Molly Meldrum joins MAX as new host

The doyen of Australian music, Ian ’Molly’ Meldrum, is joining Foxtel’s MAX channel as a new host in 2014.

Meldrum is one of the most respected music journalists in the country, coming to national prominence as the host of ABC Countdown in the ’70s after a brief stint as a writer for popular teen music magazine Go-Set. Meldrum also worked as a record producer throughout the late ’60s and was responsible for the mind-bending Russell Morris hit The Real Thing. As a journalist, his finest coup occurred in 1970, when he interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono. During this interview, Lennon revealed publicly, for the first time, that The Beatles were splitting up.

Between ’74 and ’87 Molly Meldrum changed the face of the Australian music industry, breaking many local acts on his weekly live music show Countdown, and strengthening the industry as a result. During the run of the show, and since, Meldrum has interviewed numerous key figures, most notably Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince Charles.

In December 2011, Meldrum suffered a life-theatening fall, which saw him put out of commission for months. After a slow, and at times uncertain, recovery, Meldrum returned to public life, interviewing Elton John and Katy Perry in early 2012, before being inducted into the Logies Hall Of Fame that same year. This job with MAX is his first substantial gig since the accident; he will be hosting a number of different programs, including a countdown of the top 100 Greatest Australian Songs Of All Time, appropriately set to air on Australia Day. Welcome back Molly!