Colin Gibb (né Routh; 8 December 1953 – 2 June 2024) was a British musician, best known as an original member of Black Lace, who were famous for their novelty party records, including their biggest hit, "Agadoo".

Life and career

Gibb was born as Colin Routh on 8 December 1953. Gibb joined Black Lace in 1976 after the departure of Ian Howarth, and represented the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they finished seventh with the song "Mary Ann". Over the years, Gibb toured internationally with Black Lace, playing shows throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Canada and the US. In 1980, Gibb supported Suzi Quatro and worked with Tommy Seebach, a Danish entertainer. Black Lace and Seebach recorded "Hey Hey Jock McRay" for the Danish singles market, but an intended 1980 tour of Poland was called off because of political unrest in the country. Gibb's biggest success with Black Lace was in 1984 with the single "Agadoo", selling over one million copies worldwide, and reaching No. 2 in the UK chart. "Agadoo" was also a hit in Europe, South Africa and Australia. Having been presented with a gold disc for sales in the UK, radio interview presenter Richard Whiteley forgot Gibb's name and referred to him as 'Mr Agadoo' (the name Dene Michael later adopted for himself, despite having no connection to the record). The duo recorded their first album, Black Lace, at Stuck Ranch studios in Denmark. Around this time, their record distribution company Pinnacle went into receivership, leading to Black Lace and their record company losing an estimated quarter of a million pounds in unpaid royalties for "Agadoo". 15 August 1997 was dubbed Agadoo Day, which saw Gibb and his Black Lace members play 20 shows in 24 hours in Manchester, London, Watford, Northampton, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield and Leeds, finishing at the Frontier Club, Batley. The event raised over £25,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Peugeot used "Agadoo" in a TV advertisement for the new 106 car, and Black Lace re-recorded the track, renaming it "Agadoo 106 mix", donating all their royalties to Marie Curie Cancer Care. The record spent a week in the UK chart. In 2002 Yorkshire TV filmed and aired Agadoo The Search for a New Black Lace, a talent show searching for a new line-up for Black Lace. The judges included Gibb and Black lace's manager John Wagstaff. The new Black Lace released "Celebration," a remix of Kool and the Gang's original, before disbanding a short time later. In 2002, Gibb took the original Black Lace show to Tenerife, playing the now internationally famous 'party shows' in hotels and restaurants on the island, occasionally visiting the UK for TV appearances. In 2003, an adult-themed album called Blue (originally recorded in the UK years previously by Gibb and Dene Michael, and 'banned' by their own record label) was released. In 2004, Gibb took the Black Lace show to mainland Spain to appear alongside Elvis Presley tribute artiste Mike Young and other guest acts at The King Lives On cabaret bar on the Costa Blanca, returning to Tenerife for contracted shows in 2005. In 2007, Gibb married in the UK his long-time girlfriend Sue Kelly. The following year, Gibb was invited to play bass with the Tenerife-based five-piece rock band The Phoenix, along with the duos To The Limit and Just One More. He latterly played in the blues rock band Traveler, in addition to performing the Black Lace Show. In 2015, Gibb released "Agadoo (Space Mix)" an updated remix of the "Agadoo 106 mix". In 2015, Gibb, celebrated 40 years since Black Lace were formed, teamed up with guitarist and vocalist Gordon King for live shows, keeping the style and tradition of the original format: loud guitars, even louder shirts, cheesy dance routines, and 'tongue in cheek', sometimes 'risqué' comedy. In 2019, Gibb and King became associated with UK dressage team The Agadoo Girls, consisting of seven members, with Gibb's cousin Debbie Cox as team captain. They came top at their debut Team Quest competition at Richmond Equestrian Centre in June that year.

Retirement and death

On 13 May 2024, Gibb announced his retirement on Facebook, stating that his final performance would be in Costa Adeje, Tenerife, on 16 May. He died on 2 June at the age of 70.

Discography with Black Lace

Albums

1984: Black Lace 1984: Party Party – 16 Great Party Icebreakers (UK No. 4) 1985: Party Party 2 (UK No. 18) 1986: Party Crazy (UK No. 58) 1987: 16 Greatest Party Hits 1989: 20 All Time Party Favourites 1993: Action Party 1995: Saturday Night 1997: Greatest Hits 1998: What a Party 2000: Black Lace's Greatest Ever Party Album 2006: Black Lace: Greatest Hits 2010: The Blue Album – Banned in the UK [world-wide distribution] 2013: The Blue Album – Banned in the UK – 're-release' [world-wide distribution] 2014: Black Lace 'Live Beach Party' (limited edition) 2023: The Party Album (24 All Time Party Favourites)

Singles

References

External links

Official Black Lace website Colin Gibb – Black Lace N.O.W. Music Co (Black Lace) webpage Colin Gibb at IMDb Colin Gibb discography at Discogs as Colin Routh

Dieser Artikel basiert auf dem Artikel Gibb, Colin aus der freien Enzyklopädie Wikipedia und steht unter der GNU-Lizenz für freie Dokumentation. In der Wikipedia ist eine Liste der Autoren verfügbar.