Athol George Guy
(born 5 January 1940)
is a member of the Australian pop music group
the Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
, for whom he plays
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
and sings. He is easily recognisable by his black-framed "
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
" style glasses, and, during live performances, often acts as the group's
compère.
Early life
Athol George Guy was born on 5 January 1940 in
Colac, Victoria
Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac.
History
For thousands of years clans of the Gulidjan people occupied the region o ...
, the son of George Francis Guy (
RAN
Ran, RaN and ran may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
* "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea
* '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game)
* ...
) and Doris Thelma (née Cole) Guy.
[ Guy was educated at Gardenvale Central School, where he was school captain. He entered ]Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 t ...
, where he was twice under age athletic champion and an officer in the cadet corps. During this time he was Victorian Sub Junior High Jump Champion and then silver medallist to Olympian Colin Ridgway the next year.
Music career
Guy formed his first musical group in 1958, the Ramblers, resulting in his move into performance, marketing and production at GTV9
GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands.
History
GTV-9 was amongst the first television stations to begin regular t ...
. Progressing via HSV7
HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbo ...
, media manager with the Clemenger Group and account exec with J. Walter Thompson
J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...
, he then set sail with the Seekers for 10 weeks' holiday abroad. On his return he established his own consulting company and compèred two national TV shows.
When the Seekers disbanded in 1968, Guy hosted his own variety series — ''A Guy Called Athol'' — on Australia's Seven Network, and later the quiz show ''Big Nine'' on the Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
. In 1971, he was elected as the Liberal member for Gisborne in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. One of its youngest members, he won three terms with an increasing majority before he returned to the commercial world as a corporate consultant. Guy has taken part in subsequent reunions of the Seekers since 1993, when they celebrated the silver jubilee of their 1968 break up.
Politics
Guy was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.
The presiding ...
in a by-election on 11 December 1971 for Gisborne as a member of the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.[ He served as a member of the assembly until resigning due to ill health on 5 March 1979.][ His achievements included the government's purchase and development of ]Werribee Park
Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Werribee Open Range Zoo, ...
.
Business career
Guy opted to return to the business world and rejoined the Clemenger group as general manager of Clemenger Harvie from 1979 to 1989. During the 1990s, Guy joined St George Bank's marketing team as business development consultant, and then AMP's financial planning group, Hillross. With the assistance of the St George foundation, Guy was instrumental in the Murdoch Institute introducing a genetic educational course into Victorian schools.
Alongside these roles, he accommodated the many hundreds of reunion concerts with the Seekers from 1993 to about 2015, effectively curtailing any further political ambitions. In recent years, Guy has been involved in a joint venture with Hanging Rock Winery, launching "Athol's Paddock" in the Macedon Ranges. The first vintage from Athol's Paddock was 1997 and since that time has regularly produced award-winning shiraz.
His community roles have included:
* Inaugural member: Children's Protection Society
* Current patron: Kids Under Cover
* Current patron: Riding For the Disabled.
* Current patron: Relay For Life.
* Current patron: Tee Up for Kids.
* Current patron: Sing Australia.
* Current ambassador: Heart Kids – RCH.
* Former chair: Daylesford Macedon Tourism Marketing
* Former chair: Tourism Macedon Ranges
* Former Macedon Memorial Cross trustee
* Current board: Living Legends
* Former Federal Ministers inaugural advisory board: Indigenous Tourism Australia
References
External links
*
Official website of the Seekers
(archived)
*
– groups and solo arts at the MILESAGO website
Hanging Rock Winery
West Rock Farm review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Athol
The Seekers members
1940 births
Living people
Australian pop singers
Australian songwriters
Australian double-bassists
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria
Male double-bassists
People educated at Melbourne High School
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Officers of the Order of Australia
People from Colac, Victoria
Singers from Victoria (Australia)
21st-century double-bassists
20th-century Australian male singers
21st-century Australian male musicians
21st-century Australian musicians