Colin Petersen - Personal Life

Personal Life

Frederick Colin Petersen was required to register for National Service and was called-up on 11 March 1966, but fate was to step in when he was found medically unfit to serve in the army.

Petersen described the contrasting dispositions of the Gibb brothers as follows:

"They have totally different personalities, Robin is a very temperamental and very highly strung person. His music is his whole life and he is highly sensitive to criticism. Barry is a very-easy going and receptive type. He adapts himself to the situations he finds himself in at the time. He is very interested in the potential acting possibilties of the group. I think he would like to be a film star more than a singer. Maurice is closer to my attitudes and ideas. He has the same kind of humour as I have. We have other common interests like playing chess. He's the kind of guy who will come over and give you a hand washing the car. As brothers, they really have very little in common, except the feeling that they are living for the day".

On 1 June 1968 Petersen married Joanne Newfield in a ceremony in Nassau, Bahamas, with fellow Bee Gees member Vince Melouney as the best man. Joanne had worked as a personal assistant to Brian Epstein up until his death, and then for Robert Stigwood. After the couple's wedding Petersen and Newfield jetted off for a honeymoon in Majorca, which was spoiled somewhat when Joanne fell ill with German measles. In 1969, Petersen and his wife began a management company.

The Bee Gees' manager Robert Stigwood said about Petersen:

"Colin is a very level-headed person, despite being a racing car enthusiast. He's a very sophisticated person. He has a good appreciation of good food and wines. He's 100 per cent professional in everything he does and he's an old professional like the Gibbs because he's been in entertainment as a child as they were, too"