Bee Gees Star Robin Gibb Dead At 62

21 May 2012

Last night Bee Gee's singer Robin Gibb lost his battle with colon and liver cancer and passed away, according to his family.

A statement reads, "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

VIDEO: Watch one the Bee Gees biggest hits, 'Night Fever'!

Born in the Isle of Man, Gibb began his music career as a teen when he joined forces with his twin brother Maurice and older sibling Barry to form the Bee Gees.

The stars initially tasted fame in their adopted home of Australia, where the family had moved in 1958, but they were catapulted into the spotlight when they returned to their native Britain in the late 1960s.

Their harmonies helped them score early hits with 'To Love Somebody', 'Massachusetts' and 'I Started A Joke', but Robin, a vibrato who shared lead vocals with Barry, quit the band to embark on a solo career in 1969 after a disagreement.

He enjoyed minor success in Europe with his track 'Saved by the Bell', but his album, 'Robin's Reign', struggled to make much of an impact on the charts and he decided to reunite with Barry and Maurice just a year later.

The trio's popularity began to wane and it wasn't until the mid-1970s that they returned to prominence with the disco hit 'Jive Talkin''. Follow-up tracks like 'How Deep Is Your Love', 'Stayin' Alive' and 'Night Fever'...all from the bestselling 'Saturday Night Fever' movie soundtrack - cemented the Bee Gees' place in history as one of the most successful acts of all time with total record sales in excess of 220 million.