Colin Petersen (Photographer: John Elliott)
Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen passed away on Monday, November 18, 2024, leaving behind a legacy that bridged the worlds of music and film.
Known as the original drummer of the Bee Gees, Petersen played an integral role during the group, contributing to their global rise. His time with the group included performances on hits such as ‘Massachusetts’, ‘To Love Somebody’, and ‘Words’ and their early groundbreaking albums including Bee Gees’ 1st. Beyond this, he first captured the public’s imagination as a young actor, starring in the Australian film Smiley, which gave him his nickname.
In recent years, Petersen had found a new audience through his work with The Best of the Bee Gees tribute show, for which he did a career spanning interview with Jason Barnard of The Strange Brew Podcast in July 2022:
Colin on recording in The Bee Gees
As time went on we would arrive in the studio with no song and I would have that opportunity of just sitting with them suggesting different tempos and stuff like that. I think the fact that a lot of those tracks came from nothing gave the tracks a real spontaneity… We would work the songs up, the five of us as a team, and again I think that that’s why the songs sound so coordinated. We never recorded separately. The only separate thing was the orchestra coming in after we got all our overdubs done.
Oh my god, we spent some time in the studio I can’t tell you. Sometimes we would go in there for four hours, the Gibbs would come up with nothing and we’d just pack it in and go home. Then we’d try again another day and maybe the the creative juices were really running that night we might get down three backing tracks.
Colin on his approach to drumming
I was really quite imaginative with my playing, but there were a lot of lot of drummers at the time that were technically much more advanced than I was. Look, Chuck Berry only probably knew four chords, right? So sometimes when you’re limited you’ve got to be creative.. I think you can overdo the technique and you get to a stage where you can’t see the wood for the trees. I’ve always been a song guy with drumming.
He is survived by his ex-wife Joanne and their sons Jaime and Ben. He will be remembered for his warmth, wit, and unwavering passion for the arts.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Dni mojej młodości inspirowane były muzyką tej wyjątkowej grupy- bracia nie zawsze w życiu są tak zgodni jak dla mas brzmi Bee Gess.
I worked with Colin as part of his band ‘Humpy Bong’ in the early ‘seventies – alongside Jonathan Kelly; who Colin & Joanne managed. Was Colin ill? – I do send my sympathies and greetings to Joanne from across time. I left a message for him a couple of months back…
My deepest sympathy to his family. I sat beside him on a Flight from London to Sydney , late June or early July 1958. He was a lovely ,,chatty twelve year old. I was twenty two , returning home due to the sudden and unexpected death of my father.
So sorry to hear the news. Joanne, Jaime and Ben, you take care. I regret not getting back and saying hello- “do things when you think of them “ My dad would say. Right .so pleased Col found a good place. Wish I’d seen him
All best wishes
Tony D
My good buddy. I only knew Colin since he joined The Best of The Bee Gees show. We had a lovely jovial friendship and he was always fun and he always had lovely stories to share. It has been an honour working with him. He will be sadly missed. Ros L