Molly Meldrum

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by YoungAmericans

this is a Molly interview as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igYOcc8jkwg

Stevie:"Well it took a year, which is 12 months of my life."

[Missy]

Well I'm in Australia bringing back this thread from 2011, unfortunately Molly Meldrum is battling illness again. May be more serious than was initially thought. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ent...4c971de6d58b63

Tomorrow a mini series is being broadcast about his life on Australian TV channel 7. Unfortunately I've heard reports that he is not happy with it and that could be true. Rather than working for them I think I'd prefer if he started his own music showbiz blog somewhere, because I've no doubt he still follows modern music and has his own thoughts and insights. Underneath the mumbling exterior he was a lot sharper than many people took him for.

He did an interview with Whitney Houston in 2009 when she was attempting her comeback, and when it was shown on channel 7 it was intercut with clips of Whitney during her most unflattering moments. I don't think Molly would have approved of that but it was done in the studio editing. They've probably also messed up the mini series which is his life story.

Not sure whether to watch the mini series or not given what I've heard about it. But part of me is curious. Such as will there be any Stevie moments because he's met her several times over the years. I think I remember when his 1980s interview with her originally played on TV. It had an intro during which he said that initially she was reluctant to do it because she didn't think she looked good enough for the cameras. By this time, I think the drugs were really having an effect on her appearance (to me, she looked like a gothed out older Tammy Wynette). But the interview was interesting and he also played some great old FM clips. That was really my first introduction to the band when I was 12 or 13. Picture of Stevie circa that era and my first impression of her. Sorry - not her best look and couldn't hide her poor health state with all the hair and makeup.



I agree he may not have been the fanciest interviewer but I think that may have given us more glimpse into the more relaxed and candid side of the big names in the business.

He was a skilled music creator, having produced 'The Real Thing' by Russell Morris which was a real technical feat for its time. (Cue the ooh ma ma mow mows and the atomic explosion...)

When he predicted that someone would be the next pop sensation, so many times he was proven correct. He insisted on interviewing a young, shy Michael Jackson in 1977 even though CBS had told him Jackson was not a 'priority' for them. He knew what a solo smash he would be. Even though I'm not a huge fan of Madonna he was one of the first to notice her too, when hardly anyone knew who she was. I think she is still very grateful to him for that early support and belief in her. No doubt she is following his progress and he has get well messages from her, Rod, Elton, McCartney and a host of others.

ABBA and Blondie - two other acts he helped in their early careers before they were internationally famous.

The Countdown pop music and culture show that he hosted was such a highlight in my youth and you really did spend the whole week looking forward to watching it and seeing what was new.

He's really had an amazing life considering where he came from. It's too incredible for fiction. So let's hope that this mini series does do him some justice and better health news soon.

[DauphineMarie]

I just watched Stevie's interview with him last night, and I have never seen her more open or comfortable in any interview before or after this. For some reason or another, he really opened her up and she was free to talk about things honestly for the first time.

Best wishes Molly!

[Macfan4life]

I hope everything is ok.
Good interviews but I do not like the way Molly and Jim Ladd interview Stevie. They have a great time during the interview but they spend way too much time sucking up to her. A good interviewer does not need to suck up aka praise the interviewee over and over.

[sorcerer999]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I hope everything is ok.
Good interviews but I do not like the way Molly and Jim Ladd interview Stevie. They have a great time during the interview but they spend way too much time sucking up to her. A good interviewer does not need to suck up aka praise the interviewee over and over.

I agree, but do you notice how more open, candid and honest Stevie is with both Jim and Molly? Sometimes "sucking up" to Stevie makes for better and more interesting interviews. A lot more insight and information about song inspirations and behind the scenes stories about the recording process have come from being interviewed by Jim and Molly.

Just sayin'...

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

I agree, but do you notice how more open, candid and honest Stevie is with both Jim and Molly? Sometimes "sucking up" to Stevie makes for better and more interesting interviews. A lot more insight and information about song inspirations and behind the scenes stories about the recording process have come from being interviewed by Jim and Molly.

Just sayin'...

Oh I agree. But its more of a love fest rather than an interview. We hear the same stories over and over but a few more details thrown in. But to hear the chatty Cathy Stevie is cool. I just like probing interviews that stay in bounds to not piss off the rock star. I can only take so many "you are so wonderfuls" LOL

The funniest interview is the Jim Ladd interview when Stevie's RAL was just released. He is kissing her butt so much and telling her how emotional he was with the lyrics to Talk To Me and the line that got him so much "a wound gets worse when its treated with neglect." Stevie actually has to wake him up from his trance to say.....ah Jim....I did not write Talk To Me.
I am not saying I want Stevie bombarded with endless personal questions. But softball love fest interviews always turn me off. I like to hear new things and questions that have not been heard before instead of telling Stevie for the 1000000000th time how good Rhiannon is and how she is underappreciated in Fleetwood Mac, etc.

Just saying

[Missy]

Molly has apparently written an editorial to say he is on the improve and hopes to be back in Australia by the end of the month, which is good news.

In the 1986 interview, I think he realized that Stevie was in fragile condition so he might have gone easier on her. She was reluctant to do the interview to begin with but glad it's out there and I got to see it - I was very young and before then didn't know that much about her.

I am giggling at some above comments. Yes, Molly is now publicly gay. But he did have a few girlfriends back in those days. I think he had a big crush on Olivia Newton John and it sounds like he once started flirting with Stevie. Didn't get very far though!

I have a few thoughts but don't want to go too off topic in a Stevie forum. Molly is a VERY flawed interviewer. No matter how many famous people he has interviewed, he still seems awestruck by them occasionally. He is an unabashed, unapologetic pop fanatic. Youtube is full of his bloopers over the years. In the 1970s, I think a lot of the evening TV was still live - anything and everything could happen and it did. He must have given the studio executives huge headaches. But sometimes the element of risk made things more interesting and what you see is what you get with him.

I personally like his quirks and sometimes the bumbling moments were the most memorable! I do however think he is a very intelligent man.

Sometimes he is outspoken and has a strong opinion about something (he once punched Johnny Rotten, with a bemused Sid standing by). I usually think his points are valid. But he would never, ever do a hatchet job on an artist.

A cute little Countdown promo of Stevie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwhMiKPqMwk

[Macfan4life]

One reason some of these interviews seem fun and relaxed is because there is a good chance they did drugs together prior to the interview starting. It was common in the 70s and 80s for everyone to do a bunch of lines before starting. So its like a conversation at a party rather than an interview. Mark Goodman (MTV) and Stevie had a very close relationship in the 80's. She trusted him a lot. Mark tells the story of the amount of coke they did together before interviews. But in his book he did coke with almost every rock star LOL.
Stevie's interview just prior to the RAL release shows Stevie very uncomfortable the entire interview even though the woman is being nice but asking good questions. You can tell Stevie is out of her element and did not party with the interviewer before it began.

[Missy]

Molly is supposed to have been very anti-drugs since the 1970s. It's a surprise because the 1960s song he produced, 'The Real Thing', is so WEIRD you think they must all have been on drugs during the recording. Apparently though Molly must have had a naturally weird personality without the drugs.

Stevie is probably high in the 1986 video though because she was like that most of the time. I believe it wasn't long after this that she went into Betty Ford rehab.

While Molly may not have done drugs he was a heavy drinker, going back to his early days in the UK working at Apple Records. He really needs to give it up altogether. It's not really possible for these people to party the way that they did in the 1970s anymore.

Countdown ended in 1987. Changes in the music industry had contributed to its decline. Molly still does occasional celebrity interviews for TV networks. But I think it would be good if he had something else to focus on like a regular column to keep himself involved.

Stevie and Molly had been hanging out together before the interview. This is his description. At first I thought that 'Egyptian Room' might be a club, but I guess it's his house. Molly has an obsession with Egypt and that's how it's decorated.

(Gosh I just watched it again and she is so emotional at the end. You can see the pain and sadness. Australia was the last part of the tour and she has said that straight after she went to Betty Ford.)

Now how this interview came about was that towards the end of the Dire Straits performances in Melbourne, I threw a party for them here at my home. And it just so happened that Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty happened to be performing here on the same night. Well Bob didn't arrive at the party but Stevie and Tom Petty arrived. Stevie agreed to do an interview. So she came over here on the Saturday afternoon, we sat down, we had a lot of laughs and then we sat down here to do the interview. It's one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've ever spent and certainly one of the most enjoyable interviews. So here it is, from the Egyptian Room, Stevie Nicks.

[Aussie W/Heart]

I watched Molly the new TV series last night, i enjoyed it.. The only F/M reference so far was that producer was wearing a Fleetwood Mac T Shirt..

Good to hear Molly is on the mend, i believe his recent accident happened in Bali.

[Missy]

Part 2 next week which I suppose is the 80s. Samuel Johnson is great casting as Molly. I read his book and the show seems very close to what is in the book though condensed for the screen. It's a lot to fit in. What a series of flashbacks.

I believe that Molly first met Stevie in late 1977 at a big celebrity party before he interviewed her a few weeks later. In his book he said that John Lennon was also there and it was the last time he got to talk to him. It seems that 1977 was a very hectic year for Molly. Overseas trips and interviews, dealing with young punk Johnny Rotten, the segment with Prince Charles, meeting young Michael Jackson at Studio 54, and that infamous 100th episode.

Before the show I was thinking Molly is peculiar enough without drugs, what would happen if he DID take them? I guess we saw. Molly was so frazzled before the 100th episode that someone gave him some strong benzos, which he wasn't used to. No doubt they were all drinking too. But for the most part he said he abhorred drugs because he'd seen too many people destroyed by them. He had to know what Stevie was going through and now looking back at the 1980s clip it's as if he's trying to give her encouragement to conquer it.

I noticed how in the scenes about Molly's early life nearly all the colors were drab and brown. Then when they got to the Countdown era - it was all bright colors! Very Wizard of Oz. I bet there were times he really did feel like Dorothy.

I'm sure they put in their innuendos during episodes but as a young kid they went over my head. We watched Countdown as a family. I hate it now that you can't really watch music video shows with young kids. Most are too graphic and explicit.

They included his classic bumbling moments but also the more complex personal side of Molly which I was pleased about. I wish him all the best.

Found this clip probably already posted elsewhere but Lindsey and Mick on Countdown late 1979 talking about Tusk. (Is it just me or is Lindsey smirking? He's probably thinking where on earth did they get this dude?) One of my first music memories was the Tusk video clip. I didn't understand who they were at the time but particularly remembered the lady twirling the baton so impressively!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6zBEckZiRA0

[Missy]

(If I continue this subject I think I will take it to another part of the forum - I don't want to go too off topic in this one.)