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.
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Early life
Ian Alexander Meldrum was born in Orbost, Victoria, on 29 January 1943. His father was Robert Meldrum (7 April 1907 – 29 September 1978), a farmer from Caniambo (25 kilometres (16 mi) from Shepparton) and then a World War II army sergeant (Service No. VX25722)—who served with the A.I.F. in Port Moresby—and his mother was Isobel Elizabeth (née Geer) (1912–1969) from Orbost. The couple married on 17 August 1940, two months after Robert's enlistment. Meldrum's younger brothers are Brian (born 1946, Mildura) and Robert (born 1950, Kerang).
Meldrum moved around during childhood and grew up largely with one of his grandmothers in Quambatook, where he attended the local primary school alongside future country music artist John Williamson. He also stayed with a number of aunts and was raised in the traditions of the Church of England. He developed a musical interest in Gilbert & Sullivan and Verdi. Meldrum's father later ran a hardware store in Kyabram. His mother had periodic hospitalisations for mental illness including some years at Larundel Mental Asylum, Bundoora in the mid-1960s. In the early 1960s Meldrum arrived in Melbourne where he briefly attended Taylors College. Initially intending to become a disc jockey he studied at a radio school. He would go to University of Melbourne without formally enrolling, carrying law books, to eat lunch with the law students: "I hung around, I wouldn't even say I got into a course."
Soon after, he had moved in with the family of his close friend, Ronnie Burns, who became a pop star: first as a member of The Flies (1964–65) and then as a solo artist. Meldrum had followed Burns to the latter's home and asked, "Is there any chance I could come and live with you and your family?" What had started as a two-week stay with the Burns family became nine years. During The Beatles' tour of Australia in June 1964, Meldrum was captured by TV cameras climbing atop the bonnet of their car shortly after arrival at Melbourne airport. Later, he and Burns were ejected from The Beatles' Melbourne concert for being "too enthusiastic".
While on a surfing holiday at a Victorian coastal resort in Lorne in 1964, Meldrum befriended Lynne Randell, who became a pop star in the mid-1960s and later worked as Meldrum's personal assistant in the 1980s. Also in 1964, Meldrum began his music career as a roadie for his friends' band, The Groop, which had early performances in Anglesea.
Go-Set years: 1966–1974
Go-Set was a weekly pop music newspaper started in February 1966 by Phillip Frazer, Tony Schauble, and their Monash University friends. Meldrum started writing for the paper in July that year after befriending its editor, Frazer. Frazer said "As I recall it, Ian was sweeping the floor... I said to [Schauble], 'Who's this guy? Where'd he come from?' and Tony said, 'I dunno, he just came in and wanted to do something.'" Meldrum's first story was on Burns, "Ronnie Meets the Barrett Brothers". His first printed interview was with Johnny Young, a singer-songwriter from Perth. Soon Meldrum was writing a weekly gossip column and regular feature stories. He continued until the paper folded in August 1974. By social networking and building a list of industry contacts, Meldrum was able to cover many facets of the local scene; his gossip columns informed not only general readers but also other musicians and, according to Frazer, they were the major reason people continued reading Go-Set.
Meldrum's writing style was "freeform ramblings, always in the first person, and nearly always concerning aspects of the music scene with which he had been involved." It was during this period that Meldrum was given his nickname, Molly, by his friend and fellow Go-Set writer Stan Rofe, a Melbourne radio DJ. Rofe's writing style was more analytical; he "praised or criticised an aspect of the music industry, and press[ed] Australian musicians to perform better. [He] was also critical of Meldrum's performance as a 'journalist', often questioning his integrity and music values." The nickname, Molly, first appeared in print in 1968 in Rofe's column. While working for Go-Set, Meldrum became editor and compiler of its monthly offshoot, Gas, which was aimed at younger teen girls. It was first published in October 1968 (with a feature on The Monkees) and its last issue was in March 1971.
The Groop had landed a recording deal with CBS Records. Meldrum followed them to Melbourne's Armstrong Studios, in late 1966, to observe the recording process. He learned record producer and engineering techniques from studio owner, Bill Armstrong, and in house engineer-producer, Roger Savage. Meldrum became involved with a number of artists' releases, including The Masters Apprentices' August 1967 single, "Living in a Child's Dream". Their lead singer, Jim Keays, recalled that Meldrum "had quite an influence on the eventual outcome" as the unlisted assistant engineer. He produced Somebody's Image's first three singles, "Heat Wave" (September), "Hush" (November) and "Hide and Seek" (April 1968). Their best performed single, "Hush", which peaked at No. 14 on the Go-Set National Top 40, was a cover version of Billy Joe Royal's track from earlier in 1967. Besides producing, he was also Somebody's Image's manager from early 1967 and formed a friendship with lead singer, Russell Morris.
Countdown years: 1974–1987
In 1974, Shrimpton and Weekes were meeting at the Botanical Hotel in South Yarra, formulating the concept for a new weekly TV pop music show aimed at the teenage market and decided they needed a talent scout; Meldrum walked in (to go to the bottle shop for a Scotch whisky) and was given the job. The trio approached the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), with their idea based on the British show Top of the Pops and on Kommotion. Countdown premiered on 8 November, with Meldrum as the show's talent coordinator. He did not originally appear in the series, which had a different guest host each week.
Shrimpton decided an editorial was needed, so Meldrum provided a weekly Rock Report from mid-1975 which was renamed "Humdrum" by guest host John Paul Young, and by year's end he had become the face of the series. "Humdrum" saw Meldrum provide a visual form to his Go-Set gossip column, he would interview celebrities, detail events and new releases for the week. Joining Shrimpton and Weekes as a producer was Rule, also from Kommotion. Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described Meldrum's "Humdrum" as "a riot of non-sequiturs and unjustified hyperbole. In between all the 'ums' and 'ahs', occasionally Molly managed to tell the viewers about a good album he had just heard".
Countdown was originally broadcast weekly, at 6:30 pm on Friday evenings for 25 minutes. Contributing to its success was the move in January 1975 to a 6 pm Sunday time-slot and its extension to 60 minutes. Its reach was improved by a mid-afternoon Saturday time-slot to repeat the previous week's show. Countdown soon became the most successful and popular TV music program ever made in Australia, and it exerted a dramatic influence on the local music scene over the next decade. The advent of colour TV in March 1975 coincided with a major shift in the direction of local popular music, and was vital in the national success for artists such as Skyhooks and Sherbet. Countdown benefited from the emergence of the music video genre: it popularised promotional videos, which had previously been a minor part of pop shows. Its use of film-clips, by both established and developing overseas acts (which rarely toured Australia), made Countdown an important venue for breaking new songs and new artists.
Meldrum produced the debut self-titled album for Supernaut in May 1976 and its related hit single, "I Like It Both Ways". He also promoted The Ferrets; he had them signed to Mushroom Records and started producing their debut album, Dreams of a Love, on 19 July 1976. After nearly a year, production was incomplete, so The Ferrets took over (assisted by audio engineers Tony Cohen and Ian MacKenzie) and finalised it on 15 August 1977. Meldrum was attributed as Willie Everfinish (a play on "will he ever finish") For its lead single, he wanted the A-side as "Lies", taking weeks to produce it, and his preferred B-side, "Don't Fall in Love", was rushed in three hours. When The Ferrets premiered on Countdown, they used "Don't Fall in Love" instead, which reached No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Many customers wanted a copy of The Ferrets' album; however, there was concern at Mushroom, as Meldrum had not yet organised the cover. A white, hand-stamped cardboard sleeve was issued with a promise of the artwork to follow.
After Countdown
In 1986, Meldrum and Amanda Pelman, Mushroom Records executive, had formed the Body Beat label and, two years later, Melodian Records, both under the Mushroom umbrella. Body Beat issued electronic and disco music locally for various international artists, including Joyce Sims, Hanson & Davis, Joy Peters, and Mozzart (aka Paul Lander). Melodian signed Indecent Obsession (1988–93), which issued their debut single, "Say Goodbye" in May 1989—it peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Other Melodian artists were Roxus (1989–91), Jo Beth Taylor (1990–93) and Peter Andre (1990–97). Andre had been a contestant on New Faces in July 1990 when Meldrum was judging the TV talent show; Meldrum told TV Week that "Peter impressed us all and he has a unique voice that can be developed". Andre's highest-charting single with Melodian was "Gimme Little Sign" (December 1992)—a cover version of Brenton Wood's 1967 original—which peaked at No. 3 in April of the following year.
From 1988, Meldrum presented a regular music segment, "Molly's Melodrama", on the TV variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday—it was the successor to his earlier "Humdrum" editorials on Countdown. He travelled extensively, conducting interviews for his segment; including a set of one-on-one interviews with each member of The Rolling Stones.
Meldrum made a cameo appearance in Neighbours that year.
In March at the ARIA Music Awards of 1988 Meldrum was a presenter. A fracas developed between band manager, Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and Meldrum. Morris felt that foreign artists such as Bryan Ferry should not present awards to local artists and made fun of Ferry's deliberately crumpled suit. Meldrum objected to Morris' disrespect to Ferry and he and Morris became embroiled. At the 1991 ceremony Morris provided a 20-minute acceptance speech on behalf of Midnight Oil: Meldrum disapproved of its length in the media. However, in 1993, when Meldrum received his ARIA Special Achievement Award for services to the music industry he provided one of the longest acceptance speeches in the ceremony's history.
A televised roast, in 2003, for the openly gay Meldrum, Molly: Toasted and Roasted, was characterised by the recipient as a "gay bashing" due to its excessive homophobic slurs. Footy Show star Sam Newman received boos from the audience during his speech. Meldrum became a judge on 2004's Popstars Live, a reality talent quest program on Channel Seven, alongside fellow judges, Christine Anu and John Paul Young.
Public exposures
On 13 January 2023, a visibly intoxicated Meldrum climbed onstage from the audience at an Elton John concert in Australia and attempted to briefly involve himself in the performance. After sharing a quick embrace with John and kissing him on the lips, Meldrum stood by the piano as John performed and attempted to involve himself in an impromptu duet with the singer. After a few seconds of loitering by the piano, Meldrum dropped his pants and presented his buttocks to the audience. Shortly afterwards Meldrum was escorted offstage by security guards. The incident received significant media attention, resulted in the sacking of the security guards who allowed Meldrum onstage, and reignited conversations surrounding the state of Meldrum's mental health. Meldrum later apologised for the incident, blaming his public exposure on an ostensibly faulty belt buckle while conceding that he was "a naughty boy, who needs a new belt".
Samuel Johnson, in an emotionally-charged interview on The Morning Show, when asked to comment on the incident, expressed strong disappointment, frustration and concern with repeated patterns in Meldrum's behaviour. Johnson asserted that Meldrum "shouldn't be allowed out in the PM [as] he's sozzled by that time" due to "[having] two shots of vodka in his coffee in the morning" and passionately implored Meldrum to "stop". Johnson questioned the whereabouts and effectiveness of Meldrum's "minders" and advised Meldrum that it may be time for him to "hang up [his] hat".
On 19 January 2023, new video footage emerged showing that Meldrum had previously lowered his trousers to moon an audience while onstage at the ChillOut Festival in Daylesford, Victoria, in March 2022. On 21 March 2023, it was reported that further new footage had emerged showing that Meldrum had once again exposed himself in public to urinate on the floor of Rod Laver Arena while attending a Rod Stewart concert on 15 March 2023. Meldrum remained seated while relieving himself.
Personal life
Meldrum has an adult adopted son, Morgan Scholes, who lives overseas with his wife, Crystal Scholes, and the couple's son, Meldrum's grandson. Meldrum's younger brother Brian is a former racing writer, golf journalist and editor. His youngest brother Robert is an actor, director and teacher. Although Meldrum was one of the first openly gay TV stars in Australia, he has said, "I had girlfriends. I was engaged a few times." He has subsequently asserted that he is bisexual, although he uses the term 'gay' interchangeably.
On 6 September 1976, his home in South Yarra was broken into; the thieves "stole sound equipment valued at $14,000". Shortly before 8 pm on 11 October 1984, while Meldrum was in London to tape interviews with David Bowie, Boy George and Billy Idol, a fire broke out in a hallway closet at his Richmond residence. The fire spread to the sitting-room, kitchen and bedroom, with the 'Egyptian room' suffering moderate water and smoke damage. Meldrum's manager, Ray Evans, said that his personal record collection and an autographed photo of the Beatles were lucky to have survived the fire.
Since 1986, he has lived in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in an Egyptian-themed house called "Luxor". According to The Age's Nick Miller, the Nine Network's 2003 celebrity roast, Molly: Toasted and Roasted, was unnecessarily focused on his sexuality. Meldrum was sorry when his family and friends were embarrassed by the poor taste of some comments. However, he replied, "Like a lot of people, I am proud to be gay ... I'm not upset. If Channel Nine want to do gay bashing, so be it." As of December 2011, Meldrum's partner of six years is Yan Wongngam who runs a courier business in Thailand.
Meldrum is a prominent supporter of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL). Storm players continued their 2009 NRL Grand Final victory celebrations at his house in October that year. In 2000, Meldrum co-wrote an autobiography, Some of My Best Friends Aren't: The Molly Meldrum Story, with journalist Jeff Jenkins, which was published by Random House Australia. However, The Age reported on 4 June 2007 that the book had still not appeared. In 2014 he published an autobiography, The Never, Um... Ever Ending Story: Life, Countdown and Everything in Between, co-written with Jeff Jenkins. This was followed by a second book in 2016 titled Ah Well, Nobody's Perfect: The Untold Stories also co-written by Jenkins.
2011 accident
On 15 December 2011, Meldrum was taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition after being found unconscious in the backyard of his home in Richmond. He had fallen off a ladder from a height of around three metres. He was placed under intensive care in a sedated state and had surgery for his head injuries. As well as the head injuries, Meldrum had a broken shoulder, broken ribs, a punctured lung and cracked vertebrae. Meldrum had been with Steve Vizard on radio discussing the importance of health on the morning of the accident. By 27 December, further surgery to his chest injuries had occurred and his sedation levels were reduced. His brother Brian said that Meldrum had "spoken some words but they have no context".
On 8 January 2012, Brian said Meldrum was breathing on his own and having conversations, but added that his recovery would be slow. On 19 January, Meldrum was taken out of hospital and moved into a rehabilitation centre. In April he gave his first public interview since the accident. In 2012, a few months after the accident, Meldrum interviewed British pop singer Elton John and American pop singer Katy Perry.
On 22nd February, 2026, it was reported by various news sources, that Meldrum is currently receiving around the clock care, surrounded by loved ones.
Awards and accolades
On Australia Day (26 January) 1986, Meldrum was made a Member of the Order of Australia, with a citation for "service to the fostering of international relief and to youth". At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, he received a Special Achievement Award to acknowledge his contributions to popular music. In 1994 at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards he obtained the Ted Albert Award (named in honour of Ted Albert). Music journalists Toby Creswell and Samantha Chenoweth describe Meldrum as "The single most important person in the Australian pop industry for forty years" in their 2006 book, 1001 Australians You Should Know. In November 2014, he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, together with his TV show Countdown; he became the first non-artist to receive the accolade. At the Music Victoria Awards of 2018, Meldrum was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
