Looking back at when Andy Gibb topped the charts with ‘Shadow Dancing’

Being the youngest brother of the members of super group The Bee Gees couldn’t have been easy. However, it was on this day in 1978 Andy Gibb came into his own with the release of his second studio album and it’s number one single of the same name Shadow Dancing.

Shadow Dancing is a slow disco track that you can’t help but tap your toes and smile. The song produced under the direction of uber-talent Albhy Galuten. Albhy was the producer behind most of the Bee Gees number one hits. He also produced the hits Grease for Frankie Valli, Woman in Love for Barbra Streisand, and the mega hit Islands in the Stream for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Normally Andy’s brothers would be in the studio with him helping him mix the album, as they wrote all the songs with them. Though this time they had the best excuse to miss these sessions as they were away filming Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their absence resulted in an album that, while it was his second, was the first one that felt 100 percent, Andy.

The song was number one all around the world became a platinum record cementing Andy Gibb as a disco giant. This song and its album were the peaks of Andy’s career as it tragically started in a downward in the early 80s. Substance abuse resulted in him from being fired from the Solid Gold television program and the stage production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Tragically, Andy passed away in 1988 at the age of 30, but his music lives on as well as his electric performances that left the audiences screaming for more. A teen idol that became a disco megastar is one of the reasons that Shadow Dancing will forever be in our playlists.

Do you remember the first time that you heard Andy Gibb? Who was your favourite Gibb sibling (might hard to choose as they are all so talented)?