Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum AM

Readers note: This is an excerpt from the 200 Treasures exhibition catalogue, developed in 2017. This content was written as a brief biography on why this person was included in the exhibition.

In 1974, Australia’s hottest music export to the USA was Adelaide’s Sister Janet Mead and her rock version of The Lord’s Prayer. And then came the ABC’s weekly music show Countdown, and the cultural landscape and soundscape of Australia changed forever. Countdown’s immense influence and success were due to its host, Ian Meldrum.

Born in 1943 in Quambatook, rural Victoria, he gravitated to Melbourne and to music journalism. In 1974, he serendipitously landed the job as host of the ABC’s proposed youth music show intended to attract a younger audience to the national broadcaster; its instant success exceeded all expectations. Countdown became religious viewing for young Australians, and Meldrum, who had earlier been dubbed ‘Molly’, became the conduit through which they learned about the extraordinary depth of talent in Australia’s music scene, which Meldrum fostered, shaped and took to the world. His weekly music report, ‘Humdrum’, along with his choice of acts and his role as music producer, created a pantheon of Australian rock stars. The program, and Meldrum himself, also challenged gender and sexuality norms.

Not everyone was enamoured with Meldrum’s power, however. Countdown’s policy that performers mime their recorded music, supposedly to eliminate the inherent problems of live performance, sat badly with industry giants such as Midnight Oil, who famously never appeared, and Cold Chisel, who did appear (memorably at the 1981 Countdown Awards when they smashed the stage at show’s end). Despite his strenuous criticism at the time, Cold Chisel’s lead singer Jimmy Barnes acknowledges today how important Meldrum was to Australian popular music.

Beloved for his passion and chaotic delivery, Meldrum was perennially awkward and forever tripping over his words, in the process creating high comedy and legendary television moments. He mixed with international rock and roll royalty and British royalty and guided stellar performers such as Abba and Madonna to their first chart successes anywhere - here in Australia. Since Countdown ended in 1987, Meldrum has maintained a media profile and retains a unique place in Australian popular culture.