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ABOUT RON EDGEWORTH

January 29th 1938 – December 10th 1994

Brilliant pianist Ron Edgeworth, Judith Durham’s dearly beloved late husband, had an impressive career covering performances in all aspects of the music business – from concert tours with such superstars as Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and The Seekers, to the world famous Newport Jazz Festival with Judith.

In his formative days in London, Ron started out playing boogie, blues and 20s jazz, but it was his versatility and imaginative playing in many spheres from pop to classics that were to make him in such demand in a wide variety of musical fields, as a soloist, with his duo and trio, in traditional and modern jazz, accompanying nightclub acts, in society bands, and as a Musical Director – playing, in fact, anywhere from pubs to palaces!

He worked in Europe and North Africa doubling on trombone in a military band, on the US bases in Germany on piano with a 40s style swing band, and in England with the famous broadcasting big bands of the day; Ronnie Aldrich, Cyril Stapleton, Johnny Howard and Bob Miller.

Ron’s introduction to the showbiz side of the music world came about when comedian Don Arrol (compere of UK TV’s top-rating show ‘Sunday Night At The London Palladium’) invited Ron to be his personal accompanist. Ron then worked on stage in Don’s act in theatres and nightclubs throughout the UK and on radio and TV.

Ron was a touring member of the John Barry Seven, the hit recording group. With other musicians from the Seven he formed a rock group “Shade Joey & The Night Owls" and had a single out in the UK, produced by Joe Meek of ‘Telstar’ fame.

Around this time he was asked to join the band of legendary blues guitarist Alexis Korner, who had been such a big influence in the early days on many up and coming blues bands and rock groups of the time – notably The Rolling Stones. There followed many memorable one-nighters all round the country with Alexis and his band of local musicians, along with American blues shouter Herbie Goins, culminating in the album for Transatlantic Records ‘Alexis Korner’s All Stars – Blues Incorporated’ featuring Ron on piano and Hammond organ.

He joined a vocal-instrumental stage and nightclub act called The Trebletones, working in Spain with Helen Shapiro and touring all over Poland, becoming one of the first ever pop groups from the West to play behind the ‘Iron Curtain’. In the UK The Trebletones were booked in Summer Seasons, nightclubs and pantomime, and went on to perform in every major theatrical venue on concert tours staged by The Grade Organisation and the Harold Davison Agency, in shows headlined by such major artists as Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, The Bachelors, Frank Ifield, Dick Emery, Russ Conway, Val Doonican, and The Seekers – playing for Judith Durham for the first time in her solo spot in The Seekers’ shows.

Ron was also Musical Director and accompanist for other big-name artists such as Clyde McPhatter (US hit record act from the 50s), and singing star Vince Hill. He was Musical Director too for pop pianist Russ Conway’s Summer Variety Show and was also booked as solo opening act for the season.

When Judith Durham left The Seekers, she contacted Ron and asked him to become her Musical Director and Arranger for a tour that brought him for the first time to Australia and New Zealand – for concerts and television work, followed by a trip to the United States to record Judith’s first solo album (on this record date he played Hammond organ and piano with a Hollywood orchestra that included such legendary names as Herb Ellis, Pete Jolly and Louis Belson).

Ron continued working with Judith Durham for many years, touring the world’s major concert halls, theatres and nightclubs, and making numerous television appearances. In the 70s Ron picked up on his earliest trad jazz influences, starting with an extended booking in San Francisco at Turk Murphy’s famous nightclub “Earthquake McGoon’s?, working as a Duo with Judith and in his own spots as a solo pianist. It was at McGoon’s that Ron’s unmistakeable two-fisted piano style began to emerge, along with his feeling for the wonderful ballads and standards of the era. Later, together with Judith, he formed his own jazz band, The Hottest Band In Town, hand-picked from the cream of San Francisco’s great players, and produced and arranged the album ‘Judith Durham & The Hottest Band In Town Volume 1’.

Ron and Judith put together a second ‘Hottest Band In Town’ in the UK, producing the follow-up album ‘…Volume 2’. Ron also worked with Judith on television shows such as ‘Sunday Night At The London Palladium’ and ‘The Benny Hill Show’. Ron Edgeworth and Judith Durham with their band The Hottest Band In Town went on the road for concert tours throughout the UK and Australia, and Ron playing solo piano provided a show-stopping opening act.

By this time, back in Australia, Ron’s brother, screenwriter Patrick Edgeworth, had become a producer and writer of major television drama, and an episode of the Logie award-winning TV series ‘Cash & Company’ – set in the 1800s – was specially written for Judith and Ron.  In the episode ‘Golden Girl’ Judith and Ron featured as goldfield singing star Sarah Simmons and her pianist Charlie Owens.  While in Australia, Judith and Ron joined Turk Murphy’s San Francisco Jazz Band on tour.

Winning much critical praise and setting audiences everywhere alight, Judith and Ron went on to numerous performances throughout the world, including Europe and the United States.

Ron and Judith teamed up in a new musical partnership, The Hot Jazz Duo, featuring solo piano and voice.  The highlight of this partnership came in the United States where they made a sensational appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival at the instigation of iconic jazz impresario Stanley King.  They opened the show and to a growing crowd of 3000 stamping and cheering and received three standing ovations.  Later, at Criteria Studios in Miami Florida, Judith and Ron co-produced ‘The Hot Jazz Duo’, a live album combining performances from The Newport Jazz Festival with some amazing performances from their concert in Hobart after the Australian Jazz Convention the previous year.

Apart from his performing credentials Ron Edgeworth was a talented composer, having written many original works covering all categories of music, some in collaboration with Judith Durham, which have been recorded and broadcast. His theme music, which he arranged and recorded for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Raw Deal’, was nominated for the 1978 Sammy Awards. He also worked as an extra in this movie – as a piano player!

Exceptional talent and experience aside, to hear Ron Edgeworth play was to be aware of an infectious excitement that was a true tonic, and was guaranteed – as Judith’s song says – to ‘Chase Those Blues Away’. But Ron’s music, which lives on today, is not just for listening to, so don’t be surprised if you’re listening to a track like “My Buddy? on ‘The Hot Jazz Duo’ album, and feel yourself unable to resist the urge to get up and dance!

Tragically, Ron Edgeworth died of Motor Neurone Disease in December 1994, with his beloved wife Judith at his side. He lives on in her and in the music they made together, as well as in his own brilliant solo playing.

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ABOUT BEVERLEY SHEEHAN

Words cannot adequately convey the magic of Beverley Sheehan’s voice, which internationally has been described as “enticing”, “glorious”, “exuberant”, “swinging”, “spellbinding”, “moving” and “heart-warming”; superlatives usually reserved for none but the greats in the entertainment world.

But it’s not really so surprising, because Beverley is the sister of one of Australia’s legends Judith Durham, whose own golden lead vocals took The Seekers to the world stage in the 1960s.  Audiences often find that same magic in Beverley’s singing, but they also comment on Beverley’s uniquely magnetic charisma and glamorous appeal on stage, and popular choice of versatile material in her own world of traditional jazz.

Beverley’s interest in that infectious and sometimes bluesy repertoire began in her late teenage years when she started listening to the early jazz luminaries Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and others, but she always acknowledges that her main inspiration as a vocalist comes from Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme and Carmen McCrae.

There was much music in Beverley’s childhood home with classical piano lessons for six years, and she later sang in choir and madrigal groups at school.  But her career as a singer did not really begin until she was 31 when she was given her start in the music business by Melbourne legend Smacka Fitzgibbon in 1970, and continuing at ‘Smacka’s Place’ for the following two years with the much revered trumpeter Frank Johnson & His Fabulous Dixielanders.

After a period overseas where she avidly soaked up any opportunities to see and hear international jazz at its best, Beverley returned to Australia in 1977 and her professional career took off in earnest as featured vocalist for 18 months with the band of well-known jazz trumpeter Roger Bell (brother of renowned Graeme Bell).  She built her name further afield by guesting with many other big name bands like Steve Waddell’s Creole Bells and Allan Leake’s Storyville All*Stars with whom she recorded three albums (‘Wabash Blues’, ‘Everything Old Is New Again’ for the ABC, and ‘Easy Does It’).

In the mid 1980s Beverley took a starring role in the jazz-oriented floor show at Banjo’s Theatre Restaurant, and in the highly entertaining shows of the Melbourne Jazz Repertory Company – touring nationwide and often delighting capacity audiences in major venues like the Melbourne Concert Hall.  In those shows, as well as captivating audiences as a solo concert artist, Beverley also enjoyed singing in harmony with vocal and instrumental trio Vocalion.

Further proving her enduring popularity, in the early 90s, Beverley led her own resident trio for four years at Hotel Le Meridien, one of Melbourne’s leading international hotels; and nationwide, Beverley has gained love and respect as special guest artist: at prominent Jazz Clubs in most capital cities, numerous Jazz Festivals (including Sydney’s Manly, Noosa, Wangaratta and Newcastle Festivals), and many times at the annual Australian Jazz Convention.  In particular, every year since its 1988 inception, Beverley featured at the Monsalvat International Jazz Festival – one year coordinating the special segment “Australian Women In Jazz”.

Drawing on her versatile and entertaining repertoire Beverley has also sung at many corporate functions, weddings and private parties throughout Australia and internationally.  In Thailand for four consecutive years she guested for the Amari Hotel Group with The Storyville Jazztet, and two years running the group performed for more than 1,000 people at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok during Australia Day celebrations.

During her career Beverley has also performed with many internationally recognised Australian jazz greats, such as pianist Graeme Bell and trumpeter Bob Barnard, and guesting with many bands in the recording studio through the years since the early 90s, Beverley has amassed a substantial repertoire; at the request of long time musical associate and mentor Allan Leake, Bev recorded with his band The Storyville Jazztet on three albums (‘The Storyville Jazztet With Very Special Guests’, ‘The Taste of Jazz’, and ‘Towards 2000’ recorded and broadcast by ABC Sydney).  Meanwhile in 1991 she recorded alongside the great Tom Baker in Perth on the album “The Gum Nut Stompers With Special Company’, and in the same year recorded her own much-loved album “How Long Has This Been Going On” with her group Swing Shift which was first formed in 1982 with Allan Leake.  In 1995 Beverley gained international recording credentials as special guest with Japanese jazz band Dixie Jive on their CD “Dixie Jive” with arrangements by Graeme Bell.

In 2003, a very popular compilation CD was released by Musicoast.  “Beverley Sheehan & Friends: Spreadin’ Rhythm Around”features 21 standout tracks from Beverley’s impressive back catalogue.

As well as jazz club and concert performances, Bev has also made television appearances (notably Bert Newton’s ‘Good Morning Australia’), co-starred several times with Nina Ferro in Christmas Jazz concerts at Melbourne’s St Paul’s Cathedral (co-producing the show on one occasion with renowned pianist Helen Jowsey), and played the role of Vera Lynn in the musical ‘For The Boys Over There’, highlighting to great advantage the beautiful nostalgic vibrato in Beverley’s own voice.

Beverley also took part in ‘The Sweethearts of Rhythm’ (a show featuring the musical arrangements of the all-girl orchestra of the 1920s) at the Melbourne Concert Hall and Mietta’s Restaurant, and subsequently took part in a memorable tribute to the late Mietta O’Donnell.

Being born under the sign of Gemini, Beverley’s mercurial personality enables her to combine her work as a gifted numerologist and experienced astrologist along with her musical career. Now a seasoned performer in her own right, Beverley presented five two-hour one-woman productions (‘Tribute To The Female Blues Singers’, ‘Crème Des Femmes’, ‘It’s Alright, It’s OK, It’s Peggy Lee’, ‘Golden Girls Of The Silver Screen’, ‘Spreadin’ Rhythm Around’), and for several years, Beverley has been a special guest at the extremely popular annual Noosa International Jazz Festival singing with many different bands.

Beverley’s also triumphed performing before a crowd of 25,000 people with the Monash Concert Band at their ‘Carols By Candlelight’ presentation, to great acclaim.

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ABOUT GRAHAM SIMPSON

For more than 30 years, Graham Simpson has been one of Australia’s best-known music writers and historians.

His music journalism career began in earnest in 1977 when he was appointed Editor of Juke, then Australia’s only weekly rock magazine.  In print, he went on to roles as Editor of The Video Age and On Video, and in the mid-90s he wrote a weekly column – Suitably Simpson – for Melbourne’s Herald-Sun.

He worked as Australian correspondent for the Hong Kong Standard and for London’s World Entertainment News Network.  His articles on popular music have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines worldwide. 

Graham spent several years as a radio commentator on top-rating Melbourne radio stations 3DB and 3XY, before joining the Austereo Network (later mcm entertainment) as a scriptwriter.  He has written many of Australia’s most popular syndicated radio programs: the award-winning Take 40 Australia and My Generation; The Hot Hits and Planet Rock; Three of Graham’s specialist radio series were nominated for radio awards … Australian Rock ‘n Roll – The Early Years; American Rock ‘n Roll – The Early Years and British Rock ‘n Roll – The Early Years.

Among his achievements in television, Graham was co-writer of the Seven Network’s top-rating TV special Five Decades Of Laughs And Legends.

In 1994, Graham’s best-selling biography – The Judith Durham Story – Colours Of My Life –was published for the first time by Random House Australia.  It was reprinted in paperback in 1998 and 2001.  In 2003, the biography was published by Virgin Books in the UK, USA and Canada, in hardback and later in paperback.

Graham later edited From The Word Go – 40 Years Of Ten Melbourne, a book by legendary newsreader Mal Walden tracing the history of the television network.

Graham met Judith Durham for the first time in the early 1970s, having followed her career closely by then for several years.  His professional association with Judith began when he worked on The Seekers’ reunion in 1993, creating and designing several tour programmes, including their 1998 30^th Year Commemorative Yearbook and ‘The Golden Jubilee Tour’ souvenir programme in 2013, as well as the Souvenir Book for Judith’s ‘Colours Of My Life’ tour in 2012.

His lively interview with The Seekers was included in the group’s 1997 CD box set Treasure Chest, which was certified gold, and he has compiled and written liner notes for The Seekers Complete 5 CD box set, 2005’s The Ultimate Collection, as well as the video and DVD releases The Seekers At Home And Down Under, The World Of The Seekers and The 1968 BBC Farewell Spectacular. He wrote liner notes for the EMI UK 4 CD set All Bound For Morningtown, featuring all the 1960s Abbey Road recordings of The Seekers and Judith Durham solo, as well as ‘The Golden Jubilee Album’ for The Seekers’ 50^th anniversary in 2012 and most recently the liner notes for the 2018 release of the #1 chart topping DVD "The Seekers: The Legendary Television Specials."

His liner notes have appeared in several Judith Durham albums, including Hold On To Your Dream, Epiphany, The Hottest Band In Town Collection, Colours Of My Life, Judith’s 70^th Birthday compilation CD, released in 2013 and So Much More, a brand new album of previously unreleased tracks, brought out in 2018 in time to celebrate Judith's 75th birthday.

Additionally, Graham scripted Olivia Newton-John’s narrative for the TV cut-down of The Seekers 25 Year Reunion Celebration – Live In Concert, and was consultant on the episode of the Nine Network’s This Is Your Life honouring Judith Durham.

In 2007, after 30 years as a journalist, Graham made the decision to work with Judith on a fulltime basis, and in addition to his role as General Manager and now Director of Musicoast, he has unexpectedly discovered his own burgeoning songwriting skills in collaboration with Judith.

In 2016 Graham and Christopher Patrick released the world’s first ‘Enseeklopedia’ — "The 50 Year Recorded History of Australia's First Supergroup". A treasure trove of stories, music analysis and rare memorabilia. Moreover, it is a long overdue salute to Australia’s Fab Four and their enduring recording catalogue.

From the big hits like ‘Georgy Girl’, ‘The Carnival is Over’ and ‘Morningtown Ride’ through to the more obscure recordings by Australia’s first supergroup, here is a book that offers an extraordinary analysis of every song The Seekers have ever recorded.

Coupled with fascinating insights about those recordings, along with much rare, never-before-seen Seekers memorabilia from the four corners of the globe — and some priceless trivia. Order your copy here.

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