Two former Bee Gees drummers – original drummer Colin “Smiley” Petersen and Dennis Bryon, who played in the band’s disco heyday – have died just days after each other in the past week. This was reported by the news server The New York Times, citing information from former teammates on social networks.
Dennis Bryon, drummer for the Bee Gees since 1973, died on November 14 at the age of 76. His death was reported on Facebook by Blue Weaver, who played with Bryon in the band Amen Corner; he did not state the cause of death.
Colin “Smiley” Petersen, the band’s first professional drummer, died Nov. 18 at the age of 78 following a fall, Evan Webster and Sue Camilleri, who played with him on The Best of The Bee Gees Show, announced. Petersen, who joined the Bee Gees in 1967, played on the group’s first four albums. He started performing on The Best of The Bee Gees Show five years ago, Webster said.
Petersen starred in a string of hits from 1967 to 1970 including Massachusetts, To Love Somebody, I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You, I Started a Joke and Words. He was also a child actor known, among other things, for his role in the 1956 film Smiley, from which his nickname was derived.
In an interview with The Strange Brew podcast in 2022, Petersen stated that the band always created songs together in the studio. “I think the fact that a lot of the songs came out of nowhere gave them a real spontaneity,” he said. “We came up with the songs as a five-person team, and I think that’s why they fit so well. We never recorded them separately,” he explained.
Bryon, who was born in Cardiff, Wales, was a member of the Bee Gees during many of their biggest hits in the 1970s, including Stayin’ Alive, How Deep is Your Love, You Should Be Dancing, More Than a Woman and the rest of the film’s soundtrack Saturday Night Fever. He started playing the drums at the age of fourteen. He recently played with the Italian Bee Gees tribute band, formed by three Italian brothers.
According to Billboard, the Bee Gees sold 220 million records during their career. It was founded in Australia in the late 1950s by brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb; only Barry Gibb is still alive. Maurice died in 2003 and Robin nine years later.
Source: www.tyden.cz
