In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Colin Petersen, the original drummer of the Bee Gees. Growing up in Kingaroy, Queensland, Colin had his first bit of fame at the age of ten when he was in the 1956 movie Smiley. This movie was followed by two more: The Scamp in 1957 and A Cry from the Streets in 1958. By the end of his career in the movies, Colin was 12 and Rock and Roll was becoming popular with the likes of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis inspiring Colin greatly. He started playing drums while at the Humpybong State School, and it is here where he first met the Gibb brothers. He would join the Bee Gees as their drummer in 1966 and would go on to be featured on Bee Gees albums Bee Gees 1st, Horizontal, Idea, Odessa and Cucumber Castle. Colin's drumming can be heard on famous Bee Gees tracks such as "New York Mining Disaster 1941", "To Love Somebody", "Massachusetts" and "I Started a Joke". He left the group in 1969. Today Colin is involved with The Best of The Bee Gees, one of the world's leading Bee Gees tribute bands.
Jack called Colin to discuss his early musical beginnings, how the music of the likes of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis impacted him, his career in the 1950s as a child actor, how he got into playing the drums, how he became a member of the Bee Gees in 1966, the writing of "New York Mining Disaster", the musical direction of the group's first album Bee Gees 1st, how the Beatles inspired the group, the writing of "Massachusetts", the group's playing on the Ed Sullivan show, his work on the Bee Gees album Idea, and his work today with The Best of The Bee Gees.
“We were in New York, we were about to fly out to LA at the brake of dawn but Morris (Gibb) wants to go out and party before we leave New York and Vince is up for it and so am I and Dick Ashley our roadie, but Robin and Barry say 'Oh we got this idea for a song and it think we'll stay home, you guys go out and have a good time' So we all arrived back at like two in the morning something like that and Robin and Barry are still up....and they sung us this song." - Colin Petersen on this episode of Vinyl Vibes talking about the writing of Bee Gees hit Massachusetts
Episode Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins