Members of the Surfin' Seekers began arriving at the Bournemouth International Centre shortly after 6:00 p.m. We congregated near the cafe and soon David Smith was busy filling T-shirt orders. (Very well done, David, and thank you for extending us credit.) Then Richard Saunders was delivering copies of his Thank You for the Music CD. (Now that I've returned to Canada and listened to the CD, I must say that we have some very talented musicians in our group. Congratulations to all you performers, and to Richard for putting it together.)
Next Peter Otten was busy collecting contributions towards the group's presentation to The Seekers, obtaining backstage passes, and making arrangements for us to gather after the concert. David was helping Kayleigh practise how to present our bouquet to Judith and Surfin' Seekers were everywhere, chatting anmd sporting their new T-shirts.
Then the doors to Windsor Hall opened and we proceeded to take our seats and survey the auditorium. A very attractive venue it was, packed by about 4000 enthusiastic fans. While most in the crowd were middle-aged, there were a number of younger fans too.
At about 8:05 the lights dimmed and the announcement prohibiting any photography or recording was made. Then a guitar slowly strummed the tunes of several of the biggest hits of The Seekers and next the group strode on stage to a warm round of applause.
As reported by others, the list of songs was the same as elsewhere in the UK. (I won't repeat Richard Veit's list.) Athol said that they were going to play ALL their songs and we would be there until about 2:30 or so. The crowd reacted with predictable enthusiasm and Athol responded, "Well, maybe not!"
The four performers all looked very healthy, especially Judith, who looked (and during Myra, acted) about a third of her age. Early on in the show, Judith told us that her voice was not quite up to scratch - no wonder, performing for the fifth night in a row. We in the audience didn't mind a bit and it was nice to see Judith relax and take this in stride. She sang her little lungs out and the audience cheered wildly.
There was a short interruption after the first song because of technical difficulties with Keith's guitar - this just proved that they weren't lip-syncing! The repartee was very enjoyable - they even told a joke for Richard Veit (about the Texan trying to buy a farm from an old Australian farmer. The Texan bragged about the size of his farm in the US - "Why, I have a horse that takes all day to ride my western line!" he exclaimed. "Yeah", replied the Australian, "I have a horse like that too!" (Richard must have gotten a little tired of hearing this joke in six or seven concerts ...)
Some folks were taking flash photographs during the concert and Athol eventually asked them to stop, explaining that the flashes were very distracting to performers. One chap persisted and was evicted by a
security guard.
It was wonderful to watch the group perform live. Judith's stage presence is very impressive - from being the "life of the party" in Myra, cavorting about the stage, bumping buttocks with the boys, and complaining that a reviewer had once compared her dancing to that of an elephant - to an extremely sensitive rendition of The Bush Girl. The latter and The Shores of Avalon drew especially prolonged applause, despite the fact that some of the audience were probably hearing them for the first time. (It usually takes me at least two or three hearings to really warm up to a song.)
I particularly enjoyed Puff the Magic Dragon and wish that it was recorded in its entirety. Judith's transition from sad to bouncy in "Oh ..oh" towards the end of the song was classic.
At the end of the concert, many in the audience moved towards the stage and there were many wet eyes in the crowd, mine included. But I didn't feel sad - rather supremely satisfied at finally getting to see The Seekers perform live. They gave us full value for our money.
After the concert, our group gathered to go backstage. We waited about half an hour while The Seekers received other guests, then got our turn. Some of our group got to chat a bit with the stars but their handler kept moving us along. All were very pleasant, though I found Bruce a bit reserved. (Apparently he was exhausted that night and rebounded at later concerts.) I regret not telling him how much I enjoy his rendition of I am Australian. I gave Athol a present of maple syrup from Canada for the boys, which he quickly spirited away. I gave Judith several tapes of musicians from Atlantic Canada but didn't think it appropriate to chat with her - there were at least 100 more fans waiting to meet with the group after us, and the time was already about 11:20.
It was a great privilege to get to meet with the four: I didn't expect them to have much time for us but regarded it as a great opportunity to "pay homage" to them and tell them how much their music has meant to me. It was an opportunity to make a direct presentation of gifts and letters to them, and thanks again to Peter Otten, Graham Simpson, The Seekers and their managers for making this possible.
For those of you who weren't in Bournemouth to see the review in the Daily Echo on June 5th, it was as follows:
"Carnival Not Yet Over For Seekers
The Seekers, Windsor Hall, BIC
Come the day, 32 years ago, when The Seekers gave their 'farewell' concert on BBC TV little did I imagine these lovely people would be back in town taking (mostly) 4,000 wrinkleys-in-waiting for one last trip through nostalgia's pearly gates.
Featuring the group's original line-up of Athel (sic) Guy, Keith Fotger (sic), Bruce Woodley and, of course, the fabulous blues-touched voice of Judith Durham, the joy was that very little has changed. Never mind the odd grey hair (or lack thereof), their performance was as lively, expressively harmonious and musically consistent as the last time they played Bouremouth's Winter Gardens.
Yes, the 'boys' have a certain mature depth and the gentle humour is slick. And though Judith, bless her, found some high notes out-of-bounds following the previous night's Wembley gig, she's still amazing.
With a train of hits such as Morningtown Ride, A World of Our Own and Georgy Girl, a new album and the traditional folk songs, these Ozzies are the best thing that ever left South Australia, including Foster's!
Mike Marsh"
The morning after the concert, about twenty or so Surfin' Seekers met at the BIC and took the bus to Hengistbury Head for an outing to the beach. When we arrived there, we took a "train ride" on coaches pulled by a tractor decorated to look like a steam engine. David Smith challenged us to sing Morningtown Ride with him but the rest of us declined. (For my own part, out of respect for the tune.) We had lunch at the beach and the outing provided us with a wonderful opportunity to meet other members of our group. And what a pleasant group they turned out to be. (Would you believe that Peter Otten is 6 feet 7 inches tall? It's true.) Thank you, Marjorie Hillman, for organizing this event for us.
One final comment: I flew out of Halifax at 10:30 p.m. and at about 1:30 a.m. noticed a sparkle of light out of the airplane window. We had been flying over Greenland and the Atlantic Ocean so I thought we must be approaching Iceland and that the light must be that of a car or house. However, the light quickly got larger and redder and I realized that it
was the sun rising! An omen of what was to come? Sure enough, the concert featured Red Rubber Ball!
I hope that this has given some of our members who didn't get to a Farewell Tour concert some idea of what the concerts were like.
Best wishes.
John Filliter