Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and musician. He rose to international fame in the late 1970s as a teen idol and pop star. The younger brother of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, Gibb achieved major success in close collaboration with his brothers. He was the first solo artist to have his first three singles reach number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Born in England and raised in Australia, Gibb began performing professionally in his teens before moving to the United States, where he signed with RSO Records. His debut album, Flowing Rivers (1977), produced three US number-one singles: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water," and "Shadow Dancing," the last of which also topped charts internationally and became his signature song. His subsequent albums, Shadow Dancing (1978) and After Dark (1980), further cemented his popularity.
In the early 1980s, Gibb expanded into theater and television, starring in productions of The Pirates of Penzance (1981) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1982), and co-hosting the music show Solid Gold (1981–82). However, his career was disrupted by substance abuse and depression, leading to declining commercial success. In 1988, just days after his 30th birthday, Gibb died from myocarditis, exacerbated by years of drug use.
1958–1975: Early life and first recordings
Andy Gibb was born on 5 March 1958 at Stretford Memorial Hospital, Stretford, Lancashire. He was the youngest of the five children born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb. His mother was of English and Irish descent, and his father was of Scottish and English descent. He had four siblings: his sister, Lesley; and three brothers—Barry and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.
At the age of six months, Gibb immigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia. The family shared three different homes at Redcliffe, Queensland, north of Brisbane, before settling on Cribb Island, a former suburb of Brisbane, in January 1960. After moving several times between Brisbane and Sydney, Gibb 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 Gibb 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 Gibb'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. Gibb dropped out of 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.
In August 1973, at the age of 15, Gibb made his first recordings at the Nova Sound Studios in London. The songs were "Windows of My World" and the country music number "My Father's a Rebel". The second song was written by Maurice Gibb (according to a November 1973 fan club newsletter) who also produced the session. 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 Gibb's mother, Barbara, and had regular bookings on the island's hotel circuit.
At the urging of his brother Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974. Barry believed that since Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees, it would also help Gibb's career. Lesley Gibb had remained in Australia, where she raised a family with her husband. Alderson and Stringer followed Gibb to Australia with the hope of forming a band there. With Col Joye producing, Gibb, Alderson, and Stringer recorded a number of Gibb's songs. The first 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 Gibb compared with his brothers was that he was relatively comfortable financially, mainly due to his brothers' support and largesse; hence, the group's sporadic work rate. Gibb would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of work with no income. Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to England.
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" (a Ray Stevens song which was later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was pushed for release, but ultimately did not, 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, but did not participate on Gibb's recording sessions around 1975, which featured Australian jazz fusion group Crossfire.
"Words and Music" was released on the ATA label, only in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Col Joye, who also produced the Bee Gees' first singles in Australia. It was Gibb's first single and was backed by another composition "Westfield Mansions". The single would eventually reach No. 78 in Australia and No. 29 in New Zealand. Gibb performed this song on Countdown on 7 September 1975. While in Australia, Gibb recorded demos of his compositions as well as his own renditions of old numbers. When Gibb had got the call from his brother Barry in June 1976 that he and Col Joye's company ATA had proceeded with the new single ("Words and Music"), Gibb prepared to go to Florida later that year and had his last recording session before moving to the US, including "In the End", "Flowing Rivers", "Come Home for the Winter" and "Let It Be Me" which were later re-recorded in Criteria Studios.
1976–1980: International success
Gibb at that time lived in Seven Hills, an outer Sydney suburb where he married his girlfriend Kim Reeder at the Wayside Chapel on 11 July 1976. "Kim breeds Staffordshire bull terriers and my sister does too", he once said. "We met at a dog show when my sister Lesley introduced us". In 1977, they moved to West Hollywood. Reeder recalled, "He became ensconced in the drug scene. Cocaine became his first love. He became depressed and paranoid." The couple separated and Reeder moved back to Australia, where she gave birth to their daughter, Peta, on 25 January 1978. Gibb and Reeder divorced later that year.
Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' manager, signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he heard some of his demo tapes. Gibb soon moved to Miami Beach, to begin working on songs with his brother Barry and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. In late 1976 in Miami, Gibb, with his brother Barry producing and recording in Criteria Studios, set about making his first album Flowing Rivers. Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh played on two songs on the album while recording Hotel California. On Gibb's compositions, the tracks were a mix of country music and ballads. After the release of Flowing Rivers, Gibb revealed: