Yahoo Lifestyle Bee Gees Drummer Colin 'Smiley' Petersen Dead at 78
Colin “Smiley” Petersen, who rose to international fame as the original drummer of the Bee Gees, has died at the age of 78.
The Australian musician played a pivotal role in the early days of the pop and disco band, joining the group in 1967 and staying with them until 1969.
Petersen, who earned his nickname “Smiley” as a child actor in a movie by the same name, was born in Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia in 1946.
He attended school with Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb in Australia, though he did not collaborate with the founding members of the Bee Gees until after he moved to England to pursue a musical career.
He helped the band reach commercial success with songs like “New York Mining Disaster” and “To Love Somebody.”
In a 2021 interview with ABC Australia, he said, “even then, if someone had said all these years on, those songs are going to be remembered I would have said they were joking.”
He also reflected on his time with the band in London, stating that he never carried money around. “It was a little bit like the Queen. I could go out in London, go into any top restaurant, have a meal and at the end of it, I'd just give them the office phone number and tell them to send the bill to NEMS, Brian Epstein's company. Then I'd see a jacket somewhere and walk in and say, 'send the bill to NEMS.' That's just the way we lived. It was extraordinary,” he shared.
NEMS managed both the Bee Gees and The Beatles, among others.
Petersen left the group in 1969, working as a musician and producer before eventually returning to Australia in 1974 and becoming a painter.
He is survived by his ex-wife Joanne and their two children, Jaime and Ben, reports The Daily Mail.
