name	Bruce Woodley
background	solo_singer
birth name	Bruce William Woodley
born	July 25, 1942Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Jazz, pop-folk
occupation	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
years active	1959–present
associated acts	The Seekers
notable instruments	}}

Bruce William Woodley (born 25 July 1942), is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful pop-folk group The Seekers, and co-composer of the anthemic song "I Am Australian". Woodley attended Melbourne Boys' High School with fellow Seekers, Athol Guy and Keith Potger.

The Seekers

Bruce Woodley had a 'residency' performing at the Treble Clef restaurant in Prahran. With former schoolmates, Athol Guy and Keith Potger, he formed a folk music trio, The Escorts, in the early 1960s. With the arrival of vocalist Judith Durham in 1962 they became The Seekers, and had some success in Australia before travelling to London in 1964 and recording four international hit singles written and produced by Tom Springfield. Woodley played guitar, banjo, and mandolin, as well as one of the four-part vocal harmony, and was the chief songwriter. While Durham sang the majority of lead vocals for the group, Woodley usually handled the male lead vocals, including a number of album tracks. The Seekers first disbanded in 1968.

During 1965, while in London, Woodley met Paul Simon, following the poor performance of Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. and just prior to the success of Simon and Garfunkel. Simon and Woodley co-wrote the million-selling "Red Rubber Ball"—later a #1 hit for US group The Cyrkle. The Simon and Woodley collaboration also provided "I Wish You Could Be Here" and "Cloudy". The Seekers later recorded these three songs, and "Cloudy" became an album track on Simon and Garfunkel's hit 1966 LP ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme''—the only Simon and Woodley song to appear on both groups' album. However, Woodley's relationship with Simon had deteriorated and Woodley later struggled to get his share of the royalties—his songwriting credit on "Cloudy" was omitted from the release of ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme''.

Going solo

Bruce's first solo venture was a production company called Pennywheel, which saw him release a number of products for children, including a "Build an Alphabet" set of blocks and the 1969 EP & board book "Friday St. Fantasy". In 1969 Bruce headed off to America to sell the songs he'd been writing, and was to remain there for several years. During this period he collaborated with a number of writers including John Farrar and Australian folk singer Hans Poulsen. Their composition "Boom-Sha-La-La-Lo" became a hit for Poulsen.

In 1971 Bruce released his first solo album, entitled ''Just Good Friends''. In a reaction to the folk stereotype of the Seekers, the original album cover featured two naked models having sex. This was deemed too raunchy for Australia and the cover was replaced by a photo of Woodley. The original cover, however, was allowed in New Zealand, and this version of the album is a collectors item today. Three years later Bruce contributed to an Australian-themed album put out by Viscount cigarettes, called ''The Roaring Days Vol. 1'' (after a Henry Lawson poem). A second volume never eventuated. He also had a hit song called "Love me tonight baby" The album featured Bruce performing the traditional folk song "Eumerella Shore" and some of his own compositions, including "The Bush Girl", which he would later re-record for a double album in 1987, with the Seekers in 1997 and 2000, and with daughter Claire Woodley in 2001.

Seekers reunions

Woodley reunited with the Seekers, composed of fellow original members Athol Guy and Keith Potger, and 23 year old Dutch-born Louisa Wisseling (a semi-professional folk singer formerly with Melbourne band The Settlers). In a February 1975 newspaper article about the group's reunion, Louisa revealed that Bruce had approached her at a 1974 Settlers concert at Ferntree Gully's Swagman Restaurant with an offer to join the group, and she originally turned him down. The new group recorded two albums and a number of singles, some of which, like "The Nimble Song" and "I Saw It All With Trans Tours" (both written by Woodley) reflected the boys' other careers in advertising. Woodley's composition "The Sparrow Song" became the group's biggest hit and remains to this day the highest-charting Seekers single written by a member of the group. Other tracks he contributed to this line-up included "Giving and Takin'" (the title track of their second album), "Can We Learn to Get Along" (which began life as a solo recording for the TV documentary series ''Shell's Australia'', and was released by Bruce on flexi-disc), "Reunion", "Country Ros", "Standing on Shaky Ground" (featuring Bruce on vocals which he felt were too low for him, but were impossible for Louisa to sing for the same reason), and "The Rose and the Briar".

In 1977 Bruce left the group and was replaced by Buddy England. He continued to focus on song-writing and advertising, producing many TV jingles including one for Courage beer. A solo (advertising) single was called "The ANZ Bank Travelling Man", and was given out free to employees of that institution as part of the promotion.

''I Am Australian''

1987 saw Bruce involved in the preparations for the Australian Bicentenary, and the release of an Australian-themed double album, songbook and cassette tape, featuring covers of traditional songs and some of Bruce's own compositions. The set was called ''I Am Australian'', after a jingle that he wrote to tie together the various threads of the project, tapping into the need he perceived for a national song in which people could take pride. One of his colleagues on the project was Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers, who helped compose the words of the title song; another was noted folk singer Rose Bygrave. The recordings also featured a children's choir including Claire Woodley.

The following year he reunited with The Seekers, this time featuring Julie Anthony as the lead vocalist, to perform "The Carnival is Over" at Expo '88 and a musical about the Seekers' journey. This line-up released an album in 1989; "Live On", the title track, was composed by Bruce, as were many of the other new tracks like "The Streets of Serenade" (which charted the story of the Seekers rather more blatantly than his '70s composition "Reunion"), "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back", "How Can a Love So Wrong Be So Right" and "Taking My Chances With You". When Julie left to have a baby (daughter Tamara), former ''Young Talent Time'' singer Karen Knowles joined the group. The only studio recordings by this line-up are the Bruce Woodley written songs "Fools Tonight" and "Bright Star", sold as a cassingle at concerts. "Bright Star", originally written for Julie's voice, was also performed by both the Julie- and Karen-led Seekers at Carols by Candlelight.

When original vocalist Judith Durham returned to the Seekers fold in late 1992 for the group's 25 Year Silver Jubilee, the theme song and CD-Single of the reunion was Bruce's composition "Keep A Dream in Your Pocket". A 1993 live album and DVD followed, featuring many of the group's hits and a song which would become one of their best known, Woodley's "I Am Australian".

The success of "I Am Australian" took Woodley completely by surprise. In 1991 he performed it with Karen and the Australian Children's Choir on a televised drought appeal, featuring a new, drought themed verse which has not appeared on other recordings. "I Am Australian" has featured in all Woodley's solo tours and all Seekers tours since the reunion with Judith Durham; in 2000 the Seekers performed a condensed version at the televised Australia Day concert. Many artists have covered the song; in 1997 Judith Durham released a version with Russell Hitchcock and Mandawuy Yunupingu which entered the Australian charts. For many , it has become the unofficial anthem, and is a staple performed at many national events, by such artists as Jon Stevens, Delta Goodrem and naturally Bruce and the Seekers. At the 2001 celebrations for the Centenary of Federation Woodley performed the song with daughter Claire (now known for performing the song solo at many events herself) and co-writer Dobe Newton.

Bruce divorced in the '80s after a 14 year marriage, and he and former wife Sally have two children, Claire and a son, Dan. With Claire, a burgeoning singer-songwriter in her own right who has performed on the cabaret and conference circuit, he recorded a CD in 2001 called, once again, "I am Australian". He has since recorded an ANZAC themed version of "I am Australian", titled "The Anzac Song", and appeared on Melbourne radio advertising the release of a CD-Single several weeks before Anzac Day in 2005. Apparently due to production difficulties, it never eventuated. In 2005 Bruce was interviewed by music journalist Debbie Kruger for a new book entitled ''Songwriters Speak'', focusing on influential and successful Australian singer-songwriters.

At the National Day of Mourning on 22 February 2009 for the victims of the Victoria bushfires Woodley unveiled 2 new verses for this "I am Australian"

Other work

Bruce's non-musical work includes public speaking through the Saxton Speakers Bureau, and he is the patron of various organisations such as the NIYPAA (National Institute of Youth Performing Arts Australia). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the organisation TLC for Kids, and was for a time, beginning in 1997, the chairman of the Victorian branch of the Variety Club.

Discography

Songwriter and performer

1964 The Seekers: "Myra" (Durham/Guy/Potger/Woodley)

1965 The Seekers: "Two Summers" (Woodley)

1965 The Seekers: "Don't Tell Me My Mind" (Woodley)

1966 The Seekers: "Come the Day" (Woodley)

1966 The Seekers: "Red Rubber Ball" (Woodley/Simon)

1966 The Seekers: "I Wish You Could Be Here" (Woodley/Simon)

1967 The Seekers: "Love is Kind, Love is Wine" (Woodley)

1967 The Seekers: "The Sad Cloud" (Woodley/Westlake)

1967 The Seekers: "Chase a Rainbow (Follow Your Dream)" (Woodley)

1967 The Seekers: "Angeline is Always Friday" (Paxton/Woodley)

1967 The Seekers: "Cloudy" (Woodley/Simon)

1967 The Seekers: "Rattler" (Woodley)

1969 Bruce Woodley: "Friday Street Fantasy" [EP] ("Friday Man/Little One/Little Miss Sorrow/Captain Grumblepeg")

1969 "Friday Man/Captain Grumblepeg" [45]

1971 "Just Good Friends" [lp]

1971 "Friends/Rattler" [45]

1974 "The Roaring Days Vol. 1" [lp]

1987 "I am Australian" [box set: 2lp, book, cassette] (Woodley/Dobe Newton)

1987 The Seekers: "The Bush Girl" (Woodley/Lawson)

1997 The Seekers: "The Shores of Avalon" (Arrangement and original lyrics: Durham/Guy/Kovac/Potger/Woodley)

1997 The Seekers: "Amazing" (Woodley/Cristian)

1997 The Seekers "Gotta Love Someone" (Woodley/Cristian)

[ND] Bruce Woodley: "Can We Learn to Get Along" [45]

[ND] "The ANZ Bank Travelling Man" [promo 45]

[ND] "The Colours of Your Days" [45]

Songwriter only

1966 Simon and Garfunkel: "Cloudy", (Woodley/Simon) on the album ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'' US #4 album (Woodley co-writing credit omitted)

1967 The Cyrkle: "Red Rubber Ball" (Woodley/Simon) US #2

1967 The Cyrkle: "I Wish You Could Be Here" (Woodley/Simon) US #70

Hans Poulsen: "Boom Sha La La Lo" (Poulsen/Woodley)

References

;General :Books

Kruger, Debbie; '' Songwriters Speak'', Limelight Press, Australia, August 2005.

Simpson, Graham; ''Colours of my life : the Judith Durham Story'', Random House, Australia, 1994, 1998, 2005.

Woodley, Bruce; ''Friday Street Fantasy and Other Stories'', Paul Hamlyn & Pennywheel, Australia, 1969.

Woodley, Bruce; '''I am Australian Songbook'', Australia: np., 1987.

:Articles

''The Weekend Australian'', The Australian magazine, 11–12 April 1992. p. 32–35 and cover. – Bruce's involvement with IAA (I am Australian) Foundation

''The Age'', Property, 14 August 1982. – Interview with Sally Woodley about sale of Brighton residence

;Specific

External links

Bruce Woodley at Saxton Speaker Bureau

"I am Australian" lyrics with REAL AUDIO featuring Bruce Woodley and daughter Claire Woodley at Aussie Connection

The Seekers at MILESAGO

Songwriters Speak – Official website

Category:1942 births Category:Australian composers Category:Australian musicians Category:Australian guitarists Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian songwriters Category:Australian tenors Category:Living people Category:People educated at Melbourne High School (Victoria) Category:Musicians from Melbourne

Woodley may refer to:

Woodley, Berkshire, a town near Reading in Berkshire, England

Woodley, Greater Manchester, a suburban area near Stockport in Greater Manchester, England

Woodley, Hampshire, a place near Romsey in Hampshire, England

Woodley, Nairobi, a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya

Woodley (film), a film written and directed by Trent O'Donnell

Woodley (TV series), a TV series starring Frank Woodley

See also:

Woodley Park, Washington, D.C., a neighbourhood of the city of Washington, United States

name	Judith Durham
background	solo_singer
birth name	Judith Mavis Cock
birth date	July 03, 1943
birth place	Essendon, Victoria, Australia
instrument	Vocals, tambourine, piano
genre	Jazz
occupation	Singer, musician, composer
years active	1963–present
associated acts	The Seekers, The Hottest Band in Town, The Hot Jazz Duo
website	Official website }}

Judith Durham, OAM (born Judith Mavis Cock, 3 July 1943, Essendon, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian jazz singer and musician who became the lead vocalist for the Australian popular folk music group The Seekers in 1963. She left the group in mid-1968 to pursue her solo career. In 1993 Durham began to make sporadic recordings and performances with The Seekers, continuing into the 2000s.

Early life

Durham was born to William Alexander Cock DFC, a Navigator and World War II Pathfinder, and his wife Hazel. Durham lived in Hobart, Tasmania, where she attended The Fahan School before moving back to Melbourne in 1956. In Melbourne she was educated at Ruyton Girls' School and, following matriculation, enrolled at RMIT.

Durham at first planned to be a pianist, and she gained the qualification of Associate In Music, Australia (AMusA), in classical piano at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. She had some professional engagements playing piano. She also had classical vocal training and performed blues, gospel, and jazz pieces. Her singing career began at the age of 18 when she asked Nicholas Ribush, leader of the Melbourne University Jazz Band, one night at the Memphis Jazz Club in Malvern, whether she could sing with the band. In 1963 she began performing at the same club with Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers, using her mother's maiden name of Durham. In that year she also recorded her first EP—"Judy Durham with Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers"—for W&G; Records.

Durham was working as a secretary at the J Walter Thompson advertising agency where she met account executive Athol Guy. Guy was in a folk group called the Seekers which sang on Monday nights at the Treble Clef, a coffee lounge on Toorak Road in Melbourne.

The Seekers

The Seekers consisted of Durham, Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley, and Keith Potger, the last being an ABC radio producer. It was through Keith Potger's position that the three were able to make a demo tape in their spare time. This was given to W&G; Records, which wanted another sample of Durham's voice before agreeing to record a Jazz Preachers album. Instead W&G; signed The Seekers for an album, ''Introducing the Seekers'', in 1963. (Keith Potger does not appear on the album cover because he was not allowed to have a second job.) Durham, however, recorded two other songs with the Jazz Preachers, "Muddy Water" (which appeared on their album ''Jazz From the Pulpit'') and "Trombone Frankie" (an adapted version of Bessie Smith's "Trombie Cholly").

In early 1964 the Seekers sailed to the United Kingdom on the S.S. ''Fairsky'' on which the group provided the musical entertainment. Originally they had planned to return after 10 weeks, but they received a steady stream of bookings through the Grade Agency because they had sent the agency a copy of their first album. In November 1964 the Seekers released "I'll Never Find Another You" composed by Tom Springfield. In February 1965 the record reached number one in the UK and Australia.

Solo career

Durham returned to Australia in August 1968 and her first solo television special screened on the Nine Network in the September. During her solo career she has released albums titled ''For Christmas With Love'', ''Gift Of Song'', and ''Climb Ev'ry Mountain''. In 1970 she did the television special ''Meet Judith Durham'' in London, ending with her rendition of "When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day" by Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862–1946). In the 1970s she returned to traditional jazz and recorded Volumes 1 and 2 of ''The Hottest Band In Town'' and ''The Hot Jazz Duo''. She then retired to Queensland but wrote songs occasionally.

In 1994, Durham began recording albums again, including ''Mona Lisas'' in 1996 under the direction of producer Gus Dudgeon. This was re-released as ''Always There'' in 1998 with the addition of Durham's solo recording of fellow Seeker Bruce Woodley's "I am Australian" (with Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply and Mandawuy Yunupingu of Yothu Yindi) and the Smith Family theme song of the title. Her recording of "Always There" was first released on the 1997 double CD ''Anthems'', which also featured Bruce Woodley's "Common Ground" and the Seekers' "Advance Australia Fair" arrangement.

In 2000, Durham's album ''Let Me Find Love'' was re-released as ''Hold on To Your Dream'', with the addition of "Australia Land of Today" (which she had written). In 2001, she did another Australian tour, and in 2003 she toured the UK to celebrate her 60th birthday. Her birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London was filmed and released on DVD in late 2004.

In 2006, The Seekers were awarded the Key To The City of Melbourne by the Lord Mayor John So. As part of the ceremony, Judith Durham sang part of her song "Seldom Melbourne Leaves My Mind" and was later invited by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund to record the song, as a fund-raiser, with Orchestra Victoria. The decision was then made to record Durham's entire ''Australian Cities Suite'' with all proceeds from the sale of the CD to go to the charitable sector. The album was released in October 2008. The project is to benefit charities like the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Australia (Judith is national patron) and Orchestra Victoria, in addition to other charities which benefit from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund or its national affiliated network United Way.

By 2009, Durham's rendition of "A Perfect Day" by Carrie Jacobs-Bond achieved more hits on YouTube than even the version by Paul Robeson but was withdrawn from availability because of questions involving access to intellectual property.

The ''Australian Cities Suite'' features songs for all the capital cities including :"Sydney Girl Of My Dreams" :"Happy Years I Spent In Hobart" (with Judith's heartfelt memories of her childhood in Tasmania) :"Australia Land Of Today" (her emotional love song for the nation)

On 13 February 2009, Durham made a surprise return to the Myer Music Bowl when she performed the closing number at the "RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl – Sidney Myer Music Bowl 50th Anniversary" with "The Carnival is Over".

On 23 May 2009, Durham performed a one hour 'a cappella' concert in Melbourne as a launch for her album ''Up Close & Personal Vol 1''.

Personal life

On 21 November 1969, she married her musical director, British pianist Ron Edgeworth in Melbourne. They lived in the UK and Switzerland until the mid 1980s when they bought property in Nambour, Queensland, Australia.

In 1990 Durham, Edgeworth, and their tour manager Peter Summers were involved in a car accident on the Calder Freeway. The driver of the other car died at the scene, and Durham sustained a fractured wrist and leg. The response from her fans made Durham consider getting back together with the other Seekers for the silver jubilee show. This reunion, however, was brief when Edgeworth was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He died on 10 December 1994 with Durham by his side.

In the late 1990s Durham was stalked by her former personal assistant, a woman who sent her dozens of doormats through the post. The woman was subsequently prosecuted.

Solo releases

1963 ''Judy Durham & Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers'' [EP]

1964 Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers & Judy Durham – ''Trombone Frankie'' [45]

1967 "The Olive Tree" / "The Non-Performing Lion Quickstep" [45] – UK #33

1998 ''Always There'' [CD]

2002 ''JD and the Melbourne Welsh Male Choir'' [CD]

2000 ''Hold on To Your Dream'' [CD]

2003 ''Diamond Night'' [DVD]

2009 ''Judith Durham Up Close & Personal – Volume 1'' [CD] 2009 ''Judith Durham’s Advance Australia Fair ... A Lyric For Contemporary Australia'' [CD]

With the exception of the Jazz EP and the 1970s albums ''Gift of Song'' and ''Climb Every Mountain'', all of Durham's solo records have been re-released on CD.

Durham has also contributed to various compilations, including the CD single ''Yil Lull'', ''Slowly Gently'' for the Motor Neurone Disease fund-raiser, ''One Man's Journey'', and most recently an ethnic version of ''The Carnival is Over'' with Melbourne group Inka Marka for the Melbourne Immigration Museum's compilation CD ''This is the Place For a Song''. In 2007 Durham also made a cameo appearance on ''English Garden'', a bonus track featured only on the digital download version of the new Silverchair album ''Young Modern''.

References

Literature

Simpson, Graham. ''Colours of my life: The Judith Durham story''. Melbourne: Random House Australia, 1994, 1998, 2000; Virgin Books, 2004. ISBN 1-85227-038-1.

External links

Official Site

Judith Durham Discography

The Seekers – Groups & solo artists at the MILESAGO website

UK Fan Club Site

Durham interviewed 2009 by Lisa Wilkinson

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian songwriters Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Category:Singers from Melbourne Category:RMIT University alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni