What happened to Andy GibbĪlthough he was still battling with depression over his split from Principal, Andy appeared to be in much better physical health when he entered the recording studio in early 1988.īut a few months later, shortly after turning 30, he was submitted to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital with chest pains. He bailed on a last-chance meeting with Island Records-organised by Barry-that could have resurrected his career and saved him from filing bankruptcy. Time at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1985 failed to get him clean, and although a second rehab program two years later was said to be more successful, the star retained his ability to self-destruct. But sadly, he still struggled to overcome his demons. His drug addiction would later cost the star both his role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and his relationship with Dallas actress Victoria Principal, the actress he duetted with on final hit, a cover of The Everly Brothers’ “All I Have To Do Is Dream.”ĭespite his star significantly waning, Andy still kept busy with guest spots on sitcoms Gimme a Break! and Punky Brewster and residencies in Las Vegas and San Francisco. However, frustrated by Andy's cocaine dependency and the troubles it caused, Stigwood dropped him from the RSO label soon after. The beginning of the endĪlthough 1980's third album After Darkadhered to the law of diminishing returns, it still produced a further five US chart hits, including Olivia Newton-John duet “I Can’t Help It.” A stint as host on syndicated music show Solid Gold and contract-fulfilling Greatest Hits kept his name in the limelight. “An Everlasting Love” finally saw him break the UK Top 10, and he also received Grammy nods for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. His 1978 sophomore Shadow Dancing spawned a third stateside number one, its title track spending seven weeks in pole position to become the year’s biggest seller. While Andy’s personal life fell into disarray, his professional endeavours continued to thrive. "'An Everlasting Love' finally saw Andy break the UK Top 10" Even the birth of daughter Peta soon after couldn’t quell his appetite for the white stuff. His addiction to cocaine cut short his marriage after just two years, with Reeder later revealing how much the drug left him paranoid and depressed. It was a similar story with follow-up “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” enjoying two weeks atop the Hot 100-interestingly in-between the Bee Gees’ “ Stayin’ Alive” and “ Night Fever”-yet failing to even get a release the other side of the Atlantic.īy this point, Andy had started to get lost in all the trappings that come with being a chart-topping pin-up. "By the time the nine-year-old returned to England, the Bee Gees had already scored a half-dozen Aussie chart hits"Īlthough the track missed the Top 20 in the UK, it reached number one in the USA. The “cheeky little lad with a heart of gold” left school aged just 13 and, after a stint performing on the Ibiza tourist scene, he formed his own outfit, Melody Fayre, on the Isle of Man. Perhaps inevitably, Andy soon attempted to follow in their footsteps. By the time the nine-year-old returned to England from Queensland with the rest of his family in 1967, the Bee Gees had already scored a half-dozen Aussie chart hits. The other Bee Gee: Growing up with the Gibb brothersīorn nine years after twins Robin and Maurice, and 12 after Barry, Andy spent his early years in some slightly imposing shadows. Sadly, within a decade the "other" Bee Gee had succumbed to that lethal combination of believing his own hype, self-sabotage and rock star excess. At the same time that Saturday Night Feverwas taking over the world, he was busy becoming the first ever solo male artist to score three consecutive US number ones. The younger brother of Barry, Maurice and Robin, Andy Gibb initially looked set to reach the iconic status of his falsetto-voiced siblings. Andy Gibb was the youngest brother of the Bee Gees who looked set for international music stardom, until his life was tragically cut short by addiction
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