MELBOURNE, AUS (CelebrityAccess) – Australian musician Judith Durham, best known as the lead singer of folk music group The Seekers, died at age 79. The Melbourne-born folk icon rose to international fame with the hits “I’ll Never Find Another You,” “A World of Our Own,” and “Georgy Girl.”
Universal Music Australia and Musicoast released a statement regarding her death. She passed away Friday (August 5) after a stay at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. According to the statement, her death resulted from complications from longstanding chronic lung disease.
Durham left the band to go solo in 1968 and released several studio albums, but she was best known as the lead singer for the group, The Seekers. During their career, they sold over 50 million records.
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, paid tribute to Durham, calling her “a national treasure.”
“Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists,” he wrote on social media. “Her kindness will be missed by many; the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.”
Her bandmates – Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley, and Athol Guy – said their lives had been changed forever by losing “our treasured lifelong friend and shining star.” “Her struggle was intense and heroic, never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce, and I are so blessed to share,” they said in their message.
Durham married the British pianist and musical director Ron Edgeworth in 1969. After surviving a car crash with Edgeworth, the outpouring of love from fans during her recovery led to a reunion with The Seekers for a Silver Jubilee Show in 1990. Her husband passed away four years later from a motor neuron disease.
In 2013, Durham suffered a stroke that impacted much of her ability to read and write, but she continued to sing, as reported by The Guardian. Her last album, So Much More, was released in 2018 to celebrate her 75th birthday.
Durham was honored multiple times during her lengthy career, including being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to music in 1995, the Centenary Medal in 2003, and the Victorian of the Year in 2015.
