Colin Petersen

Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946, Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia) is a former child actor and rock drummer. He played as a member of the Bee Gees on their first five albums.

Biography

Petersen began his acting career at the age of seven. He starred in the film Smiley (1956), with Ralph Richardson, but by the time he was ten he was forced to cease acting as his mother felt it was interfering with his education. Other film credits included The Scamp (1957), A Cry from the Streets (1958) and, much later, Barney (1976). He attended the Humpybong State School at the same time that Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb did (they went to Scarborough State School first, and then later went to Humpybong). Petersen was in Barry's class, though they seldom crossed paths in any significant way. While at school he developed an interest in music, starting out on piano but switching to drums. After leaving school he played with several bands including Steve and the Board, and became acquainted with Maurice Gibb, who invited him to sit in on one of the trio's sessions in Sydney. He ended up becoming friends with the family and ultimately played on as many as a dozen of the Bee Gees' early Australian sides.

Petersen moved to England in 1966, little knowing that the Bee Gees would soon be doing the same. They recruited him as their permanent drummer shortly afterwards – the first non-Gibb brother to become an official member of the Bee Gees. He played on the albums Bee Gees' 1st, Horizontal, Idea, Odessa, and Cucumber Castle. He was an equal partner in the group from early in their period in the UK, and the Gibb brothers regarded him and his playing as essential to their sound. He and fellow band member Vince Melouney hit an unexpected bump in their respective career roads when suddenly, in the late summer of 1967, they were threatened with deportation because of an error in the way they had each secured their respective visas. That problem was solved only by the intervention of the group's manager, Robert Stigwood, who mounted a publicity campaign that embarrassed the government into permitting them to remain in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

In 1969 Petersen and his wife Joanne began a management company – Joanne had worked as a personal assistant to Brian Epstein up until his death, and then for Robert Stigwood. As Petersen learned about the music industry, he raised questions about Stigwood's conflict of interest as the Bee Gees' manager, since Stigwood owned their recordings and publishing and was in effect their employer. According to Petersen this led to his being fired in August 1969, while the group were making a television film of Cucumber Castle.^{[citation needed]} Petersen had already recorded the songs used in the film, which make up part of the album, but he is not credited on the sleeve.^[1]

Vince Melouney and Robin Gibb had already left the band by then, leaving just Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Colin Petersen. He was fired, allegedly for having lost interest in the group and missing recording sessions, and for his refusal to do any acting in the film, despite his being the one with experience in front of the cameras.^{[citation needed]}

As a partner in the group, however, he could not be summarily fired as though he were an employee. The result was a series of lawsuits in which, at one point – as a ploy to get a quicker settlement from Stigwood – he attempted to block the Bee Gees from using that name, since it was jointly owned by the partners, and he alleged that he had been illegally deprived of his share in the partnership. Petersen remained on good terms with the brothers, especially Robin Gibb, after his initial exit.^[2]

The first musician he worked with after leaving the Bee Gees was Jonathan Kelly. Petersen produced some of his early solo singles, and in 1970 the two decided to form a band together. It was called, Humpy Bong, a two-word variation of the name of the school that Petersen and the Gibb brothers attended in Australia. As they needed additional musicians, they placed an advertisement. Tim Staffell answered and he got the job as singer and harmonica player. The trio recorded their debut single and appeared on BBC Television's Top Of The Pops. Before the end of 1970 the group broke up without having played any concerts.^[3]

Petersen managed Jonathan Kelly as a solo artist during the early 1970s, subsequent to Humpy Bong disbanding. He returned to Australia in 1974 where, having lost his rights to royalties after his court case against the Bee Gees, eventually became a painter residing in Sydney. He remained close to Melouney, but became bitter towards his other ex-bandmates about his lost royalties.^[4]

Albums with Bee Gees

• Bee Gees' 1st 1967
• Horizontal 1968
• Idea 1968
• Odessa 1969
• Cucumber Castle 1970 – on some tracks (uncredited)

References

1. ^ Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Mon Hughes, The Ultimate Biography of the Bee Gees, Omnibus Press, 2000, p. 243-246 (based on an interview in 1999)
2. ^ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide Answers.com
3. ^ http://www.starclustermusic.de/artists/beegees/peterson/bio/peterson1.htm Colin Petersen at StarClusterMusic
4. ^ Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Mon Hughes, The Ultimate Biography of the Bee Gees, Omnibus Press, 2000

External links

• Colin Petersen at the Internet Movie Database

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Name	Petersen, Colin
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Date of birth	24 March 1946
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