Bruce Woodley | |
|---|---|
 The Seekers in 1965 – Woodley at right | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Bruce William Woodley (1942-07-25)25 July 1942 (age 83) |
| Genres | Jazz,folk-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, banjo |
| Years active | 1959–present |
Bruce William Woodley[1]AO[2] (born 25 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician.[3][4] He was a founding member of the successfulfolk-pop groupthe Seekers,[3] and co-composer of the songs "I Am Australian," "Red Rubber Ball," andSimon & Garfunkel's "Cloudy."[5]
Bruce Woodley was born on 25 July 1942 inMelbourne,Victoria, Australia. He attendedMelbourne High School with fellow Seekers,Athol Guy andKeith Potger.[3]
Woodley had a 'residency' performing at the Treble Clef restaurant inPrahran. With former schoolmates,Athol Guy andKeith Potger, he formed afolk music trio, The Escorts, in the early 1960s.[3] Soon before the arrival of vocalistJudith Durham in 1962 they becameThe Seekers, and had some success in Australia before travelling to London in 1964 and recording four international hit singles written and produced byTom Springfield.[3] Woodley played guitar,banjo, andmandolin, as well as one of the four-part vocal harmony, and was the chief songwriter.[3] 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.[3]
During 1965, while in London, Woodley metPaul Simon, following the poor performance ofWednesday Morning 3 A.M. and just prior to the success ofSimon and Garfunkel.[3] and prior to the success of Simon's "The Sounds of Silence." Simon and Woodley co-wrote three songs: the million-selling "Red Rubber Ball"[6]—later a Top Five hit for US groupThe Cyrkle.;[3] "I Wish You Could Be Here," which The Cyrkle and The Seekers both recorded; and "Cloudy" which became an album track on Simon and Garfunkel's hit 1966 albumParsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme—the only Simon and Woodley song to appear on both Simon & Garfunkel and The Seekers' albums.[3] However, Woodley's relationship with Simon had deteriorated and Woodley later struggled to get his share of theroyalties—his songwriting credit on "Cloudy" was omitted from the release ofParsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.[3] Woodley and Simon stopped working together due to the mentioned royalty problems and creative differences, and the collaborations ended after that.
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Woodley'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 1969EP and board book, "Friday St. Fantasy". In 1969, Bruce headed off toAmerica to sell songs he had been writing, and was to remain there for several years. During this period he collaborated with a number of writers includingJohn Farrar and Australian folk singerHans Poulsen.
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Woodley reunited with the Seekers, composed of fellow original membersAthol Guy andKeith 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 atFerntree Gully'sSwagman 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, including "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 1970s 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 seriesShell's Australia, and was released by Bruce onflexi-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 TVjingle. His first, back in 1971 was a solo (advertising) single called "The ANZ Bank Travelling Man", and was given out free to employees of that institution as part of the promotion.
The year 1987 saw Woodley involved in the preparations for theAustralian Bicentenary, and the release of an Australian-themed double album, songbook and cassette tape, featuring covers of traditional songs and some of Woodley's own compositions. The set was calledI 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 wasDobe Newton ofThe Bushwackers, who helped compose the words of the title song; another was noted folk singerRose Bygrave. The recordings also featured a children's choir including Claire Woodley.
The following year he reunited withThe Seekers, this time featuringJulie Anthony as the lead singer, to perform "The Carnival is Over" atExpo '88 and a musical about the Seekers' journey. This line-up released an album in 1989; "Live On", the title track, was composed by Woodley, 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), formerYoung Talent Time singerKaren 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 atCarols by Candlelight.
When original lead singerJudith 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 Woodley'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, Durham released a version withRussell Hitchcock andMandawuy Yunupingu which entered the Australian charts. For many[vague], it has become the unofficial anthem, and is a staple performed at many national events, by such artists asJon 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.
He recorded a CD in 2001, along with Claire, called, once again, "I am Australian". He has since recorded anANZAC themed version of "I am Australian", titled "The Anzac Song", and appeared on Melbourne radio advertising the release of a CD-Single several weeks beforeAnzac 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 entitledSongwriters Speak, focusing on influential and successful Australian singer-songwriters.
At the National Day of Mourning on 22 February 2009 for the victims of theVictoria bushfires, Woodley unveiled two new verses for "I am Australian".[7]
Woodley'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 theVariety Club.Woodley and his wife, Sally have two children, Claire and a son, Dan. Claire has collaborated with her father, several times.
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Introducing the Seekers |
|
| The Seekers |
|
| Hide & Seekers |
|
| A World of Our Own |
|
| Come the Day |
|
| Seekers Seen in Green |
|
| The Seekers | |
| Giving and Taking |
|
| Live On |
|
| Future Road |
|
| Morningtown Ride to Christmas |
|
| Back to Our Roots |
|
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live at the Talk of the Town | |
| 25 Year Reunion Celebration |
|
| 1968 BBC Farewell Spectacular |
|
| Night of Nights... Live! |
|
| Farewell |
|
| The Carnival of Hits Tour 2000 |
|
| Live in the UK |
|
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Kumbaya" | 1963 |
| "Waltzing Matilda" | |
| "Myra" | 1964 |
| "I'll Never Find Another You" | |
| "What Have They Done to the Rain" | 1965 |
| "A World of Our Own" | |
| "Chilly Winds" | |
| "Morningtown Ride" | |
| "Cotton Fields" | |
| "The Carnival Is Over" | |
| "Lady Mary" | |
| "Someday, One Day" | 1966 |
| "Walk with Me" | |
| "Georgy Girl" | |
| "Isa Lei" | |
| "Myra (Shake Up the Party)" | 1967 |
| "On the Other Side" | |
| "When Will the Good Apples Fall" | |
| "Emerald City" | |
| "Love Is Kind, Love Is Wine" | 1968 |
| "Days of My Life" | |
| "With My Swag All on My Shoulder" | |
| "Island of Dreams" | |
| "Children Go Where I Send You" | 1969 |
| "Colours of My Life" | |
| "Sparrow Song" | 1975 |
| "Love Isn't Love Until You Give It Away" | |
| "Reunion" | |
| "Break These Chains" | 1976 |
| "A Part of You" | |
| "Where in the World" | |
| "Giving and Taking" | |
| "Vagabond" | 1977 |
| "How Can a Love So Wrong Be So Right" | 1988 |
| "Building Bridges" | 1989 |
| "Keep a Dream in Your Pocket" | 1993 |
| "A World of Our Own"(re-recording) | 1994 |
| "Georgy Girl"(re-recording) | |
| "Calling Me Home" | 1997 |
| "Carry Me" | 2022 |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
