Andy Gibb - Early Years

Early Years

Andrew Roy Gibb was born in Manchester, England, to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb (d. 1992). At the age of six months, Gibb emigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of Brisbane. He was the youngest of five children having a sister, Lesley Evans (b. 1945), and three brothers, Barry (b. 1946) and fraternal twins Robin (1949–2012) and Maurice (1949–2003). After moving several times around 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.

As a young teenager, Andy began playing at tourist clubs around Ibiza, and later in the Isle of Man, the birthplace of his older brothers, where his parents were living at the time. Andy formed his first group, Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees' song) which included Isle of Man musicians John Alderson (guitar) and John Stringer (drums). The group was managed by Andy's mother Barbara. The group had regular bookings on the small island's hotel circuit. Andy's first recording, in early 1974, was a Maurice Gibb composition, "My Father Was a Reb" which Maurice also produced and played on. It was not released.

At the urging of his brother Barry, Andy returned to Australia in 1974. Barry believed that as Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees it would also help his youngest brother. The Gibb brothers' sister Lesley, had remained in Australia where she had 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. What may have detracted from the "training ground" aspect of Australia for Andy compared to 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.