Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English-Australian singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin, and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees.
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). 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 have issues with drug addiction and depression. He
died on 10 March 1988, five days after his 30th birthday.
Life and career
1958–1975: Early life
and first recordings
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 emigrated with his
family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of
Brisbane. 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.
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. 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.
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 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. "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 revitalized 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 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; the ballad was one of his well-known hits.
1976–1980:
International success
Andy at that time lived in Seven Hills, an outer Sydney
suburb where he married his girlfriend Kim Reeder at the Wayside Chapel on July
11, 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."
After they split up, Reeder moved back to Australia, where she gave birth to
their daughter, Peta, who was born on 25 January 1978, and they divorced later
that year.
Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' manager,
signed Andy to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he 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. Eagles’ guitarist Joe Walsh played on two songs on the 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 number-one 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 number-one
single "(Love Is) Thicker Than
Water" (also 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 Hot 100 on the day before Andy's 20th birthday, only to be surpassed by "Night Fever" at number-one
there two weeks later.
Andy then began work 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. 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
number-one, achieving platinum status and the honor of being Billboard's
number-one song of 1978. In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo
artist to have three consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100,
with all of the weeks at the top of the chart happening in less than year, from
30 July 1977 through 29 July 1978. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which
reached number 5) and "(Our Love)
Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached number 9), were released from
the album, which became another million seller.
In 1979, Gibb performed along with the 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"
was recorded for the 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 let him go due to his cocaine addiction and behavioural
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.
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 a
search of Queen Archives for bonus tracks for a 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.
1981–1986: Decline
and live performances
While taping The John Davidson Show in January 1981, Gibb met
actress Victoria Principal. During their high-profile relationship, Gibb began
working on several projects outside the recording studio. He co-hosted the
television music show Solid Gold from 1981 to 1982 with Marilyn McCoo. He also
performed 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 ultimately fired from both Joseph and Solid Gold because of
absenteeism caused by cocaine binges. Said Zev Buffman, a Broadway producer and
financier for Joseph, "When Andy was
at the theater, he was a joy. But he wasn't there enough", adding that
of the five people to play Joseph up to that point, Gibb was the best actor. He
also said after Gibb's death, "We'd
lose him over long weekends. He'd come back on Tuesday, and he'd look beat. He
was like a little puppy—so ashamed when he did something wrong. He was all
heart, but he didn't have enough muscle to carry through." An unnamed
co-star in Joseph was quoted as saying, "I
hear he spent most of his time in his hotel room in front of the TV. I guess he
was frightened and insecure. That's what happens when you're the baby brother
of the Bee Gees." Commenting after Gibb's death, Solid Gold producer
Brad Lachman stated, "...[Andy] was
a very charming, vulnerable and charismatic performer. He clearly meant well.
He wasn't being difficult. He was going through problems he couldn't deal with.
He wanted everyone to love him. He had so much going for him, and he just
couldn't believe it."
In August 1981, Gibb and Principal released a duet of the
Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do
Is Dream". He reportedly heard her singing in the shower and convinced
her to go into the studio with him. This would be Gibb's last official single,
and his last US chart entry, peaking at number 51.
Principal recalled after that, “Well, it became very apparent to me that his behavior was becoming
erratic and that he was very, very thin. And Andy was a very kind person and a
very gentle person, and some of his behavior seemed the antithesis of who I
knew him to be. And over a period of … deduction, I finally realized that it
had to be drugs.”
Their romance ended shortly thereafter when she gave him an
ultimatum to choose between her or drugs. After this, Gibb began dating Kari
Michaelsen of the NBC television sitcom Gimme a Break! on which he guest
starred.
In 1984 and 1985, Gibb did finish two successful contracts
at the Riviera hotel in Las Vegas.
His family convinced him to seek treatment for his drug
addiction, which included a stay at the Betty Ford Center in 1985. It was
during this time that Gibb began touring small venues with a stage show
featuring his hits as well as covers. He also appeared in guest-starring roles
on television sitcom Punky Brewster and Gimme a Break! Following an extensive
tour of East Asia, he regularly performed shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. In
1984, he was the headline performer at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile,
performing two nights in a row. He also held a two-week engagement at San
Francisco's historic Fairmont Hotel in March 1986.
1987–1988: Attempted
comeback and final days
In the spring of 1987, Gibb went through another drug
rehabilitation program and thought he had finally beaten his habits.
Gibb now aimed to get a recording contract for release of a
new album in 1988. He returned to the studio in June 1987 recording four songs;
one of them, "Man on Fire", was
released posthumously in 1991 on a Polydor Records anthology. Another track, "Arrow Through the Heart", was
the final song Andy would ever record and was featured on an episode of VH1's
series, Behind the Music, and released on the Bee Gees' Mythology 4-disc box
set in November 2010. The songs are co-written by Gibb with his brothers Barry
and Maurice. Their demo recordings with engineer Scott Glasel were heard by
Clive Banks from the UK branch of Island Records. Gibb never formally signed a
contract but the record label planned to release a single in Europe that
spring, followed by another single that summer with the album to follow.
In early March 1988, Barry arranged for Island in England to
sign Andy, but when he arrived in England in January 1988, he panicked. Andy
missed meetings with the record company and blamed himself for his trouble
writing songs. The deal was never signed.
Death
By late January to early February in 1988, Gibb had
seemingly beaten his drug addiction, regained his health, and was ready to
begin recording a new album; however, he still battled depression over his breakup
with Victoria Principal. According to Robin Gibb, his brother "just went downhill so fast... he was
in a terrible state of depression". During this period, Gibb slipped
back into his alcoholic habits, even going as far as receiving phone calls from
brothers Maurice and Barry (the latter call Barry would regret making), with
last-ditch efforts to get Andy to stop. 5 March 1988, Gibb celebrated his 30th
birthday in London while working on the new album. Two days after celebrating his
birthday, he entered John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford complaining of chest
pains.
At around 8:30 am on 10 March 1988, Gibb's doctor informed
him more tests were needed to determine the cause of his chest pains. Shortly
afterward, Gibb slumped into unconsciousness and died as a result of
myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle most likely caused by a virus.
Years of cocaine abuse also weakened his heart. This diagnosis was supported by
William Shell, a cardiologist who 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." Gibb's family said the cause of death was not an overdose, as
some media reports suggested, but natural causes after years of substance
abuse.
Gibb's body was returned to the United States, where he was
interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. The
headstone reads "Andy Gibb / March
5, 1958 – March 10, 1988 / An Everlasting Love", after one of his hit
singles.
Legacy
The Andy Gibb Memorial Foundation contributes to charities
that Gibb supported, such as the American Heart Association, the American
Cancer Society, and the Diabetes Research Institute.
Awards and
nominations
Gibb was nominated for two Grammy Awards at the 20th Annual
Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for two American Music Awards.
Grammy Awards
1978 Andy Gibb Best New Artist Nominated
1978 "I Just Want to Be Your
Everything" Best Pop
Vocal Performance, Male Nominated
American Music Awards
Year Nominee /
work Award Result
1978 "I Just Want To Be Your
Everything" Favorite
Pop/Rock Song Nominated
1979 Andy Gibb Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Nominated
Discography
Studio albums
UK
1977 Flowing
Rivers
1978 Shadow
Dancing
1980 After Dark
Compilations
1980 Andy Gibb's
Greatest Hits
1991 Andy Gibb
2001 20th Century
Masters – The Millennium Collection
2010 Mythology
(Disc 4 – Andy)
Singles
1975 "Words and Music"
"Westfield
Mansions" Non-album song
1977 "I Just Want to Be Your
Everything"
"In the End" Flowing Rivers
"(Love Is)
Thicker Than Water"
"Words and
Music"
1978 "Shadow Dancing"
"Let It Be
Me" Shadow Dancing
"An Everlasting
Love"
"Flowing
Rivers"
"(Our Love) Don't
Throw It All Away"
"One More Look at
the Night"
"Why"
1980 "Desire"
"Waiting for
You" After Dark
"I Can't Help
It" (with Olivia Newton-John)
"Someone I
Ain't"
"Rest Your Love
on Me" (with Olivia Newton-John)
"Boats Against
the Current"
"Time Is
Time"
"I Go for
You" Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits
1981 "Me (Without You)"
"Melody"
"All I Have to Do
Is Dream" (with Victoria Principal)
"Good
Feeling" Non-album song
Filmography
Television
1981–1982 Solid
Gold as host
1982 Something's
A foot Geoffrey
1983 Gimme a
Break! As himself
1984 Punky
Brewster as himself
1985 Punky
Brewster as Tony Glenn
Comments
Post a Comment