Judith Durham, the great Australian singer and vocalist of The Seekers, has died at the age of 79.
Durham released several solo albums, but was best known as the voice of the folk music group The Seekers, with whom she performed from 1963 until 1968, when she left to pursue a solo career.
The band quickly achieved worldwide success and sold over 50 million records, with a string of international hits including I’ll Never Find Another You, The Carnival is Over, A World of Our Own and Georgy Girl.
Durham died in palliative care on Friday night after a short stay at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Universal Music Australia and Musicoast said in a statement.
His death was the result of complications from a long-standing chronic lung disease, according to the statement.
Seekers management team member Graham Simpson said: “This is a sad day for Judith’s family, her fellow Seekers, Musicoast staff, the music industry and fans around the world , and all of us who have been a part of Judith’s life for so long.”
His bandmates in The Seekers, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy, said their lives had been changed forever by losing “our beloved star and lifelong friend”.
“His fight was intense and heroic, he never complained about his fate and fully accepted its conclusion. His magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are very fortunate to share,” they said.
Tributes poured in for the beloved singer, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailing Durham as “a national treasure and an Australian icon”.
“Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped pave the way for a new generation of Australian artists,” he said on Twitter. “His kindness will be missed by many, the anthems he gave our nation will never be forgotten.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton paid tribute to Durham as someone who “gave voice to more than a generation of Australians through words of universal appeal, carried by melodies that, once heard, they stuck in our memories.”
“Durham demonstrated song after song, concert after concert, how the human voice can reach and move each of us,” Dutton said in a statement. “His language was uniquely Australian and his voice a gift of universal beauty.”
Arts Minister Tony Burke said Durham was “an icon of our music”. “Once upon a time, the best-known Australian voice was that of Judith Durham,” he wrote. “What a contribution. What a loss.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the Essendon-born musician “conquered the world of music both here in Australia and overseas”. “With his unique voice and stage presence fronting The Seekers, the band became one of Australia’s biggest charts.”
Durham received several honors during her career, including the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to music in 1995, particularly as an entertainer and composer, and the Centenary Medal in 2003.
She was also named Victorian of the Year in 2015.
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Born in Melbourne, Durham recorded her first EP aged 19 and rose to international fame after joining The Seekers. They disbanded in 1968, a year after becoming joint recipients of the Australian of the Year award, but reunited in the 1990s.
In 1969, Durham married British pianist and music director Ron Edgeworth before a brief stint in the UK and Switzerland. The couple survived a car crash with their tour manager in 1990 in which Durham suffered injuries including a broken wrist and leg.
The huge fan outpouring encouraged Durham to reunite with other members of The Seekers for a Silver Jubilee Show, at which point Edgeworth was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He died four years later.
In 2013, Durham suffered a stroke that affected her ability to read and write, but not her singing. Her latest album, a collection of previously unreleased songs titled So Much More, was released in 2018 to celebrate her 75th birthday.
–With Australian Associated Press