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Tributes for the late Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb have been flooding in since the news of his passing broke at 11:30pm on Sunday (21st May).
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, fellow musician Sir Cliff Richard, and actor John Travolta are among those to have offered their respects to Gibb, who died at the age of 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Blair said: "Robin was not only an exceptional and extraordinary musician and songwriter, he was a highly intelligent, interested and committed human being.
"He was a great friend with a wonderful open and fertile mind and a student of history and politics. I will miss him very much. My thoughts and prayers are with Dwina and all the family."
Gibb, who formed the Bee Gees with brothers Barry and Maurice in 1958, began his career performing in Manchester's theatres. He and his siblings are perhaps best known for disco classics such as 'Staying Alive' and 'Night Fever', though their body of work spanned multiple genres.
Richard hailed Gibb's musical influence, describing his achievements in the field as "stunningly good" and "on a par with The Beatles".
He said: "We are a fraternity of people who sing pop and rock and Robin is another one of us who's gone too soon, too early. So the legacy will be what the Bee Gees did, which was stunning, stunningly good stuff - right on a par with the Beatles."
Travolta, who starred in Saturday Night Fever, which featured songs by the Bee Gees on its soundtrack, said: "I thought Robin was one of the most wonderful people - gifted, generous and a real friend to everyone he knew. And we'll miss him."
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini also praised Gibb's contributions to the music industry, describing the Bee Gees accomplishments as "monumental".
"Everyone should be aware that the Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music," he said.
"Their accomplishments have been monumental. Not only have they written their own number one hits, but they wrote huge hit records for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Celine Dion, Destiny's Child, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, the list goes on and on.
"What must also be said is Robin had one of the best white soul voices ever. He was singing lead on his first number one when he was 17, that was Massachusetts."
Gibb has been battling ill health for sometime before being diagnosed with cancer of the liver and colon in 2011. He was undergoing treatment for the illness, but fell into a coma last month after contracting pneumonia.
He awoke around four weeks ago and appeared to be making progress, but died over the weekend.
Gibb is survived by brother Barry, wife Dwina, daughters Melissa and Snow Robin and sons Spencer and Robin-John.
