Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies

LONDON, Monday

Bee Gees star Robin Gibb, singer with one of the biggest-selling groups of all time and a key figure in the breakthrough of disco, has died aged 62, having lost his battle against cancer.

Gibb had been in remission earlier this year but was hospitalised in April and then fell into a coma after contracting pneumonia.

Though he woke up again on April 20, he had advanced colorectal cancer and finally succumbed to his illness late on Sunday night.

“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,” a statement on his website read.

The Bee Gees — brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb — helped turn disco into a global phenomenon in the 1970s with hits such as “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive”, and “Night Fever”.

Hailing from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, they grew up in Manchester and Australia and were singing publicly from childhood. (AFP)
Born on December 22, 1949, Robin was 17 when he sang lead vocals on the Bee Gees’ first British number one, “Massachusetts”, in 1967, before they switched styles to disco in the 1970s.