Welcome to Morobinbarrystories! Please join me on twitter @morobinbarry. This site is for Bee Gee fans everywhere who would like to read and share stories of hope, joy, love and inspiration for Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. If you’d like to share a story, please email it to me at morobinbarrystories@gmail.com. Stories will be posted often, some from my collected tales and some from the new ones as they come in. Some I will save for my book (stories are placed at the end of each chapter). Hopefully, the book will be completed by fall of this year! At times, I will post articles about Gibb events that I hope the fans will enjoy.

July 22, 2016

There won’t be a fan story this week, mostly because I feel that today needs to be an “Andy Day” on this website. I’ll share with GSI, of course, as I always do. I’ll also post on other Bee Gee sites a bit later on. For now, here are some ideas to ponder.

It’s not that I’m sad, just thoughtful and reflective and deeply touched. I’ve been writing a book for several years now, and I’m just about 80% finished with it. However, I’ve been at a standstill for quite some time, and it’s because I’m writing about the year 1988. The lined pads I write upon have been blank for a month, and I’ve just talked myself into facing March of 1988 in the past few days. It was tough to write the reality into my fictional story line, since I intertwine the novel with real events in the Gibb brothers’ lives.

I refer to Andy in the story as “Baby Gibb” in a sweet and affectionate way, but I suffered while putting the words down. Hanging over my head like facing a serious doctor’s appointment or having a tooth pulled or maybe taking a challenging final examination, I knew that it needed to be done and I’d feel better once I’d written the chapter, but it still gnawed at me with an “I’m dreading this” kind of feeling.

I loved and still love the thought of Andy Gibb and all the moments of pure joy he gave me while he was with us on earth. Seeing him perform three times was an honor, but today I simply need to mention how much he is missed and why I think he was one of the most amazing men….EVER!

Most fans know of the challenges and heartaches of his life, and they don’t need to be rehashed. What needs to be remembered is how utterly brilliant and talented Andy truly was. When I think that he left school at 13 and then proceeded to write 8 of the 10 songs on his first album, I am mind-boggled.

When I think he had his first #1 at the age of 19, I still feel a thrill at hearing it. “Shadow Dancing” will always be an iconic Andy song. When I remember that he worked for several charities, among them The American Cancer Society and the Diabetes Research Institute, I am not in the least surprised. He had an amazing heart full of love and generosity, and I wish I had known him, if only to tell him how much I admired every single positive thing he did to share himself with the world.

After DJ’s began to play “Shadow Dancing’ on April 22, 1978, his life was dramatically affected. Like many other music stars, he made some poor decisions and suffered from depression, but he still worked in theater, on television and stage and also accomplished an extraordinary feat when he became a licensed pilot. This in itself was an amazing accomplishment.

Living in the shadow of bigger than life brothers must have been a blessing and a curse. How does one emulate the Bee Gees and their success? Yet, he was so close to his brother Barry that they were almost “twin-like” themselves. Photos of Andy in the last two years of his life are remarkably similar to photos of Barry. Andy was looking more and more like his older brother, who so gently had guided Andy from his childhood days until Andy’s success was worldwide. Barry’s love for his brother was clearly expressed in every laugh, recording, charity event and family gathering, and I know that somewhere deep in his heart, Barry knows his love made a difference.

The hurt of losing Andy still devastates me, like a cloud of doom that appears when one least expects it; and although those moments do occur, there are days when Andy gnaws at me to think of the positive moments and celebrate his heart and beautiful voice. I know he is with us all every time one of his songs is played or he comes rushing through my mind.

Andy, I hope that I do you justice as I write the story because you truly deserve all the love and respect I can express on the written page. I am forever an admirer and a better person for experiencing your talent.

Thank you, “Baby Gibb”.