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 WineryWest 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