Robin Gibb

Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successful solo career.

Gibb was born at the Jane Crookall Maternity Home, Douglas on the Isle of Man, to English parents, Hugh and Barbara Gibb; the family later moved to Manchester for three years (where Andy was born) before settling in Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane, Australia. Gibb began his career as part of the family trio (Barry-Maurice-Robin). When the group found their first success, they returned to England, where they achieved worldwide fame. In 2002, the Bee Gees were appointed as CBEs for their "contribution to music". However, investiture at Buckingham Palace was delayed until 2004.

With record sales estimated in excess of 200 million, the Bee Gees became one of the most successful pop groups of all time. Music historian Paul Gambaccini described Gibb as "one of the major figures in the history of British music" and "one of the best white soul voices ever" owing to his distinctive vibrato-laden soulful voice. From 2008 to 2011, Gibb was president of the UK-based Heritage Foundation, which honours figures in British culture. After a career touching six decades, Gibb last performed on stage in February 2012 supporting injured British servicemen at a charity concert at the London Palladium. After numerous health problems in his final years, including colorectal cancer, Gibb died in May 2012 at the age of 62 from liver and kidney failure.

While primarily known as a vocalist, Gibb also played a variety of keyboards, including piano, organ and Mellotron on various early Bee Gees albums such as Odessa (1969); he also played acoustic guitar and organ on his debut solo album Robin's Reign (1970).

Robin Hugh Gibb was born on 22 December 1949 in Jane Crookall Maternity Home in Douglas, Isle of Man, to Barbara Gibb (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb, 35 minutes before his fraternal twin, Maurice Gibb. Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and one additional brother, Barry. Another brother, Andy, would be born in 1958. As children in Manchester, Gibb and his brothers began committing crimes such as petty burglary and arson.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.