R.I.P.: Judith Durham of The Seekers

Judith Durham (July 3, 1943 – August 5, 2022)

Judith Durham, one of Australia's best-loved entertainers and the former lead singer of The Seekers, has died at the age of 79.

Durham is believed to have died in hospital on Friday night from an undisclosed illness. She sang with The Seekers between 1962 and 1968 plus some reunion concerts

They were one of Australia's first successful musical exports

Durham and other members of The Seekers were honored as Officers of the Order of Australia in 2014. 

Born in Essendon in Victoria, Durham recorded her first EP at 19 and went on to worldwide fame with The Seekers, selling more than 50 million records.

As part of The Seekers, Durham was one of the first Australian artists to achieve international success, with songs like Georgy Girl, I’ll Never Find Another You, A World Of Our Own, Morningtown Ride and The Carnival Is Over.

The Seekers — comprising Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger in addition to Durham — moved to the UK in 1964, having formed in 1962.

After recording I'll Never Find Another You at EMI's Abbey Road Studios — known as the domain of The Beatles — The Seekers went to number one in the UK and Australia.

With their first three releases going to the top of the British charts, the previously unknown group from Melbourne knocked The Beatles off the number one spot.  They also had three top-20 singles and two top-20 albums in the US — a market notoriously difficult to crack for Australian artists.