Julie Moncrieff Anthony AM OBE (, born 24 August 1949) is an Australian former professional singer and entertainer. Anthony is well known for her brief stint as lead singer of ''

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 ...

'' A soprano, she has recorded both jazz and pop and is well-known for her live singing performances, variety appearances and roles in cabaret and theatre. Anthony has performed with numerous artists including Simon Gallagher and

Anthony Warlow Anthony Warlow (born 18 November 1961) is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980. ...

at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Through Anthony's extensive repertoire, she demonstrates great conviction, whether it be her rendition of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" or material ranging from

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. She recorded an album with jazz performer

Don Burrows Donald Vernon Burrows (8 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was an Australian jazz and swing musician who played clarinet, saxophone and flute. Life and career Donald Vernon Burrows was born on 8 August 1928, the only child of Vernon and Beryl a ...

called ''Together at Last''. She sang the

Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the ...

at the Opening Ceremony of the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

with

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

Biography

Early life and career

Anthony was born to Betty and Les Lush, a sheep and wheat farmer and had an older brother. Steven. She is from a family of aunts, uncles, and grandparents who all worked in the farming sector. Les Lush played professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for Glenelg in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

, playing 34 games and kicking 126 goals. Anthony worked on the family farm before deciding on a singing career, citing her musical influences as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

. She was billed originally in her career under her birth name of Julie Lush. She started performing in a local band and won a talent contest and began performing on ''

The Country and Western Hour ''The Country and Western Hour'' on Channel Nine Adelaide was an Australian television show featuring Country music. The format was shown as a barn setting with hay bales, fences, implements, riding gear etc. Colin Huddleston called square danc ...

'' hosted by

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 ...

. She also appeared in her native Adelaide on ''

The Ernie Sigley Show Ernest William Sigley (2 September 1938 – 15 August 2021) was an Australian television host, comedian, variety performer, radio presenter and singer. Known as a pioneer of radio and television in Australian, he was often styled as a "little A ...

'' before performing regularly on ''

The Graham Kennedy Show ''The Graham Kennedy Show'' was an Australian talk show which debuted on 19 September 1972 on the Nine Network. On 23 December 1969, host Graham Kennedy quit as host of ''In Melbourne Tonight'' due to exhaustion and rested for two years. In sp ...

''. Anthony married Eddie Natt in 1976 and has two daughters, Talitha and Tamara.

With the Seekers

She sang with the Seekers, first taking the place of

Judith Durham Judith Durham (born Judith Mavis Cock; 3 July 1943 – 5 August 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1963. The group became the first Australian p ...

as the lead vocalist in the song " The Carnival Is Over" for the Closing Ceremony of

Expo '88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo wa ...

. Later, Anthony became a member of the group with

Bruce Woodley Bruce William Woodley (born 25 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful folk-pop group The Seekers, and co-composer of the songs "I Am Australian," "Red Rubber Ball," and Simon & Gar ...

Athol Guy Athol George Guy (born 5 January 1940) is a member of the Australian pop music group the Seekers, for whom he plays double bass and sings. He is easily recognisable by his black-framed "Buddy Holly" style glasses, and, during live performance ...

and

Keith Potger Keith Leon Potger (born 21 March 1941) is an Australian musician. He is a founding members of the Australian folk-pop group the Seekers. He was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and is of Burgher descent. In 1969, Potger and his business partner D ...

. They released an album, '' Live On'', in March 1989, which peaked at number 26.

Animation recordings

In 1991, she recorded the song "Ordinary Miracles" for the 1991 Australian animated fantasy movie ''

The Magic Riddle ''The Magic Riddle'' is a 1991 Australian animated Musical film, musical feature film written and directed by Yoram Gross. The film tells the story of Cindy, an orphan who lives as an indentured servant to her cruel stepmother, and features elemen ...

''. In 1992, she also recorded another song, "Sleep Bush Baby Sleep", for the

Yoram Gross Yoram Jerzy Gross (18 October 192621 September 2015) was a Polish-born, Australian producer of children's and family entertainment. He was known for his adaptation of children's characters from books and films, and best known for the produc ...

movie '' Blinky Bill The Mischievous Koala''.

Theatre

Anthony starred in both the Australian and West End productions of the musical ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

'' in the mid-1970s. She won the Commercial Broadcasting Federation Award in Australia for Best Easy Listening Album 1975. Her first performance in the musical, at the Adelphi Theatre, London, was 15 June 1976. Her numerous theatre performances include ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'', ''

I Do! I Do! ''I Do! I Do!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play ''The Fourposter''. The two-character story spans 50 years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and dow ...

'' and ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''. At midnight between 31 December 1987 and 1 January 1988, in celebration of the start of Australia's Bicentennial year, Anthony sang the Australian

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, "

Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...

", on the national broadcaster, the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, which continued to show the recording of her performance at the close of broadcasting for many years afterwards, until the broadcaster introduced 24-hour broadcasting.

Commercials for St George Bank

Anthony was well-known. for her appearances for the

St George Bank St.George Bank is an Australian bank with its headquarters in Sydney. Since a 2008 merger, the bank has been part of Westpac, having previously been an independent legal entity. In 2010, St.George was deregistered as a company and ceased to be ...

, in which she featured from 1974 to 1999. In 1993 she released a version of "

Puff the Magic Dragon "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Yarrow's group in a 1962 recording released in January 1963. Lipton wrote a poem about a ...

" in conjunction with the bank as part of an advertising campaign.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Honours and awards

Anthony is among the most awarded of Australian entertainers. She was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) (1980) and a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) (1989)

Australian Record Awards

, - , 1975 , ''Julie Anthony Album'' , Easy Listening Female Vocal ,

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Julie Anthony won thirteen awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1976 , Julie Anthony , Best Female Vocal of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1977 , Julie Anthony , Best Female Vocal of the Year , , - , Julie Anthony , Entertainer of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1978 , Julie Anthony , Best Female Vocal of the Year , , - , Julie Anthony , Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1980 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1982 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal of the Year , , - , Julie Anthony , Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1986 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1988 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal Entertainer of the Year , , - , Julie Anthony , Daily Telegraph Readers Award - Female , , - , 1993 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal Variety Entertainer of the Year , , - , 1995 , Julie Anthony , Female Vocal Variety Entertainer of the Year , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Julie 1949 births Living people Musicians from South Australia Australian sopranos Australian musical theatre actresses Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian women singers Blinky Bill