The Seekers
Encyclopedia
The Seekers are an Australian folk
-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were a highly popular band during the 1960s with their best-known configuration as: Judith Durham
on vocals, piano and tambourine
; Athol Guy
on double bass
and vocals; Keith Potger
on twelve-string guitar, banjo
and vocals; and Bruce Woodley
on guitar, mandolin
, banjo and vocals.
The group had top 10 hits in the 1960s with "I'll Never Find Another You
", "A World of Our Own", "Morningtown Ride
", "The Carnival Is Over
" (Russian folk song which The Seekers have sung at various closing ceremonies in Australia, including World Expo 88 and the Paralympics
and still stands as the 30th best selling song in the United Kingdom), "Someday One Day", and "Georgy Girl
" (the title song of the film of the same name
). Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described their style as "concentrated on a bright, uptempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock."
In 1968, they were named as joint Australians of the Year
– they are the only group to do so. In July of that year, Durham left to pursue a solo career and the group disbanded. The band reformed periodically and, in 1995, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
. "I'll Never Find Another You" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive
of Australia's Sounds of Australia
registry in 2011. Woodley's and Dobe Newton's song "I Am Australian
", which was recorded by The Seekers, and by Durham with Russell Hitchcock
and Mandawuy Yunupingu
, has become an unofficial Australian anthem. As from 2004, The Seekers have sold over 50 million records.
on double bass, Keith Potger
on twelve-string guitar and Bruce Woodley
on guitar. Guy, Potger and Woodley had all attended Melbourne Boys High School. In the late 1950s Potger led The Trinamics, a rock 'n' roll group, Guy led The Ramblers, and, with Woodley, they decided to form a doo-wop
group, The Escorts. The Escorts had Ken Ray as the lead singer and in 1962 they became The Seekers. Ray left the group to get married. His place was taken by Judith Durham
, who was an established traditional jazz
singer, having recorded an extended play on W&G Records
with the Melbourne group Frank Traynor
's Jazz Preachers.
Durham and Guy had met when they both worked in an advertising agency – initially Durham only sang periodically with The Seekers when not performing at jazz clubs. She was replaced in the jazz ensemble by Margret RoadKnight
. The Seekers performed folk
-influenced pop music and soon gathered a strong following in Melbourne. Durham's connections with W&G Records led to the group signing with the label. Their debut album, Introducing The Seekers, was released in 1963. Their debut single was the bush ballad
, "Waltzing Matilda
", which appeared in November and reached the Melbourne top 40 singles chart. When being photographed for the album's cover, Potger was replaced by Ray – his day job with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) as a radio producer disallowed him from involvement in a commercial enterprise.
, in March 1964. In May, they travelled to the United Kingdom and had intended to return to Australia after staying ten weeks, but upon arrival they were offered work by a London booking agency, The Grade Organisation. They signed with World Record Club
and issued a single, "Myra" – which was co-written by the group. The group regularly appeared on a UK TV series, Call in on Carroll, hosted by Ronnie Carroll
.
After filling in on a bill headlined by Dusty Springfield
, they met her brother, songwriter and producer Tom Springfield
, who had experience with folk-pop material with the siblings' earlier group The Springfields
. He penned "I'll Never Find Another You
", which they recorded in November 1964. It was released by EMI Records
, on their Columbia
label, in December and was championed by the offshore radio
station Radio Caroline
. Despite the fact that the group had not signed a contract with EMI, the single reached the UK Top 40 and began selling well. In February 1965, it reached No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and No. 4 in the United States where it was released on EMI's Capitol
label. "I'll Never Find Another You" was the biggest selling single in the UK for 1965 and went on to sell 1.75 million copies worldwide.
The Seekers were the first Australian pop group to have a top 5 hit in all three countries – Australia, UK and US. Australian music historian, Ian McFarlane described their style as "concentrated on a bright, uptempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock." The distinctive soprano voice of Durham, the group's harmonies and memorable songs encouraged the UK media, including the BBC
, to give them exposure, allowing them to appeal to a broad cross-section of the pop audience.
The Seekers followed "I'll Never Find Another You" with "What Have They Done to the Rain" in February 1965 which did not chart in the top 40. In May, another Tom Springfield composition followed, "A World of Our Own", which reached top 3 in Australia and the UK and top 20 in the US. Malvina Reynolds
' lullaby "Morningtown Ride
" was issued in Australia in July and peaked in the top 10. Single with Russian folk song , "The Carnival Is Over
", appeared in November, which reached No. 1 in both Australia and the UK. At its peak, the single was selling 93,000 copies a day in the UK alone.
Also in 1965, they met Paul Simon
(of Simon & Garfunkel) who was pursuing a solo career in the UK following the initial poor chart success of the duo's debut LP, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
. In 1966, The Seekers released the Simon-penned "Someday One Day", which reached No. 4 in Australia and No. 11 in the UK. Their version was Simon's first UK success as a songwriter, and his first major hit as a composer outside of his work with Art Garfunkel
. Woodley co-wrote some songs with Simon, including "Red Rubber Ball
" which became a US No. 2 single for The Cyrkle
. The Seekers version was provided on their 1966 LP Come the Day (released as Georgy Girl in the US).
Early in 1966, after returning to Australia, The Seekers filmed their first TV special, At Home with The Seekers. The band were named "Best New Group of 1965" at the 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Awards. They appeared at the celebratory Wembley Arena
concert, on a bill which included The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
, Dusty Springfield
and The Animals
. The same year, the group appeared at a Royal Command Performance
at the London Palladium
, before Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
. In November, a rerecorded version of "Morningtown Ride" was released in the UK, which reached No. 2. The song had been recorded earlier as an Australian single from the 1964 album Hide and Seekers and appeared on the 1965 American debut, The New Seekers. In February 1967, "Morningtown Ride" reached the top 50 in the US.
In December 1966 they issued "Georgy Girl
", which became their highest charting US hit when it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
and No. 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 in February 1967. It was the title song for the film of the same name
and sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. The band were awarded a gold record certificate by the Recording Industry Association of America
. Meanwhile it was No. 3 in the UK, and No. 1 in Australia. Its writers, Jim Dale
and Tom Springfield, were nominated for the 1966 Academy Award for Best Original Song
, but lost out to the title song from the film Born Free
.
In March 1967, The Seekers returned to Australia for a homecoming tour, which included a performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
in Melbourne, attended by an estimated audience of 200,000. Guinness Book of World Records (1968) listed it as the greatest attendance at a concert in the southern hemisphere. Melburnians were celebrating the annual Moomba Festival
, a free community festival, and many thousands were enjoying other attractions but are included in the crowd estimate. The Seekers were accompanied on their 20-minute set by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
, conducted by Hector Crawford. Film of their appearance was incorporated into their 1967 Australian television special The Seekers Down Under, which was screened on the Channel 7
and drew a then record audience of over 6 million.
In January 1968, on Australia Day
, in recognition of their achievements, the group were named joint Australians of the Year
– they are the only group to do so. They personally accepted their awards from Harold Holt
, the Prime Minister of Australia
, during their tour. During this visit, the group filmed another TV special, The World of The Seekers, which was screened in cinemas before being screened nationally on Channel 9
to high ratings and is in the Top 10 most watched TV shows of the 20th century in Australia.
In July 1968, Durham announced that she was leaving The Seekers to pursue a solo career and the group disbanded. Their final performance, on 9 July, was screened live by the BBC as a special called Farewell The Seekers, with an audience of more than 10 million viewers. The special had been preceded by a week-long season at London's Talk of the Town nightclub and a live recording of one of their shows was released as a live LP record, The Seekers Say Goodbye Live from The Talk of the Town. It reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Also in July, the compilation album The Best of The Seekers
was released and spent 17 weeks at No. 1 in Australia. It was re-titled as The Best of The Seekers in the UK and spent one week at No. 1 in February 1969, managing to knock The Beatles (White Album)
off the top of the charts and preventing The Rolling Stones
' Beggars Banquet
from reaching the top spot. The album spent 125 weeks in the charts in the UK.
in the UK, which were more pop-oriented. Woodley released several solo albums and focused on songwriting, including co-writing the patriotic song "I Am Australian
" with Dobe Newton (of the Bushwackers
) in 1987.
From 1972, Guy, Potger and Woodley planned on reforming The Seekers without Durham. By 1975 they had recruited Louisa Wisseling, a semi-professional folk singer formerly with Melbourne group the Settlers. They had a top 10 Australian hit with the Woodley-penned "The Sparrow Song". Woodley left the group in June 1977 and was replaced by Buddy England
, a former 1960s pop singer and member of The Mixtures
. In 1978, Guy was replaced by Peter Robinson (ex-Strangers) and the group issued an album, All Over the World in November. In 1988, Guy, Potger and Woodley reformed The Seekers with Julie Anthony, a popular cabaret singer. In May, the group sang "The Carnival Is Over" at the World Expo 88 in Brisbane. In April 1989, the group re-recorded some of their earlier work for The Seekers Live On, which peaked in the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Albums Chart
. In June 1990, Anthony left and was replaced by Karen Knowles
, a former teen pop singer on Young Talent Time
. However the unique timbre
of Durham's voice was missing from their sound and the group split again.
In 1995, the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
. In the build up to the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics
, an ABC TV satire, The Games, parodied The Seekers in the final episode, "The End". Durham had suffered a broken hip and sang "The Carnival Is Over" in a wheelchair at the closing ceremony of the related Paralympic Games
on 29 October. Long Way to the Top
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. The Seekers featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" broadcast on 22 August, in which Durham and Woodley discussed their early work on a cruise ship, meeting Tom Springfield and their success in Britain. Four of their songs were played during the episode: "I'll Never Find Another You", "The Carnival Is Over", "A World of Our Own" and "Georgy Girl".
In October 2002, on the 40th anniversary of their formation, they were the subjects of a special issue of Australian postage stamps. On 1 September 2006, The Seekers were presented with the Key to the City
by Melbourne's Lord Mayor, John So
. In February 2009, SBS TV programme RocKwiz
hosted a 50th anniversary concert for the Myer Music Bowl, RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl, which included "World of Our Own" performed by Rebecca Barnard
and Billy Miller and "The Carnival Is Over" by Durham.
In October 2010, The Best of The Seekers
(1968), was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
. Also in October, they toured various Australian cities in support of violinist André Rieu
and his symphony orchestra. They released another Greatest Hits compilation in May 2011 which peaked into the top 40. That month they supported Rieu on another Australian tour. "I'll Never Find Another You" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive
of Australia's Sounds of Australia
registry in 2011.
", "A World of Our Own", "The Carnival is Over
" and "Georgy Girl
". They were each awarded a gold disc
. As of 2004, The Seekers have sold 60 million recordings worldwide.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were a highly popular band during the 1960s with their best-known configuration as: Judith Durham
Judith Durham
Judith Durham, OAM is an Australian jazz singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group The Seekers in 1963. She left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career...
on vocals, piano and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
; Athol Guy
Athol Guy
Athol Guy , is a member of the Australian pop music-folk music group The Seekers. Guy played the double bass. He was characterised by his wearing of black horn-rimmed glasses...
on double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and vocals; Keith Potger
Keith Potger
Keith Potger is one of the founding members of the Australian pop-folk group The Seekers. He was born in Ceylon and is of Burgher descent. In the Seekers, he played twelve string guitar and banjo, and sang...
on twelve-string guitar, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and vocals; and Bruce Woodley
Bruce Woodley
Bruce William Woodley , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful pop-folk group The Seekers, and co-composer of the anthemic song "I Am Australian"...
on guitar, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, banjo and vocals.
The group had top 10 hits in the 1960s with "I'll Never Find Another You
I'll Never Find Another You
I'll Never Find Another You is a UK #1 single by The Seekers. It was The Seekers' first UK-released single, and was the best selling single of 1965 in the UK...
", "A World of Our Own", "Morningtown Ride
Morningtown Ride
"Morningtown Ride" is a lullaby written by Malvina Reynolds in 1957 and recorded by a number of artists, notably The Seekers. It tells the comforting story of the 'journey' through nighttime made by all the "little travellers" .-1962:...
", "The Carnival Is Over
The Carnival Is Over
"The Carnival Is Over" is a Russian folk song with lyrics written by Tom Springfield in 1965 for the Australian group The Seekers, who customarily close their concerts with it...
" (Russian folk song which The Seekers have sung at various closing ceremonies in Australia, including World Expo 88 and the Paralympics
2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
and still stands as the 30th best selling song in the United Kingdom), "Someday One Day", and "Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl (song)
"Georgy Girl", written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale , is the title song performed by The Seekers for the the film of the same name. Across late 1966 and early 1967, the song became a #1 Australian hit and a #3 UK hit...
" (the title song of the film of the same name
Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl is a 1966 British film based on a novel by Margaret Forster. The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano and starred Lynn Redgrave as Georgy, Alan Bates, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling and Bill Owen....
). Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described their style as "concentrated on a bright, uptempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock."
In 1968, they were named as joint Australians of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
– they are the only group to do so. In July of that year, Durham left to pursue a solo career and the group disbanded. The band reformed periodically and, in 1995, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
. "I'll Never Find Another You" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
of Australia's Sounds of Australia
Sounds of Australia
The National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia is a public registry of recordings that celebrates the unique and diverse recorded sound culture and history of Australia.The Registry was launched in February 2007 with a foundation list of ten...
registry in 2011. Woodley's and Dobe Newton's song "I Am Australian
I Am Australian
I am Australian is a popular Australian poem written in 1987 by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Dobe Newton of The Bushwackers. Its lyrics are filled with many historic and cultural references, such as to the 'digger', Albert Namatjira and Ned Kelly, among others...
", which was recorded by The Seekers, and by Durham with Russell Hitchcock
Russell Hitchcock
Russell Charles Hitchcock is an Australian musician and one half of the group Air Supply. He formed the group after meeting Englishman Graham Russell in 1975 on the set of a production of Jesus Christ Superstar....
and Mandawuy Yunupingu
Mandawuy Yunupingu
Mandawuy Yunupingu , born 17 September 1956, is an Aboriginal Australian musician, most notable for being the front man of the band Yothu Yindi.-Early life:...
, has become an unofficial Australian anthem. As from 2004, The Seekers have sold over 50 million records.
An Australian band
The Seekers were formed in 1962 in Melbourne by Athol GuyAthol Guy
Athol Guy , is a member of the Australian pop music-folk music group The Seekers. Guy played the double bass. He was characterised by his wearing of black horn-rimmed glasses...
on double bass, Keith Potger
Keith Potger
Keith Potger is one of the founding members of the Australian pop-folk group The Seekers. He was born in Ceylon and is of Burgher descent. In the Seekers, he played twelve string guitar and banjo, and sang...
on twelve-string guitar and Bruce Woodley
Bruce Woodley
Bruce William Woodley , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful pop-folk group The Seekers, and co-composer of the anthemic song "I Am Australian"...
on guitar. Guy, Potger and Woodley had all attended Melbourne Boys High School. In the late 1950s Potger led The Trinamics, a rock 'n' roll group, Guy led The Ramblers, and, with Woodley, they decided to form a doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group, The Escorts. The Escorts had Ken Ray as the lead singer and in 1962 they became The Seekers. Ray left the group to get married. His place was taken by Judith Durham
Judith Durham
Judith Durham, OAM is an Australian jazz singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group The Seekers in 1963. She left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career...
, who was an established traditional jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, having recorded an extended play on W&G Records
W&G Records
W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie....
with the Melbourne group Frank Traynor
Frank Traynor
Frank Traynor was an Australian jazz musician, trombonist and entrepreneur based in Melbourne. He led Australia’s longest continuously running jazz band, The Jazz Preachers from 1956 until his death in 1985. He founded the Victorian Jazz Club in 1956...
's Jazz Preachers.
Durham and Guy had met when they both worked in an advertising agency – initially Durham only sang periodically with The Seekers when not performing at jazz clubs. She was replaced in the jazz ensemble by Margret RoadKnight
Margret RoadKnight
Margret RoadKnight is an Australian singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has sung in a wide variety of styles including blues, jazz, gospel, and folk....
. The Seekers performed folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
-influenced pop music and soon gathered a strong following in Melbourne. Durham's connections with W&G Records led to the group signing with the label. Their debut album, Introducing The Seekers, was released in 1963. Their debut single was the bush ballad
Bush ballad
Bush songs or bush ballads are a folk music and poetry tradition in Australia's outback. The rhyming songs, poems and tales often relate to the itinerant and rebellious spirit of Australia, a young country. The lyrical tradition of bush songs was born of settlers and influenced by Aboriginal...
, "Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
", which appeared in November and reached the Melbourne top 40 singles chart. When being photographed for the album's cover, Potger was replaced by Ray – his day job with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) as a radio producer disallowed him from involvement in a commercial enterprise.
Discovery in the United Kingdom
The Seekers were offered a twelve-month position as on-board entertainment on the Sitmar cruise liner, FairskyFairsky
Fairsky was a passenger ship managed by the Sitmar Line, best known for her service on the migrant passenger route from Britain to Australia from 1958 to the early 1970s. In her later career, she operated out of Australia as a popular cruise ship, until striking an unmarked wreck in 1977 which...
, in March 1964. In May, they travelled to the United Kingdom and had intended to return to Australia after staying ten weeks, but upon arrival they were offered work by a London booking agency, The Grade Organisation. They signed with World Record Club
World Record Club
The World Record Club Ltd. was the name of a company in the United Kingdom which issued long-playing records and reel to reel tapes, mainly of classical music and jazz, through a membership mail-order system during the 1950s and 1960s....
and issued a single, "Myra" – which was co-written by the group. The group regularly appeared on a UK TV series, Call in on Carroll, hosted by Ronnie Carroll
Ronnie Carroll
Ronnie Carroll is a Northern Irish singer and entertainer.-Career:...
.
After filling in on a bill headlined by Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, they met her brother, songwriter and producer Tom Springfield
Tom Springfield
Tom Springfield is the brother of Dusty Springfield and an important figure in the 1960s folk and pop music scene...
, who had experience with folk-pop material with the siblings' earlier group The Springfields
The Springfields
The Springfields were a British pop-folk vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland and included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, record producer Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, later a noted Sufi writer, who was latterly replaced by Mike Hurst, who...
. He penned "I'll Never Find Another You
I'll Never Find Another You
I'll Never Find Another You is a UK #1 single by The Seekers. It was The Seekers' first UK-released single, and was the best selling single of 1965 in the UK...
", which they recorded in November 1964. It was released by EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
, on their Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
label, in December and was championed by the offshore radio
Offshore radio
Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907...
station Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
. Despite the fact that the group had not signed a contract with EMI, the single reached the UK Top 40 and began selling well. In February 1965, it reached No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and No. 4 in the United States where it was released on EMI's Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
label. "I'll Never Find Another You" was the biggest selling single in the UK for 1965 and went on to sell 1.75 million copies worldwide.
The Seekers were the first Australian pop group to have a top 5 hit in all three countries – Australia, UK and US. Australian music historian, Ian McFarlane described their style as "concentrated on a bright, uptempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock." The distinctive soprano voice of Durham, the group's harmonies and memorable songs encouraged the UK media, including the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, to give them exposure, allowing them to appeal to a broad cross-section of the pop audience.
String of hits
Malvina Reynolds
Malvina Reynolds was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her song-writing, particularly the songs "Little Boxes" and "Morningtown Ride".-Early life:...
' lullaby "Morningtown Ride
Morningtown Ride
"Morningtown Ride" is a lullaby written by Malvina Reynolds in 1957 and recorded by a number of artists, notably The Seekers. It tells the comforting story of the 'journey' through nighttime made by all the "little travellers" .-1962:...
" was issued in Australia in July and peaked in the top 10. Single with Russian folk song , "The Carnival Is Over
The Carnival Is Over
"The Carnival Is Over" is a Russian folk song with lyrics written by Tom Springfield in 1965 for the Australian group The Seekers, who customarily close their concerts with it...
", appeared in November, which reached No. 1 in both Australia and the UK. At its peak, the single was selling 93,000 copies a day in the UK alone.
Also in 1965, they met Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
(of Simon & Garfunkel) who was pursuing a solo career in the UK following the initial poor chart success of the duo's debut LP, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".The album was initially unsuccessful,...
. In 1966, The Seekers released the Simon-penned "Someday One Day", which reached No. 4 in Australia and No. 11 in the UK. Their version was Simon's first UK success as a songwriter, and his first major hit as a composer outside of his work with Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
. Woodley co-wrote some songs with Simon, including "Red Rubber Ball
Red Rubber Ball
"Red Rubber Ball" is a pop song which became a hit in the 1966 version recorded by The Cyrkle....
" which became a US No. 2 single for The Cyrkle
The Cyrkle
The Cyrkle was a short-lived American rock and roll band active in the mid-1960s. The group charted two Top 40 hits, "Red Rubber Ball," and "Turn Down Day"...
. The Seekers version was provided on their 1966 LP Come the Day (released as Georgy Girl in the US).
Early in 1966, after returning to Australia, The Seekers filmed their first TV special, At Home with The Seekers. The band were named "Best New Group of 1965" at the 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Awards. They appeared at the celebratory Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
concert, on a bill which included The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
and The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
. The same year, the group appeared at a Royal Command Performance
Royal Command Performance
For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...
at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, before Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. In November, a rerecorded version of "Morningtown Ride" was released in the UK, which reached No. 2. The song had been recorded earlier as an Australian single from the 1964 album Hide and Seekers and appeared on the 1965 American debut, The New Seekers. In February 1967, "Morningtown Ride" reached the top 50 in the US.
In December 1966 they issued "Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl (song)
"Georgy Girl", written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale , is the title song performed by The Seekers for the the film of the same name. Across late 1966 and early 1967, the song became a #1 Australian hit and a #3 UK hit...
", which became their highest charting US hit when it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and No. 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 in February 1967. It was the title song for the film of the same name
Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl is a 1966 British film based on a novel by Margaret Forster. The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano and starred Lynn Redgrave as Georgy, Alan Bates, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling and Bill Owen....
and sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. The band were awarded a gold record certificate by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. Meanwhile it was No. 3 in the UK, and No. 1 in Australia. Its writers, Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
and Tom Springfield, were nominated for the 1966 Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
, but lost out to the title song from the film Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
.
Return to Australia and break up
In March 1967, The Seekers returned to Australia for a homecoming tour, which included a performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Sidney Myer Music Bowl
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
in Melbourne, attended by an estimated audience of 200,000. Guinness Book of World Records (1968) listed it as the greatest attendance at a concert in the southern hemisphere. Melburnians were celebrating the annual Moomba Festival
Moomba
Moomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...
, a free community festival, and many thousands were enjoying other attractions but are included in the crowd estimate. The Seekers were accompanied on their 20-minute set by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
, conducted by Hector Crawford. Film of their appearance was incorporated into their 1967 Australian television special The Seekers Down Under, which was screened on the Channel 7
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and drew a then record audience of over 6 million.
In January 1968, on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
, in recognition of their achievements, the group were named joint Australians of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
– they are the only group to do so. They personally accepted their awards from Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, during their tour. During this visit, the group filmed another TV special, The World of The Seekers, which was screened in cinemas before being screened nationally on Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
to high ratings and is in the Top 10 most watched TV shows of the 20th century in Australia.
In July 1968, Durham announced that she was leaving The Seekers to pursue a solo career and the group disbanded. Their final performance, on 9 July, was screened live by the BBC as a special called Farewell The Seekers, with an audience of more than 10 million viewers. The special had been preceded by a week-long season at London's Talk of the Town nightclub and a live recording of one of their shows was released as a live LP record, The Seekers Say Goodbye Live from The Talk of the Town. It reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Also in July, the compilation album The Best of The Seekers
The Seekers' Greatest Hits
The Seekers' Greatest Hits was released in Australia by EMI's Columbia label in 1968 on the break-up of The Seekers...
was released and spent 17 weeks at No. 1 in Australia. It was re-titled as The Best of The Seekers in the UK and spent one week at No. 1 in February 1969, managing to knock The Beatles (White Album)
The Beatles (album)
The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...
off the top of the charts and preventing The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet
- Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...
from reaching the top spot. The album spent 125 weeks in the charts in the UK.
Reunions in the 1970s and 1980s
Following The Seekers' split, Durham pursued a solo career. She released a Christmas album called For Christmas with Love (recorded in Hollywood, California) and later signed with A&M Records, releasing more albums including, A Gift of Song and Climb Ev'ry Mountain. Guy hosted his own TV show in Australia, A Guy Called Athol, before entering politics in 1973. In 1969, Potger formed and managed another group, the New SeekersThe New Seekers
The New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...
in the UK, which were more pop-oriented. Woodley released several solo albums and focused on songwriting, including co-writing the patriotic song "I Am Australian
I Am Australian
I am Australian is a popular Australian poem written in 1987 by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Dobe Newton of The Bushwackers. Its lyrics are filled with many historic and cultural references, such as to the 'digger', Albert Namatjira and Ned Kelly, among others...
" with Dobe Newton (of the Bushwackers
The Bushwackers (band)
The Bushwackers Band, often simply The Bushwackers, is an Australian folk and country music band or Bush band founded at La Trobe University in Melbourne in 1971....
) in 1987.
From 1972, Guy, Potger and Woodley planned on reforming The Seekers without Durham. By 1975 they had recruited Louisa Wisseling, a semi-professional folk singer formerly with Melbourne group the Settlers. They had a top 10 Australian hit with the Woodley-penned "The Sparrow Song". Woodley left the group in June 1977 and was replaced by Buddy England
Buddy England
Buddy England , was a former member of The Seekers, replacing Bruce Woodley and stayed with them from 1973–1977. He was also a member of the Mixtures from June 1969 – March 1970....
, a former 1960s pop singer and member of The Mixtures
The Mixtures
-Biography:Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of The Strangers, and the three decided to form a band together after a jam session. They quickly signed to EMI that same year and released three singles. They went through...
. In 1978, Guy was replaced by Peter Robinson (ex-Strangers) and the group issued an album, All Over the World in November. In 1988, Guy, Potger and Woodley reformed The Seekers with Julie Anthony, a popular cabaret singer. In May, the group sang "The Carnival Is Over" at the World Expo 88 in Brisbane. In April 1989, the group re-recorded some of their earlier work for The Seekers Live On, which peaked in the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. In June 1990, Anthony left and was replaced by Karen Knowles
Karen Knowles
-Early career:Knowles was educated in Melbourne at the Methodist Ladies' College. She became nationally famous on the popular television program Young Talent Time, where she was a member of the Young Talent Team from 1975 to 1980....
, a former teen pop singer on Young Talent Time
Young Talent Time
Young Talent Time is an Australian television variety program screened on Network Ten, running from 1971 until 1988. The series features a core group of young performers in the vein of The Mickey Mouse Club, and a weekly junior talent quest. The "Young Talent Team" regularly performed popular...
. However the unique timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
of Durham's voice was missing from their sound and the group split again.
Reunions in the 1990s and 2000s
The Seekers reunited late in 1992, with the classic line-up of Durham, Guy, Potger and Woodley. A 25-Year Silver Jubilee Reunion Celebration tour in 1993 was sufficiently successful that the group remained together for a further 11 years. They staged several sell-out tours of Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The reformed group issued more albums, including new studio albums Future Road in November 1997 (which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart) and Morningtown Ride to Christmas (which reached the top 20 in 2001).In 1995, the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
. In the build up to the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, an ABC TV satire, The Games, parodied The Seekers in the final episode, "The End". Durham had suffered a broken hip and sang "The Carnival Is Over" in a wheelchair at the closing ceremony of the related Paralympic Games
2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
on 29 October. Long Way to the Top
Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. The Seekers featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" broadcast on 22 August, in which Durham and Woodley discussed their early work on a cruise ship, meeting Tom Springfield and their success in Britain. Four of their songs were played during the episode: "I'll Never Find Another You", "The Carnival Is Over", "A World of Our Own" and "Georgy Girl".
In October 2002, on the 40th anniversary of their formation, they were the subjects of a special issue of Australian postage stamps. On 1 September 2006, The Seekers were presented with the Key to the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
by Melbourne's Lord Mayor, John So
John So
John Chun Sai So JP is a Chinese-Australian businessman who served as the 102nd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia. He was the first Lord Mayor in the city's history to be directly elected by the people; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the Councillors.First elected...
. In February 2009, SBS TV programme RocKwiz
RocKwiz
RocKwiz is an Australian television quiz show series, focused on rock music, and broadcast on SBS One. It premiered in 2005.-Summary:The forty minute program airs on Saturday at 9:20 pm, and is hosted by Julia Zemiro. It is shot in The Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, commonly...
hosted a 50th anniversary concert for the Myer Music Bowl, RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl, which included "World of Our Own" performed by Rebecca Barnard
Rebecca Barnard
Rebecca Barnard is a Melbourne-based Australian singer, songwriter and musician. She was the lead singer of Rebecca's Empire from 1994 to 2000, and has forged a solo career since her debut album was released in 2006....
and Billy Miller and "The Carnival Is Over" by Durham.
In October 2010, The Best of The Seekers
The Seekers' Greatest Hits
The Seekers' Greatest Hits was released in Australia by EMI's Columbia label in 1968 on the break-up of The Seekers...
(1968), was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...
. Also in October, they toured various Australian cities in support of violinist André Rieu
André Rieu
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.- Early life and studies :...
and his symphony orchestra. They released another Greatest Hits compilation in May 2011 which peaked into the top 40. That month they supported Rieu on another Australian tour. "I'll Never Find Another You" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
of Australia's Sounds of Australia
Sounds of Australia
The National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia is a public registry of recordings that celebrates the unique and diverse recorded sound culture and history of Australia.The Registry was launched in February 2007 with a foundation list of ten...
registry in 2011.
Million sellers
The following recordings by The Seekers were each certified as having sold over one million copies: "I'll Never Find Another YouI'll Never Find Another You
I'll Never Find Another You is a UK #1 single by The Seekers. It was The Seekers' first UK-released single, and was the best selling single of 1965 in the UK...
", "A World of Our Own", "The Carnival is Over
The Carnival Is Over
"The Carnival Is Over" is a Russian folk song with lyrics written by Tom Springfield in 1965 for the Australian group The Seekers, who customarily close their concerts with it...
" and "Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl (song)
"Georgy Girl", written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale , is the title song performed by The Seekers for the the film of the same name. Across late 1966 and early 1967, the song became a #1 Australian hit and a #3 UK hit...
". They were each awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. As of 2004, The Seekers have sold 60 million recordings worldwide.
Albums
- Introducing The Seekers (1963)
- The Seekers (also known as Roving with The Seekers) (1964)
- The Seekers Sing Their Big Hits (1965) W&G 25/2512
- Hide & Seekers (1965)
- A World of Our Own (1965)
- Come the Day (1966)
- Georgy Girl (1966) (U.S release)
- Seekers Seen in Green (1967)
- The Seekers' Greatest Hits (1968) Columbia SCXO 7830
- The Seekers Live at the Talk of the Town (1968)
- The Best of The SeekersThe Seekers' Greatest HitsThe Seekers' Greatest Hits was released in Australia by EMI's Columbia label in 1968 on the break-up of The Seekers...
(1968) - The Seekers [with Louisa Wisseling] (1975)
- Giving and Taking [with Louisa Wisseling] (1976)
- Live On [with Julie Anthony] (1989)
- Future Road (1997)
- Morningtown Ride to Christmas (2001)
- Night of Nights... Live! (2002)
See also
- List of The Seekers songs
- List of best-selling music artists
- The New SeekersThe New SeekersThe New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...