The Seekers Judith Durham Farewell 1968 (Entire Show)

STOP PRESS: Keith Perron, 4th.December 2012.

All I can say is the BBC is trying to locate the best copy of it so the colour can be restored. A number of B&W prints were sent out to foreign TV stations after it was done and they have been able to local 14 copies. The next thing is locating the stereo recording of the audio that was made during the show. The original plan was to release it as an LP, which never happened. But it seems that the original master either now belongs to EMI or Sony Music. The plan is to release it in stereo.


peteinoz Quote: A couple of things I want to say about this show.

It will categorically NOT be released on DVD. The VHS release only came about through the temerity of one man, Graham Simpson, who invested a huge amount of unpaid time and agony on clearances. This meant contacting literally everyone heard or seen in this special. As these included a conductor and a rather large orchestra, as well as The Seekers themselves, this was a major undertaking particularly as some of the participants were deceased (The Seekers themselves are all living), so in those cases releases from surviving relatives were required.

Simpson has stated he has absolutely no desire to go through the same process again for a DVD release, so the VHS is all we will get. Unless, that is, the BBC decides to rescreen it, which they easily could if they chose.

As this special was taped in colour but only exists as a monochrome kine recording, the BBC could also - if they chose - utilise that new colour digitisation process they've developed which enables black and white telerecordings of colour programmes to be turned back into colour by detecting the formation of the chroma dots (a la the Dad's Army episode 'Room At The Bottom'). I doubt they'll see it as desirable though, even though The Seekers still have an adoring following in the UK and such a transformation would garner the BBC some very good press. .....Unquote.



The Seekers were an Australian group that formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1963. They went to England in 1964, with the intention of returning to Australia 10 weeks later. However, the rest is, as they say, history. They peaked the music charts in UK from 1964 to 1968. Then they decided to disband. This is their final concert.

Here at last , is 'Farewell The Seekers', the unique 1968 BBC television spectacular from Australia's legendary international success story. Presumed lost forever, the footage and soundtrack are now available to see, listen and enjoy. This is the concert nobody wanted to believe was happening...but everybody tuned in, making it one of the biggest television events of the decade.

In that one emotion-charged hour, The Seekers filmed their final concert in the Swinging Sixties, taking a nostalgic musical trip from humble beginnings in Melbourne, to their first Number 1 smash and many subsequent chart toppers which challenged the might of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

On Sunday evening, July 7, 1968, more than 10 million people, many of them in tears, watched and listened as the group worked through those cherished songs, and took their final bows.

Recorded at: BBC Television Studios London.