Ian Meldrum

Ian "Molly" Meldrum is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, and record producer, and musical entrepreneur best known for hosting the seminal popular music program Countdown from 1974 to 1986.

Meldrum began his music career in the late 1960's as a "roadie" for a band named "GROOP". Sharing a house with Ronnie Burns, a member of The Seekers, he was asked by a friend to write an article for Go Set magazine, a new Australian music magazine, and began to write for them on a regular basis, while at the same time becoming involved with producing a number of artists and working on a "mime show" (where performers would mime the latest overseas hits), Locomotion, which ended soon after when Actors Equity banned mime shows.

Meldrum travelled with Russell Morris's band, Somebody's Image, to the United Kingdom in 1969, where he met Paul McCartney and John Lennon for the first time. When Morris returned to Australia, no longer with his band, Meldrum produced the Johnny Young-composed song The Real Thing for Morris as a solo artist, widely remembered as one of the finest Australian recordings of the era. He produced several other hits while continuing to write for a variety of magazines before joining Countdown, initially as talent coordinator but soon as host.

After Countdown finished its run, Meldrum presented a regular segment for Australian variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday through the 1990's, managed a number of Australian artists, and continued to write.

His latest television spot is as a judge on Popstars Live, a variety program in the style of Pop Idol.

Meldrum's trademark headwear, still-rabid enthusiasm for popular music, and remarkably incoherent interviewing style remain well known. That his extensive general knowledge extended beyond popular music was perhaps less well-known until, as a contestant on a celebrity edition Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he won $500,000 for a charity, to this date the biggest win on the Australian version of the program.

Meldrum is a prominent supporter of the St. Kilda football club in the AFL.

Meldrum is open about his homosexuality and lives with his long-time partner Ray in Melbourne.