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Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb was one of the biggest pop stars of the disco era. His first three singles - "I Just Want To Be Your Everything," "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water," and "Shadow Dancing" - reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1977-78, and he became a fixture on television specials, appearing alongside legends such as Bob Hope, George Burns, and Dean Martin. In 1981 he became the co-host of the iconic Solid Gold television series, and a year later he starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway. But despite his enormous success, he battled with insecurity, depression, and substance abuse, causing his career to flounder and leaving him bankrupt by 1987. By then, he seemed ready to start anew and launch a comeback, but he died suddenly in 1988, five days after his thirtieth birthday.
Despite the tragic brevity of his career and life, Andy Gibb still has a strong fan base around the world, but his story has never been told - until now. Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb draws upon extensive research, rare archival interviews with Andy Gibb and members of his family, and interviews conducted by the author with nearly fifty of Andy's friends and associates to examine the life and career of this beloved pop idol.
Despite the tragic brevity of his career and life, Andy Gibb still has a strong fan base around the world, but his story has never been told - until now. Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb draws upon extensive research, rare archival interviews with Andy Gibb and members of his family, and interviews conducted by the author with nearly fifty of Andy's friends and associates to examine the life and career of this beloved pop idol.
260 pages, Hardcover
Published July 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 19, 2022
Loved it. Great book, I read this over night, found some new info I did not know about Andy. Im a huge fan of his, Love my Andy.
August 10, 2022
When I was in high school in the late 1970s, there was no bigger band in the world than the Bee Gees. In 1977, we learned that the three Brothers Gibb had another, younger brother, Andy, who was releasing his own album. (There's also an older sister, Lesley, who prefers to stay out of the limelight.)
Andy was just 19, only a few years older than me; he was gorgeous, and like his famous older brothers, he could sing. I bought (and still have) his first two albums, and listened to them over & over again. I knew he had a problem with drugs, but I was still stunned when died in March 1988. He had just turned 30 years old. (He actually died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, but his heart had been weakened by years of cocaine abuse.)
Although he was one of the biggest stars of the day, there's never been a book about Andy Gibb -- until now. I don't remember where I first heard about "Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb" by Matthew Hild, but I eagerly downloaded a copy to my e-reader shortly after it became available recently. (The title of the book is also the title of the last song Andy ever recorded.) None of the Gibb family spoke with Hild for this book (Maurice died in 2003 and his twin brother Robin in 2012; Barry Gibb is the only surviving Bee Gee), but he drew on a wealth of existing family interviews, and also talked to many of Andy's friends and band members.
Andy shared his famous brothers' good looks and considerable talent (many felt that he had the best voice of all the brothers) and they did a lot to help launch and promote his career -- but he was emotionally fragile, highly insecure and full of self-doubt. He was also haunted by a brief teenaged marriage and bitter divorce just as his career was taking off, and only saw his only child (a daughter named Peta) once, when she was 2. His was a case of too much, too fast, too soon, and sadly, he quickly succumbed to the lure of drugs, cocaine in particular, as well as alcohol. He was also devastated by a tempestuous, well-publicized romance and break-up with actress Victoria Principal (then famous as Pam Ewing on "Dallas"). He started missing out on recording sessions, scheduled TV appearances and cancelling performances of the musicals he appeared in. By the early 1980s, his once-skyrocketing career had crashed, and never recovered. He declared bankruptcy in 1987, a few months before his death.
This is a detailed and well-researched portrait of Andy, his life and career, and does a competent job of telling his story. In some ways, the book suffers from the unavoidable fact that the story it tells is a very sad one: we know right from the start that it doesn't end well, and it's painful to watch someone so young and gifted self-destruct so spectacularly, knowing what ultimately happens. (On a pickier, editorial note, my e-book edition suffers from a lot of typos.)
On the plus side, the author does a good job of highlighting Andy's career achievements and personal appeal. Despite his flaws and obvious problems, it's clear that he was well loved by his fans, his family and the people who knew him, and the book helps us understand why, and why he is still so fondly remembered. (The epilogue makes the striking point that by 2020, he had been dead longer than he had been alive. He would be just 64 years old today.) For me, it brought back a lot of good memories from my youth -- of Andy, the Bee Gees, and other celebrities of the day, including the Osmonds (he & Marie were briefly a "thing") and fellow Aussie Olivia Newton-John, who (sadly) died as I was reading.
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
Andy was just 19, only a few years older than me; he was gorgeous, and like his famous older brothers, he could sing. I bought (and still have) his first two albums, and listened to them over & over again. I knew he had a problem with drugs, but I was still stunned when died in March 1988. He had just turned 30 years old. (He actually died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, but his heart had been weakened by years of cocaine abuse.)
Although he was one of the biggest stars of the day, there's never been a book about Andy Gibb -- until now. I don't remember where I first heard about "Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb" by Matthew Hild, but I eagerly downloaded a copy to my e-reader shortly after it became available recently. (The title of the book is also the title of the last song Andy ever recorded.) None of the Gibb family spoke with Hild for this book (Maurice died in 2003 and his twin brother Robin in 2012; Barry Gibb is the only surviving Bee Gee), but he drew on a wealth of existing family interviews, and also talked to many of Andy's friends and band members.
Andy shared his famous brothers' good looks and considerable talent (many felt that he had the best voice of all the brothers) and they did a lot to help launch and promote his career -- but he was emotionally fragile, highly insecure and full of self-doubt. He was also haunted by a brief teenaged marriage and bitter divorce just as his career was taking off, and only saw his only child (a daughter named Peta) once, when she was 2. His was a case of too much, too fast, too soon, and sadly, he quickly succumbed to the lure of drugs, cocaine in particular, as well as alcohol. He was also devastated by a tempestuous, well-publicized romance and break-up with actress Victoria Principal (then famous as Pam Ewing on "Dallas"). He started missing out on recording sessions, scheduled TV appearances and cancelling performances of the musicals he appeared in. By the early 1980s, his once-skyrocketing career had crashed, and never recovered. He declared bankruptcy in 1987, a few months before his death.
This is a detailed and well-researched portrait of Andy, his life and career, and does a competent job of telling his story. In some ways, the book suffers from the unavoidable fact that the story it tells is a very sad one: we know right from the start that it doesn't end well, and it's painful to watch someone so young and gifted self-destruct so spectacularly, knowing what ultimately happens. (On a pickier, editorial note, my e-book edition suffers from a lot of typos.)
On the plus side, the author does a good job of highlighting Andy's career achievements and personal appeal. Despite his flaws and obvious problems, it's clear that he was well loved by his fans, his family and the people who knew him, and the book helps us understand why, and why he is still so fondly remembered. (The epilogue makes the striking point that by 2020, he had been dead longer than he had been alive. He would be just 64 years old today.) For me, it brought back a lot of good memories from my youth -- of Andy, the Bee Gees, and other celebrities of the day, including the Osmonds (he & Marie were briefly a "thing") and fellow Aussie Olivia Newton-John, who (sadly) died as I was reading.
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
September 28, 2022
Tedious, poorly-written, incredibly repetitive and badly-edited book about the singer. The author gathered a bunch of magazine articles, TV interviews, and talked with a few people, but this seems pieced together and choppy. The timeline is often off, there are a few incorrect "facts," and Hild seems to have a need to tell us every exact concert date or band member. Who cares about the dozens of changes to the band that played backup for Andy Gibb?
Instead of this really telling a story it's more of a researcher's attempt to jam in all the details, many of which are unnecessary. The most annoying thing is that every time money is mentioned (and it's often) the writer puts in parentheses what today's equivalent would be. Like everything else in this book, there would have been better ways to summarize the information.
The biggest part of Gibbs' life is near the end, when he's bankrupt from his drug and alcohol addictions and getting sick but telling no one. It's kind of interesting to hear what some people say, but most are the same that have been said throughout the book over and over--Andy hated living in the shadow of his famous brothers, he wanted to be a Bee Gee, he never got over Victoria Principal, and he spent millions on cocaine. There--I just told you his life in a sentence.
Andy Gibb deserved a true storyteller to piece together a much more interesting biography.
Instead of this really telling a story it's more of a researcher's attempt to jam in all the details, many of which are unnecessary. The most annoying thing is that every time money is mentioned (and it's often) the writer puts in parentheses what today's equivalent would be. Like everything else in this book, there would have been better ways to summarize the information.
The biggest part of Gibbs' life is near the end, when he's bankrupt from his drug and alcohol addictions and getting sick but telling no one. It's kind of interesting to hear what some people say, but most are the same that have been said throughout the book over and over--Andy hated living in the shadow of his famous brothers, he wanted to be a Bee Gee, he never got over Victoria Principal, and he spent millions on cocaine. There--I just told you his life in a sentence.
Andy Gibb deserved a true storyteller to piece together a much more interesting biography.
July 14, 2022
The Gibb siblings were one of the most talented families in pop music. Much has been written about them, but not one of them ever wrote their own history, probably better given the family’s tenuous relationship with the truth. Matthew Hild took on the admirable task of writing this autobiography of Andy. Even though none of the Gibbs contributed directly, he spoke to many friends and associates and drew from past interviews and sources. Given Hild’s background in education, the book is extremely well sourced and not sensationalized. Andy’s music affected many despite his short life. He never understood his worth as an artist and was never fully able to overcome his demons. I imagine that anything Andy related is difficult for the family to consider, given that reading about Andy’s downfall and missteps (therapy and disclosing his medical history to the London doctors may have saved his life) is difficult for a bystander like myself. Hild shows that Andy’s legacy is definitely worth a second look—and I definitely enjoyed pulling up old clips of him on YouTube and reacquainting myself with his music. It is painful to think of a world that could have been with 62 year old Andy with us today, but Hild’s book is a meaningful attempt of protecting his legacy. Barry—please give us your autobiography next!
February 20, 2023
I grew up loving all of the Brothers Gibb because my mother constantly played their music and their musical collabs with other artists. So much could've been done with this biography, but it read like a police report mostly: dry, no verve, no insights into Andy's character, especially during his troubled latter years. How many times can you quote his friends saying what a nice guy he was? This took me too long to read because it was so dull. Do not really recommend.
February 6, 2023
Andy Gibb was my first celebrity crush and I was very excited to read this book.
However the author was very clinical almost in just relaying dates and data and quotes. He didn't, in my opinion, humanize Andy. He didn't create any warmth at all.
I was really disappointed with this book. I did learn some things about Andy but was overall really disappointed with the book.
However the author was very clinical almost in just relaying dates and data and quotes. He didn't, in my opinion, humanize Andy. He didn't create any warmth at all.
I was really disappointed with this book. I did learn some things about Andy but was overall really disappointed with the book.
September 29, 2022
Very sorry I read it. It was obvious the author wasn't a fan and took every opportunity to belittle the family and the subject.
July 24, 2022
This is a really well-made biography. Matthew Hild clearly cares about the life of Andy Gibb as shown through his extensive research and interviews with those close to Andy. This book had the opportunity to feel like a research project, but it fortunately felt more like a homage/preservation of Andy’s legacy. Andy’s story has so many ups and downs, but most importantly, his humanness is completely on display in this biography. That’s something we often forget about stars. When we do remember them as human, we see glimpses of ourselves in them, and we remember why we became fans of them in the first place.
October 1, 2022
I was excited to see this book on Amazon, because Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees were my favorites in the mid-late 70s. Andy died so young, and I never knew as much about him as I wanted to know. The author, Matthew Hild, thoroughly researched and interviewed many of Andy's friends, relatives, and c0-workers. This book opened my eyes to the incredible, yet tragic life of this young superstar. There were several times that I had to put this book down because it was so sad; yet I found myself re-reading some of those same passages. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Andy Gibb or the Bees Gees.
November 18, 2024
It's amazing how a publisher would release a slanderous and largely fiction account of someone's life without contacting any family and very few (if any) of the people written about.
I'm old enough to remember authors having some integrity when writing about others. It's one thing to break an inconvenient story - It's another to defame someone who can't object to falsehoods (or to at least attempt to contact those portrayed).
This account is largely false. I would recommend giving it a hard pass. It's gutter-level crud, no better than the National Enquirer or similar rags.
What a disappointment.
I'm old enough to remember authors having some integrity when writing about others. It's one thing to break an inconvenient story - It's another to defame someone who can't object to falsehoods (or to at least attempt to contact those portrayed).
This account is largely false. I would recommend giving it a hard pass. It's gutter-level crud, no better than the National Enquirer or similar rags.
What a disappointment.
March 4, 2024
I was always a fan of Andy Gibb's as well as his famous brothers who are the Bee Gees, this book really is quite sad and he never seemed to get over Victoria Principal along with his other troubles of alcohol as well as his huge cocaine habit but he did get clean but sadly the damage was already done I would recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of Andy Gibb and his fabulous music 🎵 🎶 he was a terrific singer who had many hits. Although it was sad when Andy died at the age of 30, this book is a very good read of Andy's short life.😍💙📚
October 22, 2022
Excellent!
I totally enjoyed the book. Of course being of his age I grew up on the Bee Gees music and did enjoy Andy's as well. I would recommend this book to those who felt that his death was brought on by the end if his relationship with Victoria Principal as it wasn't. Again, I truly enjoyed it from beginning, middle and to the end.
I totally enjoyed the book. Of course being of his age I grew up on the Bee Gees music and did enjoy Andy's as well. I would recommend this book to those who felt that his death was brought on by the end if his relationship with Victoria Principal as it wasn't. Again, I truly enjoyed it from beginning, middle and to the end.
November 15, 2023
A great & heartbreaking bio. Too much too soon is the best way to describe the story of Andy Gibb. He had it all, looks, talent, charm, famous brothers, and the world on a string. A cocaine problem, a torrid affair that went bad, bankruptcy, crippling self-doubt, and health problems took it all away.
August 6, 2022
An interesting, comprehensive look at his tragic life, though the author seemed to excuse and defend his behavior a little bit more than I thought necessary. Andy was indeed Peter Pan-so sad that such a gorgeous talented guy left the world so soon!
August 8, 2022
Shadow Dancing was the first 45 record I owned as a kid. It’s so sad that Andy died so young and seemed so sweet, yet so troubled. As a fan of his, and his brothers music, I’m glad I read this book!
August 21, 2022
The beginning of the book was interesting, but it got very repetitive. Yes…Andy was addicted to cocaine, he was a great guy, and he was devastated by the break up with Victoria Principal….this is all the last 5 chapters were about.
December 12, 2022
Loved this revealing bio of Andy, but still feel grief for a life taken from us much too soon. He was full of talent, but he couldn't deal with the reality of the showbiz world and was eaten alive by the sharks! He had a fascinating life through it all. He is missed.
January 28, 2026
A sympathetic and informative account of the tragedy (no pun intended) of Andy gibb’s early death from drug and other addictions.
Captures the essence of his huge success and the devastating effect it had on his mental health.
Unlikely to be on Victoria Principal’s good reads list!
Captures the essence of his huge success and the devastating effect it had on his mental health.
Unlikely to be on Victoria Principal’s good reads list!
October 31, 2022
DNF. It’s just too sad a tale.
December 28, 2024
i expected it more accurate, with more photograph. It seems to me that it was made it to be the least expensive. What a pity, Andy deserved more
March 31, 2025
For anyone that was a fan of Andy s, like me, this will bring back a lot of memories and includes more information right before his death. Really enjoyed.
May 29, 2025
Two more books done this week:
The Biography of Andy Gibb: Another very sad story of a life that ended too soon. I was so struck by just how many people reported that “Andy was the nicest…” and “he just wanted to be the 4th BeeGee.” The family dynamic was certainly interesting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Biography of Andy Gibb: Another very sad story of a life that ended too soon. I was so struck by just how many people reported that “Andy was the nicest…” and “he just wanted to be the 4th BeeGee.” The family dynamic was certainly interesting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 2, 2023
Excellent book about Andy Gibb! After I finished reading it, I was left thinking about what might've become of Andy had he given up his cocaine addiction altogether and not died so young. It's amazing how despite his problems in life, his records and TV shows outdid a lot of other performers during the 1970's and 1980's.
Personally, I think Andy was better than his brothers when it comes to being a solo artist. He had more hit songs than they [Barry and Robin] did and more attention had been paid to him on TV shows. The Bee Gees were really better together than they were apart.
Personally, I think Andy was better than his brothers when it comes to being a solo artist. He had more hit songs than they [Barry and Robin] did and more attention had been paid to him on TV shows. The Bee Gees were really better together than they were apart.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews