Judith Durham

Tributes are flowing for beloved Australian entertainer Judith Durham who died “peacefully” aged 79 following a long health battle.

“What a contribution. What a loss. Entertainer Anthony Callea posted: “The skies above just gained a voice of an angel.” “With The Seekers and solo, Judith earned her place as an icon of our music,” he said. “In 1967, 10 per cent of the Melbourne population attended a single gig. The Seekers members were each honoured as Officers of the Order of Australia in 2014.

Melbourne-born entertainer rocketed to international fame in the 1960s with hits including The Carnival is Over, A World of Our Own and Georgy Girl.

Her last album, a previously unreleased collection of songs titled So Much More, was released in 2018 to celebrate her 75th birthday. “Her language was uniquely Australian, and her voice a gift of universal beauty.” What a loss.” “What a contribution. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share,” they said. “Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists,” he said on Twitter. “Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.”

She also released several solo albums, but was best known for leading the folk band The Seekers, who she performed with from 1963 until 1968. The band found ...

What a loss.” “What a contribution. Margherita Taylor 10am - 1pm

The Australian pop-folk singer Judith Durham - who fronted hit 1960s group The Seekers - has died aged 79, the country's arts minister has said.

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The Seekers hitmaker Judith Durham has died aged 79 after chronic lung illness, with Australian PM Anthony Albanese paying tribute.

During her childhood, she lived in Tasmania and Melbourne, where she started her singing career in jazz clubs at the age of 18. In fact, the four-piece were the first Aussie band to have had a top five hit in their home country, the UK and the United States and have now sold over 50million records worldwide. Judith soared to fame in the 1960s as a member of the folk/pop quartet The Seekers, where she was on vocals, piano and tambourine.

Judith Durham was the sweet, petite, Aussie secretary-turned-pop star who outsold The Beatles in the swinging sixties, wearing...

On a tour of New Zealand she gave six months' notice, honouring an agreed pact, to pursue a solo career, oblivious to the shock caused to both her colleagues and their fans. It's a love that defies time and space to encompass everything". The Seekers' Golden Jubilee Tour was cruelly halted in 2013 when Durham suffered a brain haemorrhage. A year later she asked London-based freelance musician Ron Edgeworth to be her musical director, pianist and arranger. I was not at all tuned into the London dolly birds and Carnaby Street." Durham, born in Essendon on July 3, 1943, was well prepared for a career in music, if not exactly pop.

Durham died in Alfred Hospital in Melbourne on Friday night after suffering complications from a long-standing lung disease, Universal Music Australia and ...

Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share,” they said. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. She made her first recording at 19 and rose to fame after joining The Seekers in 1963.

The Australian musician found fame in The Seekers, a folk music group, before going solo.

"Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten." A year after becoming joint recipients of the Australian of the Year award in 1967, the group officially disbanded, but reunited to perform on multiple occasions - the last time being 2014. She left the group to go solo in 1968 and went on to release a number of studio albums.

In 1965 the Seekers were voted more popular than the Beatles yet she seemed the antithesis of the Swinging Sixties.

When the group split in July 1968 Judith Durham returned to Australia to launch a solo career. On arrival, they shared a variety bill in Blackpool with the singer Dusty Springfield, whose brother Tom Springfield wrote a song for them. A year later, in 1969, she married her pianist and arranger Ron Edgeworth. In style, make-up and manners, she was, as one interviewer noted, entirely unrepresentative of the Swinging 60s. Never the less Judith Durham found sudden celebrity difficult to deal with. Yet, as Maurice Rosenbaum, the paper’s pop chronicler admitted, her essential quality was hard to define.

The Seekers singer Judith Durham has died aged 79 after a long battle with lung disease, with the band playing tribute to their 'hero'

"It was a miracle, really. "It was then that I realised I wasn’t feeling quite right. He knew me well and saw I wasn’t quite functioning properly. At the time, however, I had no idea of the magnitude of what was happening to me." I was unsteady on my feet, so he took me to the hospital to get me checked out. She told The Mirror at the time: "I knew something was wrong while we were on tour in my home town Melbourne last May. We’d just completed the first night of our concerts and I was planning on having a bite to eat in my hotel room.

Durham died in Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia on Friday night from lung-disease complications. Her death was announced by Universal Music Australia and ...

Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share,” they said in a joint statement. “Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists,” Albanese wrote on Twitter. “Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.” “This is a sad day for Judith’s family, her fellow Seekers, the staff of Musicoast, the music industry and fans worldwide, and all of us who have been part of Judith’s life for so long,” said The Seekers’ management team member Graham Simpson.

Judith Durham was lead singer of The Seekers and a solo artist. One of Australia's most recognisable voices, she has passed away at 79.

When I was lucky enough to finally see her live a few years ago it was like we were all little kids singing along for the sheer joy. Intentionally or not, they became some of the biggest artists in the world during the 1960s. In the US they earned similar attention. Their inevitable “best of” album appeared on the British charts for 125 weeks. Georgie Girl, A World of Our Own and The Carnival Is Over are just a few of the songs that will always ring best with her vocals. Their debut album, Introducing the Seekers, was released in 1963.

Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie is asked if he believes the Australian Defence Force has the right assets for what he has described as a “bleak” outlook.

What we’ve seen over the last week, particularly with the missiles being fired in and around Taiwan is they are using that strategic bulk, and we need to respond to that. So if you’re looking to send a signal to the Australian people, I’m not sure Stephen Smith is the man to send the signal that you’re serious about defence going forward. Over the last decade under the Morrison, Turnbull and Abbott governments we invested a lot in the Australian defence force. Of course, the Port of Darwin’s 99-year lease is, I think, a reminder that we did make mistakes, but insofar as Richard Marles is a successful defence minister, then our country will be successful, so I want to work to make sure that our defence force has the right kit, it is postured correctly and that we are set up for success, but that’s my job. In fact, I would say the era of the lucky country is over. It should not be misinterpreted or compromised in practice.” Project Red Spice, a $10bn investment in cybersecurity over the next decade – these are the sorts of things we really need. Angus Houston is a fine officer, however, Stephen Smith has a very, very mixed record as defence minister. As a nation of only 26 million people on a vast continent, we need as many friends we can get. When he goes to bed, when he is asleep, he should be dreaming about submarines. The national carrier was alerted to this by the tower, but upon inspection has not found any evidence of fire. When he wakes up he should be thinking about submarines.

Members of The Seekers have paid tribute to their "shining star", singer Judith Durham, who died aged 79...

Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share," they said in a statement on Saturday. "Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists," Mr Albanese said on Twitter. "This is a sad day for Judith's family, her fellow Seekers, the staff of Musicoast, the music industry and fans worldwide, and all of us who have been part of Judith's life for so long," The Seekers management team member Graham Simpson said.

The Seekers' singer died in palliative care on Friday night aged 79 after complications from a long-standing lung disease. Victorian Minister Lily D'Ambrosio on ...

Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share," they said in a statement on Saturday. Advertisement "Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists," Mr Albanese said on Twitter. Advertisement "Judith Durham was a very, very private citizen and her family are very, very private too," Ms D'Ambrosio told reporters. Advertisement

The Seekers singer and solo performer was always the last to acknowledge her role as a pioneering woman in Australian music.

That trademark voice was not damaged and a year after the brain haemorrhage she was back on stage, fulfilling her commitments in Australia and the UK – the unfinished business giving her motivation in her recovery. “It really takes a lot of work and discipline to recover after a brain injury, but Judith was always very determined. “It was just you sang and played a few songs.” For me to live long enough to see how I’ve been a thread through people’s lives is wonderful.” I really do find it very, very hard to think that people put me up at that level.” She would return to touring with The Seekers several times, usually to mark career milestones. They were the first Australian band to sell over a million records. That track, I’ll Never Find Another You, hit No 1 in the UK in 1964. It was No 1 back home and reached No.4 in the US. I never thought I’d be writing songs. “I never dreamed of being a pop star. I wanted to be singing on stage and playing piano.

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy on Sunday called for the family of legendary Victorian-born folk singer Judith Durham to be offered a state funeral.

'Ron was a tremendous optimist and thought his body would heal itself. All pictured together in 2016 Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and [Athol] are so blessed to share.' The Seekers were best known for their hits I'll Never Find Another You and Georgy Girl. The group are best known for their hits like I'll Never Find Another You and Georgy Girl - The Seekers best known for their hits I'll Never Find Another You and Georgy Girl

The Seekers lead singer Judith Durham will be honoured at a state funeral, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirms. Durham died on Friday, aged 79.

Durham made her shock decision to leave The Seekers on a tour to New Zealand in 1968. The Seekers lead singer Judith Durham will be honoured at a state funeral, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed. The Seekers singer Judith Durham will receive a state funeral in Victoria

The iconic folk singer of Australia Judith Durham has died. She was a member of the popular four-member band.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute to the legendary singer. The band of four members sold around 50 million records. Durham recorded her first song at the age of 19.