In Manchester, England on March 5, 1958, a young aspiring star was born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb, youngest brother to Leslie, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Six months after Andrew Roy Gibb's life began, his family moved to Australia where Andy would call home for the first nine years of his life.
Once Australia became too small for the fame his brothers (the Bee Gees) were looking for, the family picked up their stakes and headed back to England. Once the popularity of his brothers began on an international level, Andy and his parents moved yet again to Ibiza, Spain, where Andy chose to end his schooling and began working on his career of performing. Andy did not receive any pay for his work, but the experience was enough to keep young Andy satisfied.
A few years later, the family gathered their belongings and moved to the Isle of Man, where Andy would finally begin his professional career as a musician. Once others realizing the greatness of Andy's talents, he was advised to head back Down Under to gain experience in a more competitive market. The few years Andy spent making his mark in Australia, he also made his mark in the heart of a young woman who would come to mean a great deal to Andy. Kim Reeder dated Andy for the two years he lived there before he plunged into an international career.
Soon, a call came from brother Barry asking Andy to come to America and sign on with Robert Stigwood. Andy knew a chance like this may not come again, so he knew it was now or never. However, not knowing if he would ever make it back to Australia to be with Kim, Andy knew he had one other decision he had to make. In July 1976, Andy and Kim were married.
During his honeymoon in Bermuda, Andy signed on as the newest Gibb brother to be represented by RSO Records. After a few months, Andy's first song, "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" was released (which ended up being #1 on the Billboard charts), and the record and his popularity grew to amazing heights. Andy was again amazed when his second release, "(Love is) Thicker than Water" also hit the top spot.
The next year several life-changing events occurred in Andy's life. First, Kim told Andy that she was pregnant. However, unable to deal with the lifestyle Andy had chose, Kim moved back to her family's home in Australia. Realizing his marriage was beyond repair, Andy threw himself into his career. On January 25, 1978, Andy was blessed with a daughter, Peta Jaye.
Later that year, his third release, "Shadow Dancing", hit #1. The feat of the first three singles of a male artist reaching #1 has still not been surpassed. Finally and probably the most heart-wrenching of all the events of that year for Andy was his marriage to Kim dissolved. Although heartbroken, Andy continued on with his career, touring and promoting his Shadow Dancing album.
After guest appearing at several stop on his brothers' Spirits Having Flown tour, Andy released his third album, After Dark. A few months later, Andy would release his final album... a greatest hits compilation. Andy continued to appear on several talk and variety shows, and one appearance would change the course of his life.
In January 1981, Andy appeared and co-hosted the John Davidson Show. John surprised Andy by having Victoria Principal appear on the show unannounced. Their meeting would forever change Andy's life.
Andy decided to take on a new outlet for his talent, and starred as Frederic in the west coast production of "Pirates of Penzance." A few months later, he began co-hosting Solid Gold with Marilyn McCoo.
Thirteen months into their relationship, Victoria and Andy called it quits... leaving Andy devastated, heartbroken, and turning to cocaine for comfort. Andy, always wanting his fans to know the truth, appeared on Good Morning America in July 1982 to acknowledge his problem with drugs and to recount what had happened in his relationship.
Andy rejuvenated his career and was cast again as Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance" for the Toronto production of the play. That lead to Andy's role as Geoffrey in the Showtime Television's play, "Something's Afoot." Finally, his stage acting had paid off when Andy portrayed Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", first in Philadelphia for a month, and then on Broadway.
After a few weeks, Andy left "Joseph", and began working on a nightclub act. After several years of performing in various different outlets, coping on and off with his drug addiction, and trying to find love and happiness, Andy moved back to Miami.
In 1987, Andy and his brothers wrote four new songs, which helped Andy obtain a new record deal with Island Records in England. Andy left for England in 1988 to write more songs for the record company and to start working on creating the new album. However, tragedy struck too soon.
On March 7, 1988, Andy was hospitalized with stabbing pains in his chest and abdomen. In the morning hours of March 10, 1988 would forever effect the Gibb family -- Andy, who was still young and wanting a second chance at superstardom, succumbed to Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart. In 1991, Andy older brothers rereleased Andy's Greatest Hits, including one of the songs they had written with him in 1987, "Man on Fire."
To Andy's fans, he will be remembered for his amazing looks, beautiful voice, caring personality, and the unique person that he was.
