Australian jazz and blues singer Wendy Saddington has passed away.
Wendy passed away in the early hours of Saturday after a battle with oesophageal cancer.
A statement at her Facebook page reads, “Everyone, Our beloved friend Wendy Saddington aka Gandharvika Dasi passed very peacefully away a few hours ago in her Melbourne home.
“Every one of your kind words and prayers are appreciated”.
Hare Krishna Hare Bol
Wendy was a pioneer of the Australian live music scene. The Melbourne born singer had a moment in the Top 40 chart in 1972 with the song ‘Looking Through A Window’, written and produced by Billy Thorpe and Warren Morgan of The Aztecs.
It was Wendy who named blues band Chain after the Aretha Franklin classic ‘Chain of Fools’. She fronted The Chain with Phil Manning on guitar, Warren Morgan on piano and Murray Wilkins on bass up until 1969.
Saddington left and joined Copperwine as co-lead singer with Jeff St John. They released on album ‘Wendy Saddington and Copperwine Live’. The remastered album was recently reissued by Aztec Music.
Prior to Chain, Wendy was a member of Adelaide band James Taylor Move with Kevin Peek (later of Sky).
Wendy also appeared in the first major Australian production of The Who’s Tommy playing The Nurse. That show starred Billy Thorpe, Doug Parkinson, Broderick Smith, Jim Keays, Colleen Hewitt, Ross Wilson and Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum.
Around this time Wendy became a follower of Prabhupada and joined the International Society of Krishna Consciousness which she followed for the rest of her life.
She last performed in Melbourne in December, 2012.
Wendy was in her mid 60s.
