The Seekers Singer Judith Durham Honoured In State Funeral

Tributes continue to flow for The Seekers lead singer Judith Durham who died last week, aged 79.

Diagnosed from a young age with the chronic lung disease bronchiectasis, Durham finally succumbed to the long-standing condition on Friday.   

"This is a sad day for Judith's family, her fellow Seekers, the staff of Musicoast, the music industry and fans worldwide, and all of us who have been part of Judith's life for so long," Long-time manager Graham Simpson said in a statement on Saturday.

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Born Judith Mavis Cock in 1943 in Essendon, the young musician changed to her mother's maiden name at the age of 19 to perform as a jazz singer.

Durham’s life then changed dramatically in 1963 when she joined The Seekers, one year after the band had formed.

With a distinctive folk sound, the group including Ms Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley produced hits including Georgy Girl, Morningtown Ride, I’ll Never Find Another You and The Carnival Is Over.

Durham’s easy listening voice has been attributed to propelling the band toward international stardom, which saw The Seekers move to the UK in 1964.

Topping the British charts with their first three releases, The Seekers were deemed famous, at least in Australia, for knocking The Beatles off the number one spot.

The Melbourne-born band also had three top-20 singles and two top-20 albums in the US.

The Seekers then returned to Australia in 1967, where they set a new Aussie record performing at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl to a crowd of over 200,000 fans.

They were also the first Australian band to sell over a million records.

Although going solo for a period, Durham continued to perform with The Seekers over the years and in 2013 the band performed their 50th anniversary tour.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed that Ms Durham will be honoured in a state funeral to honour her life and contribution to music.

Andrews on Twitter described Ms Durham as a "true icon of Australian music".

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