JUDITH DURHAM TRIBUTE - The Sunday Project (August 7, 2022)
Judith Durham Tribute - The Sunday Project (August 7, 2022)
Features: Athol Guy from The Seekers.
Features: Athol Guy from The Seekers.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Judith Durham was just 18 when she began performing with the band that would become The Seekers,
00:12singing folk music in Melbourne cafes and pubs in the early 60s.
00:22An opportunity to perform in London turned into a golden ticket.
00:26While there, the group's first album soon shot to number one around the world.
00:30It was only years later that I realised my voice is something unique.
00:35The blend of the three boys' talents and mine, the sound of The Seekers was very, very unique.
00:41The Seekers took the UK and US by storm, selling more than 50 million records worldwide and
00:48knocking The Beatles off the top of the charts.
00:51The title track for the film Georgie Girl even scored an Oscar nomination.
01:01But by 68, Durham was ready to move on and she left the group, marrying her musical director
01:07Ron Edgeworth and turning her focus to a solo career.
01:11We could have gone on and on and on and I just was thinking, well, I really have to
01:15do something to make a move.
01:18She became a tireless advocate for motor neuron disease after losing her husband to
01:23it in the mid-90s.
01:24In 2013, a reunion tour with The Seekers was cut short when Durham suffered a brain hemorrhage.
01:31This impacted her ability to read and write, but her singing was unaffected and she completed
01:36the tour.
01:40On Friday, she was admitted to hospital, suffering complications from a long-standing lung disease.
01:46I was lucky enough to be able to speak to her about two hours before she died on Friday
01:54and I've got to say it was one of the most emotional phone calls I've ever had to make.
02:08Tributes have poured in from around the world, generations of fans paying respects to one
02:14of Australia's greatest treasures.
02:16Her kindness will be missed by many.
02:18The anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.
02:29Athol Guy was one of Judith's bandmates in The Seekers and joins us now.
02:44Athol, you knew Judith for more than 50 years, how are you doing?
02:49Well it's a bit of a surreal time because just a couple of days ago, you know, we were
02:54preparing like most families who have a chance to perhaps say farewell to a loved family
03:01member and fortunately we did get that chance with Judith through a telephone hook-up by
03:07her sister.
03:08So we had that lovely moment to be able to say our few words of farewell, tell her how
03:12much we loved her and had a great life together.
03:16And then of course, 24 hours later, we're now in a tsunami of absolutely love and best
03:22wishes from all around the planet, you know, and all these beautiful words that have been
03:25said about Judith and her voice and her character, it's really quite stunning.
03:31What is it that you want people to know about Judith that they may not know from what they've
03:34heard in her music or seen on tour?
03:37I'd like them to understand that Judith had a very, very sound spiritual base in her life,
03:43which came out of course from her parents and her family in Beverley.
03:47And she always had a self-belief that she was going to be a famous singer one day.
03:53Beverley often tells the story, Judith when she was about 12 or 14 simply said to Beverley,
03:57well, you know, yes, one day I'm going to be world famous and go on the stage around
04:01the world.
04:02Beverley herself was a beautiful jazz singer, so it was in the family.
04:06And along the way, you know, it was a self-belief that we came to understand, but she also later
04:12on, probably when she married Ron, she went more into a spiritual side of an Indian spiritual
04:21group that studied the Sant Mat principles of a decent life in every respect.
04:28And they relished that sort of lifestyle together.
04:31Athol, those images of when you guys played the Sydney My Music Bowl are just astounding.
04:36Two hundred thousand odd people.
04:38What was it like seeing Judith command an audience like that?
04:42Well, Norm Spencer, who produced the day, rang us at 11 o'clock in the morning and we
04:47were here for a big tour and then to play out the bowl and music for the people.
04:51We played it the year before to a hundred thousand people and said, you better come
04:54down and have a look at this.
04:55He didn't want us to get spooked.
04:57They had hired a helicopter, thank goodness he did, because we've only got one great overhead
05:02shot of the crowd there that day from the chopper.
05:05And at 11 o'clock in the morning, there were over a hundred thousand people there and the
05:09cars were banked up right back down to St Kilda Junction.
05:12And of course, at the end of the day, we had two hundred thousand there and it was scintillating.
05:18When you're a performer, you get to shut off anything else except what you're about to
05:23do.
05:24And that day really challenged us.
05:26But there might have been a few heart flutters.
05:29But we went out, did our thing and fortunately we captured the whole thing on film.
05:33Athol Guy, we really appreciate your thoughts this evening.
05:37Thank you very much.
05:38And thank you to the media all around for what they've done.