Colin “Smiley” Petersen, former drummer of the Bee Gees, has died at the age of 78, reports the music magazine “Billboard”. The musician contributed to the creation of four albums and several early hits of the famous group.
Information about the death of Colin “Smiley” Petersen, the first drummer of the Bee Gees, appeared on Monday on the Facebook profile of his last band, Best of the Bee Gees. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our dear friend Colin 'Smiley' Petersen. He enriched our lives and bonded our group with love, care and respect. We don't know how we will live without his radiant smile and deep friendship. We love you, Col. Rest in peace peace,” we read. The team did not reveal the cause of the 78-year-old's death.
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Colin Petersen. He played on Bee Gees hits
Originally from Australia, Petersen joined the Bee Gees in 1966. He contributed to the band's four albums and several hits, including “Massachusetts”, “To Love Somebody” and “Words”. His last album with the Bee Gees was 1970's Cucumber Castle. After leaving the group following disagreements with its manager Robert Stigwood, Petersen formed the band Humpy Bong with singer-songwriter Jonathan Kelly and Tim Staffell. After a short period of existence of the group, Humpy Bong disbanded, and Petersen founded an investment company in 1969 with his wife, Joanne Newfield. The couple had two sons, Jaime and Ben. – I was really very creative in my playing, but there were a lot of drummers at the time who were technically much more advanced than me. But isn't it true that Chuck Berry (the legendary American singer and guitarist – ed.) knew only four chords? So sometimes when you're limited, you have to be creative,” “Smiley” said in 2022 on “The Strange Brew Podcast.”
Main photo source: Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images