Keith Potger

Keith Leon Potger AO[2] (born 21 March 1941) is one of the founding members of the Australian pop-folk group the Seekers. He was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and is of Burgher[3] descent. In the Seekers, he played twelve string guitar (a 1967 Maton Special SS200/12), mandolin and banjo and sang. He has been the vocal, and often instrumental, arranger for the group throughout its career. Potger contributed the song "All I Can Remember" on the Seekers last 1960s studio album, Seekers Seen in Green, as well as co-writing (under the pseudonym "John Martin") the single "Emerald City". On the Seekers' first 1990s studio album Future Road, Potger wrote or co-wrote four songs; "Guardian Angel/Guiding Light", "Circle Of Love", "Forever Isn't Long Enough (For Me)" and "Future Road".

Keith Leon Potger[1]
AO
The Seekers in 1965 – Potger second from left
Background information
Born (1941-03-21) 21 March 1941
Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
GenresAcoustic folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, banjo
Years active1960s–present
Associated actsThe Seekers
The New Seekers
WebsiteKeithpotger.com.au

Potger was also the co-founder, in 1969, of the contemporary pop group the New Seekers with his business partner David Joseph. His solo CDs are Secrets of the Heart (2004) Sunday (2007) and Smile Now (2010). Six songs on Sunday were a collaboration with writer and poet Frank Howson.

He appeared as a guest panelist on Spicks and Specks on 12 September 2007.

Much of the recent past has been taken up with performing concert tours with the Seekers in Australia and the United Kingdom. In addition, Potger has performed solo concerts throughout Australia and the UK and continues this activity with bookings into 2019.

Life and career

He is a self-taught musician, playing the banjo, 6- and 12-string guitars and keyboards. While still at school, he performed in vocal groups which evolved into The Seekers in early 1962. This lineup of The Seekers comprised Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley, Ken Ray and Potger.

Later that year, when Ken Ray left the group, Judith Durham joined Guy, Woodley and Potger, and they focused on the folk and gospel music boom, accompanying themselves on guitars, banjo and double bass. Potger's ability to arrange harmonies for the group members was evident from these early days.

He contributed the 12-string guitar riffs to The Seekers’ chart topping recordings, augmenting the lead voice of Judith Durham and the group's harmonies and instrumental talents.

When the Seekers disbanded in 1968, Potger's musical activities turned to songwriting and record production in major recording studios in the UK. He collaborated with leading UK songwriters, such as Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason, and enjoyed chart success through the 1970s with British and American artists.

Returning to Australia in 1978, Potger wrote and produced television jingles and music tracks as well as performing solo concerts throughout the 1980s. In 1988, he wrote and produced stage musicals for the Australian Bicentenary.

In 1992, Potger reunited with Judith Durham, Athol Guy and Bruce Woodley to tour internationally as the Seekers for their silver jubilee. In 1997, the group released the platinum-selling Future Road, which included Potger's original song "Guardian Angel, Guiding Light", also co-writing "The Circle of Love" (with Rick Beresford), "Forever Isn’t Long Enough (for Me)" (with Byron Hill) and the title track "Future Road" (with Trevor Spencer and Boyd Wilson).

The Seekers toured extensively as a group from 1993 until about 2016. Potger has continued writing and recording original songs. He released his first solo album, Secrets of the Heart, in 2004, followed by Sunday in 2007, with major solo concerts and festivals around Australia. In 2010, Potger released his mostly self-penned third solo album, Smile Now.

Potger frequently performs at charity concerts within his touring schedule. He was patron of the renowned children's charity Variety WA from 2001 to 2009. Potger was chair of Support Act Limited Victoria, the music industry benevolent fund with which he is still closely associated, being elected to the board of directors, a position he currently retains.

Potger is a patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Western Australia and a celebrity ambassador for Variety Victoria and Variety International.

In September 2014, along with Judith Durham, Athol Guy and Bruce Woodley, his colleagues in the Seekers, Potger was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

In November 2018, Potger coined the word "mynonym" to be a synonym for the word palindrome.[4]

References
  1. "The Seekers Official Website". Theseekers.com.au.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Sherrille Hermon (14 April 2014). "About the Burghers". Burgherassocn.org.au.
  4. "Search results for "Mynonym" - Wiktionary". En.wiktionary.org.
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