The Seekers - Discovery in The United Kingdom

Discovery in The United Kingdom

The Seekers were offered a twelve-month position as on-board entertainment on the Sitmar cruise liner, Fairsky, in March 1964. In May, they travelled to the UK and had intended to return to Australia after staying ten weeks, but upon arrival they were offered work by a London booking agency, the Grade Organisation. They signed with World Record Club and issued a single, "Myra" – which was co-written by the group. The group regularly appeared on a UK TV series, Call in on Carroll, hosted by Ronnie Carroll.

After filling in on a bill headlined by Dusty Springfield, they met her brother, songwriter and producer Tom Springfield, who had experience with folk-pop material with the siblings' earlier group the Springfields. He penned "I'll Never Find Another You", which they recorded in November 1964. It was released by EMI Records, on their Columbia label, in December and was championed by the offshore radio station Radio Caroline. Despite the fact that the group had not signed a contract with EMI, the single reached the UK Top 40 and began selling well. In February 1965, it reached No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and No. 4 in the United States where it was released on EMI's Capitol label. "I'll Never Find Another You" was the biggest selling single in the UK for 1965 and went on to sell 1.75 million copies worldwide.

The Seekers were the first Australian pop group to have a top 5 hit in all three countries – Australia, UK and US. Australian music historian, Ian McFarlane described their style as "concentrated on a bright, uptempo sound, although they were too pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock." The distinctive soprano voice of Durham, the group's harmonies and memorable songs encouraged the UK media, including the BBC, to give them exposure, allowing them to appeal to a broad cross-section of the pop audience.