Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen dead: Bee Gees star dies aged 78 after playing key role in band’s early success

COLIN 'Smiley' Petersen has died aged 78.

Petersen was the original drummer of the Bee Gees and contributed to the groups rise to stardom.

He performed on hits such as Massachusetts, To Love Somebody and Wordsand.

His time with the group included the groundbreaking album Bee Gees' 1st.

The Best of Bee Gees announced: "It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our dear friend Colin 'Smiley' Petersen.

"He enriched our lives and bound our group with love, care and respect.

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"Not sure how we can go on without his glowing smile and deep friendship. We love you Col. Rest in Peace."

Petersen began his career as a young actor starring in the Australian film Smiley, which gave him his nickname.

In a 2022 interview with Jason Barnard on The Strange Brew Podcast he explained the band's creative process.

He said: "We'd often go into the studio without a song, which gave me the chance to experiment with tempos and rhythms.

"Those tracks had a real spontaneity because we worked on them as a group.

"We never recorded our parts separately. It was all done together with the orchestra coming in later."

Describing his approach to drumming, Colin said: "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."

In recent years, Petersen worked with The Best of the Bee Gees tribute show.

He is survived by his ex-wife Joanne and their sons Jaime and Ben.