Molly Meldrum has been keeping a low profile for the last year but a close source has shared that the veteran music guru is “struggling” with his health.
Now 83, the beloved industry figure has quietly entered a new chapter of his life, receiving “around-the-clock” care at home and surrounded by his nearest and dearest.
Those close to Ian “Molly” Meldrum say that while he has largely withdrawn from public life, he remains in good spirits.
“He’s surrounded by close friends who adore him, and his famous wicked sense of humour hasn’t dulled one bit,” a friend told the Herald Sun. “He’s cared for around the clock, supported, safe, and deeply loved. And even now, he remains unmistakably, wonderfully Molly.
“Since stepping back from public life, he’s somehow become even more delightfully chaotic. There’s always a story, always a laugh, always that spark.”
He’s largely withdrawn from public life and failed to show at a September 2024 event to celebrate the success of the show that shot him to stardom.
He was due to attend the launch of a commemorative coin marking 50 years since ABC music show Countdown first hit our screens. Molly was its charismatic host and his success on the show launched his career.
But instead of joining the party, Molly released a statement: “I am left with such fond memories of those days and a show that will never be forgotten,” he said.
“We made a difference to the music industry in Australia and so I am thrilled to see commemorative coin being made.”
Former Countdown announcer Gavin Wood revealed Molly has struggled with his health ever since his well-publicised fall off a ladder in December 2011, which left him with an acquired brain injury and almost killed him.
“The fall, it is all down to the fall, was a horrible thing to have happened,” Gavin told the Herald Sun.
“He has been a public figure all his life and I think he is just enjoying a quieter life. He is still Molly, still interested in music and still has it turned up to 11. He is still naughty, he has still got that spark that we love, but I think he is enjoying life being a normal person.”
Friends and family have long been concerned about his wellbeing, particularly following a series of headline-making incidents in recent years.
It’s been 18 months since the veteran’s disastrous appearance at a Rod Stewart concert in Melbourne where he exposed himself and appeared to urinate on the floor.
Describing what happened as a “train wreck”, Aussie musician Russell Morris, who used to be managed by Molly, tried to explain what was going on with his old mate.
“He’s doing OK. He’s not young anymore,” he told 2GB listeners.
“He wants to live his life, that’s the problem, he doesn’t want someone to put him in a home or something, so he just decides to go out… He just does what he wants to do. And consequently, it’s a train wreck sometimes.”
In January 2023, he also hit headlines after mooning the crowd on stage at his old friend Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. He apologised two days later, claiming the incident was a wardrobe malfunction. Footage later resurfaced showing a similar act at the 2022 ChillOut Festival in Daylesford, Victoria.
“I’m sick of him doing this, I’m sick of it,” actor Samuel Johnson said on 4BC’s Afternoons with Sofie Formica. “He needs to hang up his hat. Now.”
Yet those closest to Molly insist there is more to the story than the public spectacle.
Over the last few weeks, the reclusive music icon has re-entered the conversation following the release of Four Weddings And An Encore, a new memoir by music industry executive Amanda Pelman.
Amanda had a ringside seat to Molly’s achievements and antics as his housemate at his Richmond home and workmate at their pop-centric record label, Melodian.
“If I didn’t have a boyfriend, I had Molly Meldrum,” Amanda wrote. “He was my ‘Mouldy Mildew’. I was his ‘Attila the Hen’.”
Home life with Molly, Amanda said, was a never-ending party.
“As the world’s superstar musicians toured Melbourne, the post-show party was always on Highett Street,” she wrote, recalling nights when Stevie Nicks powdered her nose upstairs and when Bob Dylan once walked in with Lauren Bacall.
Despite his health challenges, Amanda insists Molly remains mentally present.
“He is cognisant,” she said. “He has the acquired brain injury from the fall, but Molly still has his sharp wit.”
“What an amazing life,” Amanda reflected.
For now, Molly may be out of the spotlight – but those who know him best say the spark that made him a household name hasn’t gone out just yet.
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