Parra News January 20 2024

ENTERTAINMENT
MOVIES, TELEVISION, MUSIC AND MORE – PARRAMATTA’S LEADING ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
KEEPING
THE SPIRIT
OF THE BEE
GEES ALIVE
CASSIDY PEARCE
The Bee Gees are undeniably one
of Australia’s greatest adopted exports,
producing hits like ‘Stayin’
Alive’ and ‘More Than a Woman’.
Now, a tribute band supported by
the trio’s sister Lesley Evans and niece Deborah
McLane is making its way to Penrith, along
with a very special guest.
The Best of The Bee Gees has been around
for 26 years, bringing the band’s best work to
the stage once more, but it wasn’t until a few
years later that Colin Petersen got involved.
Petersen was the band’s original drummer,
playing on several of their early albums. It’s
because of this that after being connected
with The Best of The Bee Gees through their
manager, he admits he was hesitant to get involved.
“I was humming and harring about it, because
when you’ve been part of the real deal,
you certainly don’t want to be a part of something
that’s mediocre,” he said.
But, after seeing them play in Townsville, Petersen
said he couldn’t deny their talent, and
immediately wanted to join.
“I heard bits and pieces of the rehearsal,
and then when the show began, by about the
third song I’m thinking to myself, ‘Bloody hell,
these guys are really great’,” he said.
“I didn’t hesitate, I said whatever part I could
play, that would be terrific.”
Petersen said that originally, the idea was
for him to just provide anecdotes about what
it was like to be in the band, relaying stories
throughout. But, eventually, the band’s hassling
to get him to play again paid off, seeing
Petersen sit behind a drum kit for the first time
in 40 years.
However, he said it was no easy journey.
“I played along to CD’s – they’re great to
practice with because if you make a mistake,
you can just go back to the beginning again,”
he said.
“I didn’t even unpack the crash cymbals or
the ride cymbal sometimes, I just unpacked
the high hat, the snare and bass drum, and I
just thought to myself, ‘That’s the basics, and
if you can’t feel comfortable just playing that,
there’s no point going on’.”
Petersen played for an hour to non-Bee Gees
songs before his ‘mind was exploding’, stating
it took him just about a month of daily practice
before he felt comfortable playing with
the band.
“That was a lovely experience, because it
had been so long, and now I’m feeling fairly
relaxed and I really enjoy it,” he said.
Petersen said that over the course of his time
with The Best of The Bee Gees, they’ve reshuffled
the set regularly to give repeat audience
members some variety. This means hearing
new stories from the drummer – some even
from after his time with the band.
“I focus my little anecdotes to the time I was
with the band, because it’s genuine recollections,
but with the new show I think I might
make some little comments on a few things
that they did later on in their career,” he said.
Petersen said he can’t wait to pay western
Sydney another visit.
“We haven’t had a gig for a little while here,
so it’s always really special after a break to get
back up on stage and connect with an audience,
because that’s what it’s all about really
– that face to face connection. You can’t replace
that with electronics and the Internet!”
he said.
The Best of The Bee Gees and special guests
Colin ‘Smiley’ Petersen and Roslyn Loxton
will be on at The Joan on Friday, February 2
at 8pm. Tickets: $79. Visit thejoan.com.au.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2024 « parra news 19