Molly Meldrum

Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent coordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular music program Countdown (1974–87) and is widely recognised for his trademark Stetson hat, which he has regularly worn in public since the 1980s (it is commonly mistaken for an Akubra). Meldrum has featured on the Australian music scene since the mid-1960s, first with his writing for Go-Set (1966–74), a weekly teen newspaper, then during his tenure with Countdown and subsequent media contributions. As a record producer he worked on top ten hits for Russell Morris ("The Real Thing", "Part Three into Paper Walls", both 1969), Ronnie Burns ("Smiley", 1970), Colleen Hewett ("Day by Day", 1971), Supernaut ("I Like It Both Ways", 1976) and The Ferrets ("Don't Fall in Love", 1977). Meldrum hosted Oz for Africa in July 1985, the Australian leg of Live Aid. In January of the following year he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, with the citation for "service to the fostering of international relief and to youth". Meldrum has earned a reputation as a champion of Australian popular music both in Australia and internationally; his contributions have been acknowledged with an Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Award for Special Achievement in 1993, and the "Ted Albert Award" in 1994 at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards. Music journalists, Toby Creswell and Samantha Chenoweth describe him as "the single most important person in the Australian pop industry for forty years" in their 2006 book, 1001 Australians You Should Know. In 2014, Meldrum was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, together with his TV show Countdown; he became the first non-artist to receive the accolade. Earlier that year he published his autobiography, The Never, Um... Ever Ending Story: Life, Countdown and Everything in Between. On 15 December 2011, Meldrum had a life-threatening fall from a ladder in the backyard of his Melbourne home. He was placed under intensive care in a critical condition at the Alfred Hospital and had surgery for his head and spinal injuries. By April 2012 he had recovered enough to give interviews and resume work duties.