'Smiley' actor and original Bee Gees drummer visits Ballarat

A child with dirty knees and bare feet gets picked outside an audition to play 'Smiley' - the central character in one of the biggest Aussie movies of the 1950s.

It is screened all over the world and inspires people to migrate to Australia - including the Gibb family of Manchester in 1958.

Fast-forward a few years and Colin Petersen meets Maurice Gibb at a gig.

They become mates and Petersen is asked to join their fledgling family band - the Bee Gees.

The rest is history.

Now Petersen is on his way to the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts for "The Best of the Bee Gees' - a tribute show sprinkled with anecdotes about his incredible life and the evolution of one of the biggest international groups of the 1970s.

"It's wonderful that these incredible songs live on through this great show," he said.

"I'm thrilled to add another dimension by sharing my memories of my time contributing to this massive catalogue."

Saturday night's show will feature hits from Saturday Night Fever - as well as songs from Petersen's time with the group (1967-69).

They include the hits Massachusetts, To Love Somebody, I've Got to get a Message to You and New York Mining Disaster 1941.

Petersen was 10 when he scored the lead role in Smiley - working alongside Chips Rafferty (Wake in Fright, Eureka Stockade) as a policeman and Sir Ralph Richardson (Doctor Zhivago, The Heiress) as a the local priest. The comedy also featured a young Leonard Teale and Bud Tingwell.

Petersen also appeared in the British films The Scamp (1957) with Sir Richard Attenborough and A Cry from the Streets (1958) with Max Bygraves.

On Saturday, Petersen will also discuss the music industry with students from Ballarat Grammar.

The show starts at 7.30pm at the Howitt Street venue.

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