His family moved to Brisbane, Australia in the 1950s, settling in one of the city's poorest suburbs, Cribb Island, which was subsequently obliterated to make way for Brisbane Airport. He was one-third of the singing/songwriting trio that forms the backbone of the musical group, the Bee Gees.

Traditionally, Robin's role in the group has been one of singer, for which he vied constantly with his elder brother Barry Gibb during the group's first period of British success in the late 1960s. This eventually resulted in Robin leaving the group to begin a solo career. Meanwhile, there were rumours of drug problems, and his parents threatened to have him made a ward of court (the age of consent at that time being 21, and Robin only 19).

Although initially successful, with a number 2 hit, Saved by the Bell, his album, "Robin's Reign", was less successful, and he found that being a solo artist was less than satisfying. He returned to the group and mended the breach with his family. During the 1980s, he released three further solo albums ("How Old Are You", "Secret Agent", and "Walls Have Eyes") which were more successful in Continental Europe than in the UK or USA. However, his 1984 single "Boys Do Fall in Love" did reach the Billboard top 40

Robin's first wife, Molly, was a secretary in Robert Stigwood's organisation when they met. They had two children, Spencer and Melissa, but they eventually divorced after years of living separate lives, with Robin almost permanently in the USA and Molly remaining in the UK. Robin's second wife, Dwina Murphy, is an artist, and they have a son, Robin John.

In 1994, Robin Gibb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 1997 the Bee Gees were inducted as a group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Robin's next solo album, Magnet, was released in Germany on January 27, 2003 (Label: SPV), and worldwide shortly afterwards. It features the old Bee Gees classic Wish You Were Here in a new acoustic version - on that track he is joined by his brothers Barry and Maurice.

In August 2003, Robin announced that he would be releasing a new single of Lover's Prayer, a song first recorded by the Bee Gees in 1997, with vocals by Robin, Wanya Morris, and Lance Bass. This was played on radio, but was never actually released. In October 2003 another version was recorded as a duet with Alistair Griffin, runner-up in the UK television program Fame Academy, on which Robin had appeared as a judge.

Lover's Prayer, credited as "Alistair Griffin feat. Robin Gibb", was eventually released in the UK in January 2004 as a double A side single, together with Griffin's solo recording of Bring It On. It reached number 5 in the UK charts. The duet was also on Griffin's debut album Bring It On which charted at number 12.

In late 2004, Robin embarked on a solo tour of Germany, Russia and Asia. On his return he released a CD and DVD of live recordings from the German leg of the tour, backed by the Frankfurt Neue Philharmonic Orchestra. A further solo tour of Latin America followed in 2005.

In June 2005 he joined X Factor runners up G4 at a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, singing the Bee Gees song First of May . A recording of this performance was released in December 2005 as part of a double A side single, credited as "G4 feat Robin Gibb" together with G4's own cover of Johnny Mathis' When a Child is Born. This track was also included on the platinum selling album 'G4 & Friends' which reached number 6 in the UK album charts.

The Bee Gees catalogue is one of the most covered in the world. Their classic hits like "To Love Somebody," "Tragedy" and "Emotion" have been reborn as hits for current artists like Destiny's Child. In 2006, ex-Atomic Kitten singer Liz McClarnon reached number five on the U.K. singles chart with her cover of "Woman In Love," a number one hit Robin and his brother Barry wrote for Barbra Streisand in 1980.

Robin Gibb's entire song catalogue is published by BMG Music Publishing.