ANDY GIBBAndy Gibb, who died on 10 March, 1988 at the age of 30, was a pop idol who shot to fame in rapid fashion.He was the younger brother of Barry, Maurice and Robin, better known as the Bee Gees, but enjoyed great chart success of his own in the late 1970s and became a teenage pin-up.Andrew Roy Gibb was born in Manchester (born unlike his brothers and sister Lesley who were all born on the Isle of Man) on 5 March, 1958. When he was six months old the family emigrated to Australia.By the time he was a teenager his brothers had already embarked on their professional singing careers. Rather than join the Bee Gees, he decided to be a performer in his own right, playing in Ibiza and the UK during his teens before returning to Australia.In 1976, while only 18, his song Words and Music reached number five on the Sydney music charts and led to a contract with RSO Records, beginning his rise to international stardom.He made history when his singles I Just Want to Be Your Everything (written by Barry Gibb, 1977), (Love Is) Thicker Than Water (Andy Gibb, 1977) and Shadow Dancing (Andy Gibb, 1978) all topped the Billboard Chart, making him the first male artist to have three consecutive US number ones.The handsome singer soon became an object of affection for many young girls and he had a relationship with Dallas actress Victoria Principal who sang with him on a cover of the Everly Brothers song All I Have To Do Is Dream (1981), his last single.He released three albums and a Greatest Hits collection (1980) before his pop career went into decline in the '80s. He became a Broadway and LA stage musicals performer to rave reviews and also hosted television shows.Tragically the strain of fame had seen him fall victim to drug addiction, believed to have contributed to the heart condition that ended his life in Oxford in 1988. He was buried in LA where his father Hugh would also be laid to rest four years later.Producer of Solid Gold, the chart show Gibb hosted in the early '80s, Brad Lachman said that despite his problems, Andy was "a charming, vulnerable and charismatic performer".
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