from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seekers
The Seekers are a group of
Australian folk-influenced popular musicians which was formed in
Melbourne,
Victoria,
Australia in
1963. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve significant chart and sales success in the
United Kingdom and the
United States.
The Seekers were formed by
Athol Guy, double bass, and guitarists
Keith Potger and
Bruce Woodley, who met at high school in Melbourne. Later, they met
Judith Durham who had begun her career as a jazz singer in the
trad jazz idiom. Just prior to joining The Seekers, she was lead vocalist in the Melbourne group
Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers (she was replaced by
Margret RoadKnight).
The Seekers soon gathered a strong following in Melbourne and were signed to the
W&G Records by the label's A&R manager
Ron Tudor, who later founded the influential Australian label
Fable Records. After a brief career in Australia, the group were offered the chance to travel around the world on a cruise liner in exchange for providing on-board entertainment. They had intended to return to Australia, but they remained in the UK when the ship arrived there in early
1964. There they were discovered by songwriter-producer
Tom Springfield, the brother of pop star
Dusty Springfield. He produced all of their most successful records and wrote or co-wrote many of their hits.
The distinctive soprano voice of lead singer Judith Durham, their sweet harmonies, memorable songs, and non-threatening image (encouraging the BBC to give them exposure) made them appealing to a broad cross-section of the pop audience, and they enjoyed a remarkable string of Top Ten albums and singles in Britain, America and Australia between
1964 and
1968.
After signing with
Lew Grade's Grade Agency and
EMI's
Columbia Records imprint, they released their version of Springfields
I'll Never Find Another You in November
1964. It shot to #1 in Australia and the UK, and #4 in the USA and went on to sell 1.75 million copies worldwide, making them the first Australian pop group to have a Top 5 hit in all three countries simultaneously, and the first to sell over a million copies of a single. Their most successful single,
The Carnival Is Over, topped the UK charts in November
1965.
In
1966 they recorded a cover of
Paul Simons
Some day, One day, which reached #4 in Australia and #11 in the UK. This was Simon's first UK success as a writer, and his first hit as a composer outside of his work with
Simon & Garfunkel. Bruce Woodley also co-wrote the song
Red Rubber Ball with Simon. Their chart success peaked with the movie theme song
Georgy Girl, written by
Jim Dale, which reached #1 on the
US and Australian charts and #3 on the UK charts in
1967, and sold 3.5 million copies worldwide.
In recognition of their achievements, the group was named
Australians of the Year for
1967 and in March that year they returned to Australia for a triumphant homecoming tour, which included a record-breaking concert at the
Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne which was attended by over 200,000 people. This is believed to be the largest audience ever assembled for an Australian concert event. The scale of their popularity in Australia can be judged from fact that the legendary
Woodstock Festival in the United States in 1969 drew about 500,000 people, and that at the time of the Seekers' Melbourne concert, Australia's
population was only around 12 million people.
Subsequent singles,
When Will The Good Apples Fall, and
Emerald City, were less successful, and they disbanded in
1968. Potger was later involved in putting together
The New Seekers.
World Expo '88
The founding members of the Seekers, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley, made an appearance at the closing ceremony of
World Expo '88, in
Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia, with Australian soprano
Julie Anthony (as their lead singer in place of Judith Durham), to sing 'The Carnival is Over
The Seekers in the 1990s
The Seekers reformed, with the original lineup of Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Judith Durham, during the
1990s and continue to tour as a
nostalgia act in Australia and overseas. On 8 October,
2002 the Seekers were the topic of a special issue of Australian stamps which were released in their honour.
Paralympics
After much speculation (and a delightful send-up of the coming event by ABC TVs
Olympics satire
The Games) The Seekers reunited again for the closing ceremony of the Sydney
2000 Paralympic Games on 29 October
2000, with a performance of
"The Carnival Is Over". They were apparently approached to perform at the closing ceremony of the main games, but unfortunately an injury to Judith Durham (a broken hip) made this impossible, so the band performed at the Paralympics instead, with Judith singing from a wheelchair.
![TiTTieS_[CNTDN]](/data/avatars/m/5/5289.jpg?1151924577){kind=avatar}
