The Seekers - An Australian Band

An Australian Band

The Seekers were formed in 1962 in Melbourne by Athol Guy on double bass, Keith Potger on twelve-string guitar and Bruce Woodley on guitar. Guy, Potger and Woodley had all attended Melbourne Boys High School. In the late 1950s Potger led The Trinamics, a rock 'n' roll group, Guy led the Ramblers, and, with Woodley, they decided to form a doo-wop group, the Escorts. The Escorts had Ken Ray as the lead singer and in 1962 they became the Seekers. Ray left the group to get married. His place was taken by Judith Durham, who was an established traditional jazz singer, having recorded an extended play disc on W&G Records with the Melbourne group Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers.

Durham and Guy had met when they both worked in an advertising agency – initially Durham only sang periodically with the Seekers, when not performing at jazz clubs. She was replaced in the jazz ensemble by Margret RoadKnight. The Seekers performed folk-influenced pop music and soon gathered a strong following in Melbourne. Durham's connections with W&G Records led to the group signing with the label. Their debut album, Introducing The Seekers, was released in 1963. Their debut single was the bush ballad, "Waltzing Matilda", which appeared in November and reached the Melbourne top 40 singles chart. When being photographed for the album's cover, Potger was replaced by Ray – his day job with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) as a radio producer barred him from involvement in a commercial enterprise.