Colin Petersen, Bee Gees drummer, dead at 78
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(Credits: Alamy)
Colin Petersen, the original drummer of the celebrated pop group the Bee Gees, has died aged 78.
The Australian musician and actor, who was also known by the nickname ‘Smiley’, was a member of the band from 1966 to 1970, and featured on some of the band’s earliest hits such as ‘Massachusetts’, ‘I Started a Joke’ and ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’.
His band, The Best of the Bee Gees, posted a statement announcing his death on Facebook on November 18th, a tribute act to the group that Petersen had been a part of for many years at the start of their career.
The statement reads “It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Best of the Bee Gees Show announces the passing of our legend, Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen.”
Bandmate Evan Webster added, “Our lives were enriched the moment Colin joined our troupe. We shared years of laughs and music travelling around the country. He was such a fine gentleman and lived among us with grace and honour. He will be remembered forever.”
At this stage, Petersen’s cause of death has not been revealed.
Having joined the Bee Gees while the band was still in his native Australia, he moved to London with the brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin in 1966 to pursue their music careers together.
Petersen would then go on to appear on four albums with the group, from their debut international release, Bee Gees’ 1st, in 1967 to Cucumber Castle in 1970. By that time, he had left the group due to a dispute with then-manager Robert Stigwood.
Petersen was previously known as a child actor. He appeared in the 1956 film Smiley at the age of nine, taking his nickname from the titular role.
After departing the Bee Gees, Petersen would briefly go on to play in a short-lived band called Humpy Bong, who released two singles in 1970 before disbanding. He then briefly managed former Humpy Bong bandmate Jonathan Kelly, before stepping back from the music industry entirely to pursue being a painter back in Australia.
After a dispute over his entitlement to royalties from his time with the Bee Gees, Petersen’s contact with the band became limited and strained. The sole living Gibb brother, Barry, has not yet publicly commented on his former bandmate’s passing. Another former drummer with the Bee Gees, Dennis Bryon, also passed away just four days earlier, on November 14th.
Petersen is survived by his wife, Joanne, and his two sons, Jaime and Ben.
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