40 years ago, on September 17, 1984, Barry Gibb released his second solo album in his career. His first solo album, "The Kid's No Good" was recorded in 1970, but never released. 'Now Voyager' is his first released solo project. The album was released on Polydor Records in the UK, and on the MCA label in the US . The tracks were written and recorded in 1983 and in early 1984.
The first single "Shine, Shine" was released in August, 1984 with an accompanying video that was played on VH1. The single peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, and peaked at #95 on the UK charts. To stir up more interest in the single, MCA later released a 12" extended version of the single which was originally only released in the UK but eventually released in the US. It didn't help.
The second single off the album was the disco single 'Fine Line', with background vocals by Roger Daltrey, Olivia Newton-John and Harry Casey (of KC and the Sunshine Band). It also included a 'rap section' by Gibb. The single was released in October, 1984 along with a 12" single in both the US and UK. A video was also released, and became part of Gibb's movie 'Now Voyager' (which included all 12 songs from the album). The single did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 nor the UK Pop Chart, but did peak at #50 on the Billboard Dance / Disco Chart.
A third single, "Face to Face" was a duet with Olivia Newton-John and released in December, 1984. (It was originally released as a promo single when the album was released in September.) It failed to chart in the UK and in the US. ONJ decided not to include it on her new studio album (1985's 'Soul Kiss') and it was only released on an ONJ album in 2021 when the 'deluxe' version of 1981's "Physical" was released. (Many critics pointed out that it wasn't really a duet, but more of an ONJ single with Gibb contributing background vocals).
Overall, Gibb's "Now Voyager" was a flop. Though he had success producing major hit album over the past four years for Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick and Kenny Rogers, he didn't seem to have the same luck producing his own. "Now Voyager" peaked at #72 during its debut week on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart, then dropped to #88 the following week. In the third week it dropped to #119, and in its final week on the Hot 200, it dropped to #149.
Gibb followed "Now Voyager" by producing Diana Ross' "Eaten Alive" album in 1985. That RCA album also flopped in the US, though it was a hit in the UK. In 1986, Gibb produced and recorded what would be his third solo album, "Moonlight Madness" but it was never released. It seemed the Barry Gibb magic came to an end.