During the 1960's and early 1970's, several artists that got their start in Australia, went on to enjoy successful international careers. In this episode of the series “From Down
Under”, I’ll feature the folk pop group The Seekers, the first native Australian pop group
that went on to achieve success in the United Kingdom and the United States as well as
Australia. This is the story of the Seekers and their rise to international fame on Rock
and Roll Flashback.
The Seekers were formed in Melbourne Australia in 1962, by Athol Guy on double bass,
Keith Potger on twelve string guitar and Bruce Woodly on guitar. During the late 1950s,
Potger led a rock ‘n’roll group called the Trinamics and Guy had a group called the
Ramblers. Guy, Potger and Woodley eventually decided to form a doo-wop group called
the Escorts, which featured Ken Ray as the lead singer. By 1962 the group’s named was
changed to The Seekers. Ray soon left the group to get married, and was replaced with
traditional Jazz singer Judith Durham. Prior to joining The Seekers, Athol and Judith
knew each other from working in an advertising agency. Judith occasionally sang with
The Seekers when she was not performing in Jazz clubs.
Since Judith had previously recorded for W&G Records with a group called the Jazz
Preachers, that earlier connection with W&G Records enabled The Seekers to sign a
recording contract with the record label. The debut album titled Introducing the Seekers was released in 1963. Their first single released in mid 1963 was “Kumbaya”, an AfricanAmerican spiritual song, followed by “Waltzing Matilda” which was an 1894 Australian bush ballad. “Waltzing Matilda” made it into the Melbourne top 40 singles chart and peaked at 74 on Australia’s national chart in November.
As a result of their top 40 achievement, The Seekers were then offered a 12 month
opportunity to perform on a cruise ship in March 1964. Two months later, they traveled
to England with the intention of returning to Australia after ten weeks. While in London, they were offered employment by the booking agency Grade Organisation. After signing with World Record Club, the single “Myra” was issued. The Seekers then became regular performers on the British Television show “Call in on Carroll”.
After appearing in a performance along with headliner Dusty Springfield, they met
Dusty’s brother Tom who was a producer and songwriter. He wrote, “I’ll Never Find
Another You”, which the Seekers recorded in November 1964 and was released by EMI
Records in December. Even though the group had yet to sign a contract with EMI, the
single made it to the UK Top 50. In February 1965 the song reached number one in the
UK and Australia, and number four in the US. Even though “I’ll Never Find Another
You” was the largest selling single in the UK, later “The Carnival Is Over” became a
bigger hit. However, in the US it only managed to peak at number 105.
The Seekers became the first Australian group to have a top 5 hit in the UK and US as
well as Australia. In the US “I’ll Never Find Another You” peaked at number four in the
pop and number two in easy listening on the Billboard magazine charts. The next US
release “What Have They Done to the Rain?” failed to chart in the top 40 in February
1965.
In May “A World of Our Own” written by Tom Springfield, became a top 3 hit in
Australia and the UK, and in the US it reached the top 20. In July “Morningtown Ride”
was released in Australia and reached the top ten. Later that same month, Judith was
forced to leave the group for a short period of time because of emergency nasal surgery.
During the period from July to September, singer Ellen Wade performed with the group.
Once Judith rejoined the Seekers, the next single “The Carnival Is Over” was released in
November 1965. That same year they met Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel . The
Seekers guitar player Bruce Woodly along with Simon co wrote three songs “Cloudy”,
“I Wish You Could Be Here” and “Red Rubber Ball” which became a US number two
hit for the Cyrkle in 1966.
By the end of 1966, “Georgy Girl” was released and reached number two in the US
becoming their highest charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and in February 1967
number one on the Cashbox Hot 100. It was also the title song for the UK film of the
same name and sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. The Recording Industry Association
awarded The Seekers a gold record certificate. In the UK it charted at number three and
in Australia at number one. In 1967 the song’s co writers Jim Dale and Tom Springfield
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song of 1966, but lost to the
title song of the film Born Free. In February 1967, The Seekers reached the top 50 in the
US with “Morning Ride”.
In March 1967, The Seekers returned to Australia for a homecoming tour, performing for an estimated audience of 200 thousand. In January 1968 on Australia Day, the group was named Australians of the Year. Then in February, Judith informed the other group members that she was leaving the Seekers in order to pursue a solo career, and as a result the group disbanded. The final televised performance on July 9th called “Farewell the Seekers”, was views by an audience of more than 10 million.
After The Seekers split, Judith pursued a solo singing career. A Christmas album titled
“For Christmas with Love” was released and later she signed with A&M Records.
Additional albums were released which included “Gift of Song” , “Climb Every
Mountain”. In 1969, The New Seekers was formed and managed by Keith Potger in the
UK. Their song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, climbed to number one in the
UK. Athol Guy hosted a television show, and later entered politics in 1973.
Bruce Woodly released several solo albums, and concentrated on songwriting.
In 1972, Guy, Potger and Woodley began planning on reforming The Seekers without
Durham. In 1975, Louisa Wisseling a folk singer who had been with a group called the
Settler joined the Seekers. The following year, Woodley left the group and was replaced
with Buddy England. Then in 1978, Guy also left the group and was replaced by Peter
Robinson. Wisseling also left and was replaced by Cheryl Webb as the lead vocalist.
Keith Potger remained the only original member of the Seekers. In 1980 the new group
released an album titled “A Little bit of Country” and toured up until mid 1980s.
By 1988 Guy, Potger and Woodley reformed the Seekers with singer Julie Anthony.
They performed at the World Expo 88 in Brisbane singing “The Carnival Is Over”.
In March 1989, they released the album titled “Live On” which reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart. In June 1990, singer Julie
Anthony left the group and was replaced with Karen Knowles. However the sound
associated with that of the original group just wasn’t there, and the group split yet again.
In late 1992 the Seekers reunited, this time with all the original members. A performance at a reunion concert then led to a 102-date tour. The next year, after the
successful Silver Jubilee Reunion Celebration tour, the Seekers resumed performing and recording occasionally. Between 1993 and 2022, the group performed at numerous sold out tours in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. They also recorded and released several albums, which included the “Future Road”. It peaked at number 4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart in October 1997. In 2001 the
“Morningtown Ride to Christmas” album made it into the top 20. The two albums were
certified platinum.
In 1995 the Seekers were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Hall of Fame. At the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, Judith
Durham sang “The Carnival Is Over” in a wheel chair due to a broken hip.
On the group’s 40th anniversary commemorating their formation, a special issue of
Australian postage stamps was issued in October 2002. In September, the Seekers were
presented the Key to the City by Melbourne’s Lord Mayor. In 2011, the National Film
and Sound Archive of the Sounds of Australia registry added, “I’ll Never Find Another
You”. The Seekers’ Golden Jubilee Tour began in May 2013, celebrating the group’s
fifty years since forming in 1962. Sold out performances in Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle
and Melbourne received rave reviews. After the first performance in Melbourne, Judith
suffered a brain hemorrhage, forcing the postponement of the rest the tour until
November. A UK tour took place in May and June 2014, the two final performances held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 1995, Judith was honored with the Medal of the Order Of Australia for services to
music, especially as an entertainer and composer. In 2003 she was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Governor General for service to Australian society through music. In 2014 Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger, were awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia. In 2015 the group was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame. In 2019 Judith was inducted into the Australian Women in Music Awards Honor Roll. “Farewell”, a live recoding of their 50th anniversary tour was released in April 2019. Shortly there after,Judith Durham retired from live performance. On August 5th 2022, she died from a chronic lung disease in Melbourne at the age of 79. “Carry Me”, The Seekers last recording together was revealed by Athol Guy at Judith’s memorial service.
Among the countless tributes following her death, was one from Australia’s then Prime
Minister Anthony Albanese, who hailed Judith as quote: "A national treasure and an
Australian icon. Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped
blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists. Her kindness will be missed by many,
the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten": unquote.
In 1971, Athol Guy was elected to three successive terms in the Victorian Parliament; his achievements included the government purchase and development of Werribee Park, which is located in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee. As of January 2024, Keith continues to perform solo concerts around Australia. In 1987, Bruce along with his friend Dobe Newton wrote the song “I Am Australian”, which became his well known composition.
I’ll mention a few of the Seekers’ notable performance achievements. In 1965 they won the Best New Group in the New Musical Express Poll Winners Awards, later in April they performed at the Wembley Empire Pool, appearing along with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard and Dusty Springfield. In June the Seekers appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show singing "A World of Our Own" and "You Can Tell The World". In November1966 the Seekers performed at a Royal Command Performance at the
London Palladium before the Queen Mother. The group made another appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967, singing "Georgy Girl". At the Expo 67 in Montreal Quebec Canada, The Seekers represented Australia. They appeared on Australian television via the first satellite transmission from the US to Australia. On March 1967, they performed to an audience estimated at 200,000 in a televised concert celebrating their overseas success at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. They were the first group ever to reach No. 1 on the UK charts with their first three singles. The Seekers were the first Australian group that had a number two hit in the US with “Georgy Girl”.
This has been a look back at Australia’s first group to achieve success in the UK, US and
Europe. The Seekers …. From Down Under.