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| Photo from West Australian |
We had the privilege to go to the Judith Durham concert at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre last night - "Colours of my Life' - a retrospective which included memories and songs from her childhood in Tasmania, the four years of her time with The Seekers, and then songs drawn from the sadnesses of some of her life. That was just the first half of a two hour show. The voice is still rich although there was the odd quaver in the very early vibratos. But then she is just a bit older than I am, and I cannot say I have much voice left at all. She is fragile and slightly stiff onstage, but then again 50 years in show business must have taken its toll as would have watching her husband die from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The second half was exquisite. Drawn from her career as a solo singer and performer there was the new 'Brisbane' from the Cities Suite, her own version of 'Advance Australia Fair' (which just happens to be 300% more meaningful and appropriate to modern Australian society than the original)! And then there was 'Georgie Girl' which gained a standing ovation.
Somewhere in there were songs recorded at Abbey Road, an early Elton John for which she was the first female singer, some Scott Joplin ('Alexander's Ragtime Band') played superbly on the piano (Durham was originally classically trained on piano), and several songs which included the Sousaphone - now when did you last see one of those.
This was a night to be remembered and treasured. Judith Durham is a real lady, a national icon, a treasure. And the voice is superb, just as I remembered it back in the 70s.
She plays her last gig at the Sydney Opera House next week. Don't miss it.
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