Australian music icon Molly Meldrum looked completely unrecognizable in a recent photo after it was revealed he is ‘struggling’ with his health.
Meldrum, 81, sported a scraggly beard as he flashed a peace sign for the camera in the rare photo taken in April this year.
He wore a large jacket and red cap as he smiled and posed while holding an album.
Meldrum is “struggling” with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source has revealed.
Next month marks 50 years since Countdown, the long-running ABC music show that made Meldrum famous, debuted on Australian TV screens.
Meldrum, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent years, was a notable no-show at a Royal Australian Mint event in Melbourne on Wednesday to launch a commemorative Countdown coin.
Former Countdown presenter Gavin Wood revealed his long-time partner has been struggling with his health since his highly publicized fall from a ladder in December 2011, which almost killed him.
“The fall, it’s all due to the fall, was a terrible thing,” Wood said the Herald Sun.
Australian music icon Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum looked completely unrecognizable in a recent photo, amid claims he is ‘struggling’ with his health
‘He will be 82 in January. He has been a public figure all his life and I think he is just enjoying a quieter life.
‘He’s still Molly, still interested in music and still has it turned up to 11. He’s still mischievous, he still has that spark that we love, but I think he’s enjoying life as a normal person.’
Although Meldrum did not attend the coin launch, he did release a statement and dropped his famous catchphrase when recommending an artist on the program.
“I have such fond memories of that time and a show that will never be forgotten,” Meldrum said.
“We’ve made a difference to Australia’s music industry and that’s why I’m thrilled to see commemorative coins being created.
‘Do yourself a favor and buy one. Iconic Countdown lives on.’
Meldrum is “struggling” with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source has revealed
Wood said his former colleague Meldrum would be “delighted” to see something “as beautiful and imaginative” as the coins commemorating the show with which he is synonymous.
Wood, who was announcer and occasional substitute for Countdown, which ran from November 8, 1974 to July 19, 1987, said the show was the product of Meldrum’s enthusiasm and foresight.
The program was something Meldrum “lived, breathed, drank, consumed,” it was “everything” to him, Wood said.
Meldrum has remained out of the public eye since his last controversy 18 months ago.
Meldrum with pop superstar Kylie Minogue at the launch of the Australian Music Vault in 2017
In March 2023, Meldrum made headlines for exposing himself and appearing to urinate on the floor at a Rod Stewart concert in Melbourne.
A video obtained by Daily Mail Australia showed him exposing his genitals at the end of the pop singer’s set at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
He appeared to be urinating on the floor while looking at the stage and wearing his signature Stetson cowboy hat.
The alarming incident came after a series of other bizarre antics by Meldrum in recent years.
In January 2023, Meldrum caused a stir after dropping his pants during his old friend Sir Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
During his final act, the I’m Still Standing hitmaker brought Meldrum on stage for a rendition of The B**** Is Back.
Meldrum blamed it on a wardrobe malfunction, but footage soon emerged showing him performing the same stupid antics in front of spectators at the 2022 ChillOut Festival in Daylesford, Victoria.