EXCLUSIVE
Worrying photographs of Australian music icon Molly Meldrum can be revealed as the 81-year-old continues to struggle with poor health.
Meldrum looks frail in several recent images obtained by Daily Mail Australia of the music industry identity with his boyfriend, Thai businessman Yan Wongngam.
They stand in stark contrast with his more energetic appearance at the Australian Open in January.
In one photograph the bald television legend seems to be sleeping on a couch in the couple’s Melbourne home, without one of his trademark hats and with his mouth open.
In another picture Meldrum appears bearded and lying on the verandah with one slender hand over his chest for what appears to be a daytime snooze.
Meldrum has been ‘struggling’ with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source revealed last week.
Next month will mark 50 years since Countdown, the long-running ABC music show that shot Meldrum to stardom, debuted on Aussie TV screens.
Meldrum, who has been in headlines for the wrong reasons in recent years was a notable no-show at a Royal Australian Mint event in Melbourne last Wednesday to launch a commemorative Countdown coin.
The show’s announcer Gavin Wood revealed his longtime mate had struggled with his health ever since falling off a ladder in December 2011 almost killed him.
Worrying photographs of Australian music icon Molly Meldrum have emerged as the 81-year-old continues to struggle with his health. Meldrum is pictured with boyfriend Yan Wongngam
In one photograph the bald television legend seems to be sleeping on a couch in his Melbourne home, without one of his trademark hats and with his mouth open
‘The fall, it is all down to the fall, was a horrible thing to have happened,’ Wood told the Herald Sun.
‘He is 82 in January. 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.’
Although Meldrum did not attend the coin launch, he did release a statement and sneaked in his famous catchphrase whenever he recommended an artist on the program.
‘Do yourself a favour and get one,’ he said. ‘Iconic Countdown lives on.
‘I am left with such fond memories of those days and a show that will never be forgotten.
‘We made a difference to the music industry in Australia and so I am thrilled to see commemorative coin being made.’
Wood said his former colleague would be ‘chuffed’ to see something ‘as beautiful and as imaginative’ as the coins commemorating the show that made him a household name.
Meldrum looks frail as he poses for an image with his boyfriend
In another picture Meldrum is bearded and lying on a cushioned behind on the verandah with one slender hand over his chest for what appears to be a daytime snooze
The recent pictures of Meldrum are in contrast to his appearance at the Australian Open with Thai businessman boyfriend Yan Wongngam in January (above)
Wood said Countdown, which ran from November 8, 1974 until July 19, 1987, was the product of Meldrum’s enthusiasm and foresight.
The program was something Meldrum ‘lived, breathed, drank, consumed’ and it was ‘everything’ to him, Wood said.
Meldrum has remained out of the public limelight ever since his last controversy 18 months ago.
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 privates near the end of the pop singer’s set at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
He appeared to urinate on the floor while looking up at the stage and wearing his trademark Stetson cowboy hat.
Meldrum’s boyfriend Yan Wongngam was pictured walking the former Countdown host’s dog Ziggy outside the couple’s Melbourne home on October 3
Meldrum has been ‘struggling’ with his health and has largely withdrawn from public life, a close source has revealed
The alarming incident came after a string 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 a wardrobe malfunction but footage soon resurfaced showing him performing the same bum-barring antics in front of spectators at the 2022 ChillOut Festival in Daylesford, Victoria.
