" Words and Music" was released on the ATA label only in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Joye. Zenta would appear later as a backing band for Gibb, but did not participate on Gibb's recording sessions around 1975, which featured Australian jazz fusion group Crossfire. "Can't Stop Dancing" (which was a Ray Stevens song, later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was mooted for release, but didn't happen, although Gibb did perform it on television at least once on the revitalised Bandstand show hosted by Daryl Somers.
Zenta supported international artists Sweet and the Bay City Rollers on the Sydney leg of their Australian tours. Gibb later joined the band Zenta, consisting of Gibb on vocals, Rick Alford on guitar, Paddy Lelliot on bass, Glen Greenhalgh on vocals, and Trevor Norton on drums. Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to the UK. Andy would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of work with no income. 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. In November the same year, he recorded six demos-again produced by Joye-including "Words and Music", "Westfield Mansions" and "Flowing Rivers" (which was later released). Sigley later informed the audience that it was from Gibb's forthcoming album, but it was never released. The first song was a demo called "To a Girl" (with his brother Maurice playing organ), which he later performed on his television debut in Australia on The Ernie Sigley Show. With Col Joye producing, Andy, Alderson and Stringer recorded a number of Andy's compositions. Both Alderson and Stringer followed Andy to Australia with the hope of forming a band there. Lesley Gibb had remained in Australia, where she raised a family with her husband. Barry believed that as Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees it would also help his youngest brother. Īt the urging of his brother Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974. Another track on the session performed by him was "Windows of My World" co-written by him with Maurice. Gibb's first recording, in August 1973, was a Maurice Gibb composition, "My Father Was a Rebel", which Maurice also produced and played on.
The group was managed by Andy's mother, Barbara, and had regular bookings on the small island's hotel circuit. In June 1974, Gibb formed his first group, Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees song), which included Isle of Man musicians John Alderson on guitar and John Stringer on drums. He quit school at the age of 13, and with an acoustic guitar given to him by his older brother Barry, he began playing at tourist clubs around Ibiza, Spain (when his parents moved there), and later in the Isle of Man, his brothers' birthplace, where his parents were living at the time. Producer and film director Tom Kennedy described Andy's personality in his childhood: He'd wander back home around lunchtime smelling of horse manure, yet he'd swear he had been at school. I'd send him off to school, but he'd sneak off to the stable and sleep with his two horses all day. In his childhood, his mother Barbara described Andy as "A little devil, a little monster. After moving several times between 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. He had four siblings: his sister Lesley, and three brothers, Barry and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.Īt the age of six months, Andy Gibb emigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of Brisbane. His mother was of Irish and English descent and his father was of Scottish and Irish descent. He was the youngest of five children born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb.
Life and career 1958–1975: Early life and first recordings Īndrew Roy Gibb was born on 5 March 1958 at Stretford Memorial Hospital in Manchester.