Judith Durham, who has died of bronchiectasis aged 79, was the vocalist of the Seekers, her soprano voice helping to make the group one of the most popular of the 1960s. The Seekers were both the first major Australian band to achieve international success and the first to top the UK and US charts.
Their TV specials The Seekers Down Under (1967), The World of the Seekers and Farewell the Seekers (both 1968) all scored huge Australian and UK TV audiences. It is estimated that the group sold more than 50m singles and LPs during the height of their popularity yet, while London-based during their chart career, they were never considered part of “swinging London”: the band’s three male members dressed in matching suits while Durham, with her classically trained voice and preference for gowns, ensured they appeared rooted in an earlier, light-entertainment era.
