Original Bee Gees drummer Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen thrilled to return to Bunbury with renowned tribute band

Bunbury-based Bee Gees fans are set to be hit with Saturday Night Fever as a world-renowned tribute band gears up to return to the South West. The Best of the Bee Gees Show is set to bring their massive catalogue of Bee Gees mega-hits to the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on Saturday, September 2, to celebrate their silver anniversary. The tribute band, who have brought global audiences hustling to their feet for 25 years, will be joined by original Bee Gees drummer Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen, who will share stories from his time as the first official non-Gibb brother to become a band member. During his three-year stint with the Bee Gees between 1967 and 1969, Petersen helped drive the evolution of the super group on stage and in the studio over several albums: Bee Gees’ 1st, Horizontal, Idea, Odessa and Cucumber Castle. Speaking to the South Western Times, Petersen said he joined the tribute band after receiving a call “out of the blue” from manager Greg Shaw. “He said ‘I’m managing this big tribute band and would you be interested in getting involved’ and at first I was thinking, I don’t really want to do this,” he said. “Once you’ve been in the real thing, I don’t want to sound elitist here, but you think, if it’s ordinary, I’d really rather leave it, you know. “But he insisted that I see the band and I flew up with him. “It sort of hit me about a third song and I’m thinking ‘you can’t get much closer than this’. “They’re such a good band and they’re so committed and the audiences hold the songs dear to them. “It’s an absolute pleasure to be involved with it.” During his time touring with The Best of the Bee Gees, Petersen said he had noticed a lot more people, particularly younger generations, had been developing an appreciation for the Bee Gees’ music, which he found “heartwarming”. “Great songs live on, no matter what style they are,” he said. “I think teenagers today are more generally open to listening to all types of music, like when I was like 14, 15, something like that, I would listen to the top 20 records over and over, whatever was coming on the radio. “But now with the internet, there’s immediate access for music and, you know, they’re more eclectic.” At 77 years of age, Petersen said he’s quite proud of his age and still enjoys performing on stage as well as touring and meeting new people everywhere he goes. “As long as I can walk comfortably on to that stage, I’ll be doing it,” he said. “I feel so comfortable on the stage, it’s like coming forward in a way. “I was very, very nervous at first but now I really look forward to it. “And we get on really well well, which you have to to spend a lot of time together. And I enjoy the travelling as well, which is a bonus. And getting to see the world is just unreal. “I’d been there with the band some years ago but it’s such an eye-opener for me to be able to see different parts of Australia and that’s a bonus as well because I love travelling and meeting different people. “I’m a happy little Vegemite.” Global chanteuse Roslyn Loxton also shares the stage to perform classics especially written by the Bee Gees for female artists Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand. Tickets are available on the BREC website.