Judith Durham, voice of The Seekers, dies at 79
JUDITH DURHAM, who found international fame in the 1960s as lead vocalist with The Seekers, has died at the age of 79.
The Australian-born singer-songwriter, best known for hits such as I’ll Never Find Another You, Georgy Girl and Wild Rover, died in The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne on Friday after suffering chronic lung disease.
She joined The Seekers in 1963 and they went on to sell more than 50 million records worldwide.
Ms Durham quit the group in 1968 to pursue a successful solo career, although she would continue to perform with the band throughout her life.
Bandmates Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy said their lives had been changed for ever by losing our ‘treasured lifelong friend and shining star’.
Politicians across Australia’s political divide united to pay tribute to an entertainer who had done so much to raise the country’s profile in the 1960s. Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese hailed her as ‘national treasure and an Australian icon’. He said: ‘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 our nation will never be forgotten.’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton celebrated a star ‘who gave voice to more than one generation of
Australians through words of universal appeal’.
Ms Durham married British pianist and musical director Ron Edgeworth in 1969. He was later diagnosed with motor neurone disease and died in 1994 with the singer at this side.
Born in Melbourne, she recorded her first EP at the age of 19 and was only 20 when she became lead singer of The Seekers. They appeared several times on The Ed Sullivan Show in the US and in 1966 performed in front of the Queen Mother at the London Palladium.
George Ash, president of Universal Music Australia, said last night: ‘Great artists become part of our fabric and our extended family and Judith was no exception.’
The star reflected on her career in one of her final interviews in 2019. She said: ‘Only in hindsight can I see that I was a trailblazer. I’m only finding out now that I was the first to do certain things. I never set out to do that.’
She added: ‘We really need music in our lives. It’s the most important thing for all of us to have songs that we can sing. People can join in, in a community spirit.’