Ian 'Molly' Meldrum could have been a politician if he wanted to.
In Christie Eliezer's book 'High Voltage Rock and Roll', Molly says that he was invited by both of Australia's two main political parties, Liberal AND Labor, to join their ranks."The first time was during the Countdown era," Molly tells Christie. "I fell on the floor laughing. It's never entered my mind. I told them that when it came to making my first speech [in parliament], I'd be umming and arring 10 years later".
Yes, from both sides. The first time was during the Countdown era. I fell on the floor laughing. It's never entered my mind. I told them that when it came to making my first speech [in parliament], I'd be umming and arring 10 years later.
'High Voltage Rock and Roll' puts seven influential Australian's in the music industry under the microscope.
Molly, presenter of the influential pop show Countdown, was also a renowned music producer.
Following is an extract from 'High Voltage Rock and Roll' where Molly talks about one of his greatest productions, Russell Morris' 'The Real Thing'.
Like a man possessed, Meldrum did mix after mix for three months, still not happy with what he heard. Both he and Morris were hot-tempered, and got into fist fights as the stress level rose in the studio. By this stage, the cost of producing the song had blown out to $10à000, which is what it cost to make an entire album! In those days, a family car cost $2000 and an average suburban house had a $15à000 price tag. So EMI's bean counters in Sydney were understandably panicky when they discovered that the $10à000 spent was not for the entire album, as they thought. It was decided that Meldrum should be sacked from the project.
There are two versions of what happened next. According to Meldrum, EMI sent its Victorian manager, Cliff Baxter, to go to the studios and give Meldrum his marching orders:
Armstrong Studios was at the time in two terrace houses, linked by cables. I heard Cliff Baxter and Bill Armstrong coming into the studio. So I grabbed the tape and tried to jump over the back fence. But I got caught in the barbed wire, and they grabbed me, and I fell over the fence into the park. Baxter said to me, "You have one more chance," for which I was always grateful.
But Russell Morris' version is that EMI despatched two of its execs from Sydney after an argument on the phone with Meldrum about who owned the tape. Meldrum had the idea it was his. EMI, who were doling out the funds, were emphatic it was theirs. The two EMI guys were told to physically seize the track and tell Meldrum he was out of the project. According to this second version, Meldrum was somewhat tired and emotional, he'd been dosing up on brandy after being told the two were coming to Melbourne. When the gents arrived at the studio, Meldrum grabbed the tape and hightailed it into the park next door. Morris and Sayer had to go out with torches, finally finding him hiding behind a bush and clutching the tape in his hand.
'High Voltage Rock and Roll' is in bookstores now.
Later in the week, Undercover will bring you an extract from the book on Michael Gudinski.
