours, Zenta supported international artists Sweet and the Bay City Rollers. On the resurgent Bandstand show hosted by Daryl Somers, "Can't Stop Dancing" (which was originally a Ray Stevens tune and later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was supposed to be released, but it didn't happen, but Gibb did perform it on television at least once. Zenta would appear in Gibb's recording sessions in 1975, which featured Australian jazz fusion band Crossfire, but did not participate in the group's recording sessions.

On the ATA label, "Words and Music" was released, but only in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Joye. It was his first single, the album, was backed by Andy Gibb's "Westfield Mansions," his second album. The single would debut in the top ten on Sydney's music charts in 1976; the ballad was one of his most well-known hits.

Gibb married Kim Reeder, a 1976 bride, on July 11, 1976, and the pair later moved to West Hollywood. "He became entangled in the drug trade," Reeder recalled. Cocaine became his first love. He was ill and anxious. Reeder and his daughter, Peta, who was born on January 25, 1978, were separated later that year, and they divorced later this year.

After hearing some of Andy's demo tapes, Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' boss, signed Andy to his company, RSO Records, in early 1976. Andy and his brother Barry, as well as co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson, all migrated to Miami Beach, Florida, to begin working on his songs. Andy, Andy's older brother, began recording and recording in the famed Criteria Studios in late 1976, releasing his first album Flowing Rivers. Joe Walsh, the Eagles' guitarist, appeared on two songs on the album. "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," Barry's first single and Gibb's first single to be released outside of Australia, was the first release from the album and Gibb's first single "I Just Want to Be Your Everything." It reached number one in the United States and Australia, and was the most popular year ever. It was a lesser success in the United Kingdom, with just barely breaking into the Top 30. Andy Gibb's album had eight of the ten tracks on the album, mainly songs written during his time in Australia. These included a re-recording of his previous album, "Words and Music." Flowing Rivers released their second number-one single "Love Is) Thicker Than Water" in September 1977, which was also co-written by Gibb and his brother Barry to promote it. That single debuted in early 1978, just over a period when the Bee Gees' contributions to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were dominating the world charts. On the day before Andy's 20th birthday, it replaced "Stayin Alive" at the top of the Hot 100, only to be defeated by "Night Fever" at number one two weeks later.

Andy then began working with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album, Shadow Dancing, which was released in April 1978 and was his highest-charting album in America and Canada. All four Gibb brothers' title track was published as a single in the United States in April 1978. It began a seven-week run at number one in mid-June, winning platinum status and the honor of being Billboard's number one song since 1978. Gibb became the first male solo artist to have three straight top-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with all of the week's top charts appearing in less than year, from 30 July 1977 to 29 July 1978. "An Everlasting Love" (which reached number five) and "Our Love" (which reached number 5) were two more Top Ten singles, which became a million-selling product.

Gibb appeared at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, in which he appeared with the Bee Gees, ABBA, and Olivia Newton-John (duet with "Pote On Me"). He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final studio album After Dark. The last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted in March 1980, just months before the album was announced. "Desire" was recorded on the Bee Gees' 1979 album Spirits Having Flown and featured their original song, as well as Andy's original "guest vocal" track. Olivia Newton-John, a family friend and fellow British and Australian expat, achieved the top 20 on her second single, "I Can't Help It."

Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits came as a result of his RSO Records contract (number 15 in 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last top-40 chart entry) later this year, before RSO founder Robert Stigwood let him go due to his cocaine use and behavioral difficulties. The album's non-single songs "After Dark" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were among P. P. Arnold's hits on the record, including singing uncredited backups on "Bury Me Down by the River" from Cucumber Castle, as well as "After Dark."

Gibb was invited to sing the first verse of Queen's "Play the Game" at the same time, and lead singer Freddie Mercury was obviously astonished with Gibb's ability. The tape was discovered in 1990 in a Queen archives search for bonus tracks for a CD, but it was not used, according to some sources. Since it hasn't been heard by any Queen collectors, its existence is somewhat suspect, though record producer Mack has confirmed that the version exists.

Gibb first met actress Victoria Principal when taping the John Davidson Show in January 1981. Gibb started working on several projects outside of the recording studio during their high-profile friendship. Solid Gold, a television music show from 1981 to 1982 with Marilyn McCoo, was co-hosted by him. He appeared in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in Los Angeles, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway. Gibb was eventually fired from both Joseph and Solid Gold due to lackeerism exacerbated by cocaine binges. "Because Andy was at the theater, he was a joy," Said Zev Buffman, a Broadway producer and financier for Joseph. But he wasn't there enough," adding that Gibb, out of five people to play Joseph, was the best actor to do so. "We'd lose him over long weekends," Gibb said after Gibb's death. He'd come back on Tuesday and he'd look beat. He was like a puppy when he did something wrong. He had all heart, but he didn't have enough muscle to get through." "I hear he spent the majority of his time in his hotel room in front of the television," an unidentified co-star in Joseph was quoted as saying. I'm sure he was afraid and afraid. "You're the baby brother of the Bee Gees." Solid Gold producer Brad Lachman wrote about Gibb's death, saying, "Andy [Andy] was a charming, vulnerable, and charismatic performer." He obviously meant well. He wasn't being difficult. He was dealing with problems he couldn't cope with. He wanted everyone to love him. He had so much going for him, and he couldn't believe it."

Gibb and Principal unveiled a duet to the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do is Dream" in August 1981. He reportedly heard her singing in the shower and begged her to join him in the studio. This will be Gibb's last official single and his last US chart entry, with him debuting at number 51. His romance came to an end just after she gave him an ultimatum to choose either her or heroin. Gibb began dating Kari Michaelsen of the NBC television sitcom Gimme a Break after this. He appeared on which he appeared in a guest appearance.

Gibb had two fruitful years at the Riviera hotel in Las Vegas in 1984 and 1985.

His family pleaded for his drug use, which included a stay at the Betty Ford Center in 1985. Gibb's first appearances at tiny venues with his hits as well as covers. He has appeared on television sitcom Punky Brewster and Gimme a Break. He appeared regularly in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe after a lengthy tour of East Asia. He appeared at the Via del Mar Festival in Chile in 1984, playing two nights in a row. In March 1986, he spent two weeks at San Francisco's historic Fairmont Hotel.

Gibb completed another drug therapy program in 1987 and thought he had successfully ended his smoking habits.

Gibb now wanted to get a recording deal for the debut of a new album in 1988. He returned to the studio in June 1987, recording four songs; one of them, "Man on Fire," was published posthumously in 1991 on a Polydor Records anthology. Andy's final song, "Arrow Through the Heart," was the final song he'll ever perform on VH1's series "Beca" and was released on the Bee Gees' Mythology 4-disc box in November 2010. Gibb, his brothers Barry and Maurice co-wrote the songs. Clive Banks from Island Records' UK branch heard engineer Scott Glasel's demo tapes. Gibb never signed a deal, but the record label planned to release a single in Europe this spring and another one next year, with the album to follow.

In early March 1988, Barry arranged for Island in England to welcome Andy, but he panicked when he arrived in England in January 1988. Andy missed his recordings and blamed himself for his writing difficulties. The contract was never signed.

Source