The 62-year-old singer - who rose to fame in the Bee Gees - has awoken from a coma he slipped into last week after he was diagnosed with pneumonia, and his son Robin-John Gibb has confirmed he was given very little chance of survival.

He told ITV News: "They said they'd thrown the kitchen sink at him, that it was time to make plans because he was in God's hands and such. But he beat the odds again."

His wife Dwina, who was recently seen crying as she left the London hospital he was being treated in, said Robin was back on good form.

She added: "He is laughing, he is joking. He is really happy."

Dr Andrew Thillainayagam of Imperial College London said everyone was surprised at how Robin had overcome "incredible odds" to wake up from the coma.

He said: "The prognosis was very grave. We felt it was very likely Robin would succumb to what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles.

"It is testament to Robin's extraordinary courage, iron will and deep reserves of physical strength that he has overcome quite incredible odds.

"Robin is fully conscious, lucid and able to speak to his loved ones. He is breathing on his own.

"He is on intravenous feeding and antibiotics. He is of course, exhausted, extremely weak and malnourished."