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Keith Potger :
Biography |
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Keith`s
musical career started well before The Seekers first stormed the UK charts in
1964 with Tom Springfield`s `I`ll Never Find Another You`. He was a self-taught musician, playing the
banjo, 12 string guitar and recorder, and with an eye to a musical future, he
performed in two groups, The Trinamics and The Escorts. The Escorts were a fore-runner of The
Seekers, and consisted of Keith, Athol Guy, Ken Ray and Bob Turnbull. When Bob Turnbull was replaced by Bruce
Woodley, and when Judith Durham joined, replacing Ken Ray, the group became
The Seekers. At first
they all had day jobs. Keith was a
radio producer for the ABC which meant he had access to a recording
studio. When they could find the time,
and the studio was free, the newly-formed Seekers laid down some demo tapes
(released years later as The Seekers` Golden Collection.) In the evenings they performed at a In 1963 the
group obtained their first record contract, and Introducing The Seekers was
released on the W&G label. Since ABC
employees were not allowed to have a second job, Keith could not appear on
the cover, and Ken Ray was brought back just for the photo shoot! (The story of Keith`s plight is amusingly
depicted in the video of The Seekers` BBC Farewell Concert of 1968, where
Keith jokes around during one number in a variety of disguises – including
standing on his head!) The band also released a single, `Waltzing
Matilda`. Together with the album and
television appearances, they became moderately successful and turned professional. |
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On 28th
March 1964, the Seekers set sail for the One single
that found moderate chart success was ` In 1968
Judith Durham gave notice that she was leaving the group, which broke up in July
that year. Keith wanted to continue to
perform the same kind of music, so he formed The New Seekers. Later he changed from performing with them
to managing them. He produced their
first album and co-wrote songs for subsequent albums. Keith`s
consummate musicianship was evident in the way he selected songs for the
group and arranged them for five-part harmony. Lyn Paul, a member of the New Seekers
records how he went about this: The New
Seekers always tried to find a variety of good new songs to keep the act
fresh … The efforts of Keith Potger were very important to us in this respect
… Keith would call a rehearsal … and we would all sit in a circle around him,
while he played our parts to us individually on the guitar. At first it was very difficult and took a
long time to remember the harmonies until everybody was read to sing them
together. But gradually, with Keith`s
patience, we began to get used to it and the new routines were learned
quickly. (Sleeve notes from `The Best of The New Seekers, Disc 4: Singalong). |
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In 1972,
Keith arranged and co-produced with John Pantry an album for In the 70s
and 80s, Keith took part in several different combinations of The Seekers,
though Judith Durham did not return to the group until their full reunion in
1993. In 1997, the group released a
CD, `Future Road`, containing four of Keith`s compositions which gave the
public the first real chance to hear his amazing song-writing talent. These were:
`The Circle Of Love`; `Forever Isn`t Long Enough (For Me); ``Guardian
Angel, Guiding Light` and the title track, `Future Road.` As the
Seekers continued to tour through the nineties and into the millennium, fans
were eager to hear more of Keith as a solo singer, player and composer. In
late 2002 Keith lost his voice when the group was planning its 2003 tour. He
went into hiding while curing the problem with the aid of a speech therapist
in |
