He was a singer-songwriter who was born Robin Hugh Grant in Douglas, Isle of Man, Great Britain as the twin brother of Maurice Gibb. His family moved to Manchester while he was still young and then in 1958 they emigrated to Australia.
Along with his brothers, Barry and Maurice, he started singing and songwriting from a young age and they became the Bee Gees in 1958. He and his future wife both survived the Hither Green rail crash on 5th November 1967, which killed 49 people. Because of drug problems his parents threatened to make him a ward of court when he was still only 19.
Constantly vying with Barry during the late 60s he temporarily left the group in 1969 and released a solo album called Robin’s Reign which was unsuccessful.
He was indicted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1994, was honoured with a CBE in the 2001/2002 New Year’s Honours List and also received an Honorary Degree from the University of Manchester in 2004.
During the 1980s he released three further solo albums and another was released in Germany in 2003. In 2004 he went on a solo tour of Germany, Russia and Asia. A further tour of Latin America happened in 2005.
He began getting health problems in 2010 while he was touring in Belgium He had surgery in England for a blocked intesting and went back to work but was forced in 2011 to cancel several appearances. Late in 2011 there was an announcement that he had liver cancer and early in the follow year he said in interview that he had colon cancer which had spread to the liver. He underwent further treatment but sadly passed away in May 2012 when he was 62 years old.
Susie Allanson recordings
Words (Barry Gibb/Maurice Gibb/Robin Gibb)
Bee Gees recordings
Jive Talking(Barry Gibb/ Maurice Gibb/Robin Gibb )
Wind of Change (Barry Gibb / Robin Gibb )
Nights on Broadway (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb / Maurice Gibb )
Edge of the Universe(Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb )
Sources:
- http://www.robingibb.com/
- https://myspace.com/robingibbofficial
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Gibb
- http://www.beegeesonline.com/
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/179142-Robin-Gibb
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/robin-gibb-mn0000835671/biography