Robin Gibb, co-founder of the Bee Gees, died on Sunday, at the age of 62, after a long battle with cancer.

A statement on Gibb’s website reads ” The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away on Sunday 20 May, 2012 at 10:46pm following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. They have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.”

The webpage is filled with fans’ comments, sending love to Gibb and his family, and thanking him for his music and career. Celebrities also expressed their sadness online, mainly via twitter. Bryan Adams wrote “Robin Gibb RIP. Very sad to hear about yet another great singer dying too young;” Duran Duran mentioned the musical loss, “Sorry to hear about the passing of Robin Gibb of the BeeGees. Our condolences to his friends and family;” Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers added, “RIP Robin Gibb! Thanks for the great music!/ Cancer takes another great one,” just to cite a few.

Gibb’s battle with his illness began a couple of years ago, along with his treatment and what seemed to be a good recovery. Nevertheless, the illness worsened, until the late singer fell into a coma last month. Gibb eventually woke up. His son Robin-John told ITV News on that occasion “He woke up while we were playing the track which is a movement from the [Titanic] Requiem we have just written. He is completely compos mentis now and the first thing he said to me was, ‘Hi R-J, can you tell them my back hurts?’ so we got a nurse to turn him.”

“We said we loved each other. Two days before that they said they’d thrown the kitchen sink at him, that it was time to make plans because he was in God’s hands and such but he beats the odds again and they gave him an under 10 per cent survival chance and he has beaten the odds… he really is something else.”

Gibb’s career started in 1958, when the three brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb formed what would become one of the most famous and best-selling bands in music history, the Bee Gees. Their career took two different shapes in different eras. They started as a pop act, and went on under that form until the ‘70s, when they turned into one of the most popular acts for disco music, carrying on the success over the ‘80s as well. In 1997, the Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

After the sudden death of Robin’s twin brother Maurice in 2003, the Bee Gees retired the band’s name. In 2009, though, the surviving members declared willingness to reform the band, now a duo, and since 2010 the two brothers made sporadic appearances and performances. They also announced a duo tour which never took place though. Robin kept making music with his son, John-Robin, with whom he composed ‘The Titanic Requiem,’ on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated ship. Unfortunately, Gibb was not able to attend ‘The Titanic Requiem’ premiere in London on April 10, due to his illness.

Image Courtesy of s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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About the author

Veronica Cinti
Italian native, extremely passionate about music in general. Although she appreciates a wide variety of music genres, her strongest field of expertise is Rock music, Grunge and Punk among its styles. Contact the author: veronica.cinti@toonarimedia.com; Follow Veronica on Twitter: @VeronicaCinti

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