Bee Gees Robin Gibb dies after battle with cancer
(BDCi) – Robin Gibb, one of the three brothers who made up the group the Bee Gees behind “Saturday Night Fever” and other now-iconic sounds form the 1970s, died on Sunday, according to a statement on his website.
He was 62. Gibb “passed away Sunday following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery,” said the statement which was attributed to his family. He died in England.
News of his death set off a torrent of reaction in social media. Musician Bryan Adams, for instance, lamented “another great singer dying too young,” on Twitter, while fellow British band Duran Duran and current pop sensation Bruno Mars were among many who posted their condolences.
Diagnosed with colon and liver cancer Gibb had been in a coma as he battled pneumonia earlier this spring, representative Doug Wright said.
Doctors believe that Gibb had a secondary tumor, Wright said April 14, confirming a news account in the UK newspaper The Sun. Gibb had emergency surgery in 2010 for a blocked bowel and then had more surgery for a twisted bowel, Wright confirmed.
The only surviving member of the three Bee Gees is brother Barry, 65.
Robin’s twin brother Maurice, died in 2003 from a twisted bowel and younger brother Andy, who was not part of the group died at 30 from a heart infection.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, the Bee Gees sold more than 200 million albums and the soundtrack album to “Saturday Night Fever” was the top-selling album until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” claimed that distinction in the 1980s.
Gibb is survived by his wife, Dwina, his daughter Melissa and sons Spencer and Robin-John.
By: Natania Levine Courtesy: ktla.com Photo: the star.com, idolator.com 21 May 2012
10:18 a.m. P.D.T