Elton and Molly: A history of their amazing friendship
They bonded over a madcap scheme to steal from The Beatles. And, after patching up their friendship at the weekend, Molly Meldrum and Sir Elton John are stronger than ever.
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Molly Meldrum met Elton John in 1971.
The connection was Elton’s then-manager, John Reid, who worked for a publishing company in London, which had the rights to The Real Thing, which Molly would produce for Australian rocker Russell Morris two years later.
Reid, Molly and a few others went to a Christmas party at The Beatles’ record company, Apple, and they decided to steal one of the Fab Four’s gold records.
Molly was wearing a big coat, so he grabbed a US-awarded gold record for Abbey Road and hid it under his clothes.
They were walking down Regent Street, when Molly suddenly panicked.
“We can’t do this,” he said, to which they replied: “Well, we’ve done it.”
Molly returned to the party and put the stolen item back.
Elton thought he was mad.
Soon after, Elton’s boss, Phil Greenup, gave Molly a copy of Elton’s self-titled album and said: “Have a listen to this album, Reidy is managing him.”
The first Elton song Molly heard was Your Song. He loved it.
When Molly returned to London, he went to Elton’s apartment for drinks. While he was there, Rod Stewart showed up, then Neil Young.
Elton arrived for his first Australian tour in October 1971. He was met by two policemen who said that the four badges he was wearing were “damaging to our society.”
Elton looked at them, stuck Band-Aids over the badges, and kept walking.
In Melbourne, Elton stayed at the Southern Cross Hotel and was very excited when Molly said The Beatles had also stayed there.
While here, Elton wanted to hear a test pressing of his new album, Madman Across The Water. When the record arrived at the hotel, Elton shrieked.
Instead of “Madman Across The Water,” the label read “Madam Across The Water.”
He signed the album cover and gave it to Molly.
‘To my darling Molly, with love Elsie Johns xxx.’”
During that first Australian tour, Elton fell in love with Daddy Cool. Legend has it that Elton was inspired to write “Crocodile Rock” after hearing “Eagle Rock.”
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He told Molly: “I thought that band (Daddy Cool) was probably one of the most impressive bands I’d ever, ever heard. Eagle Rock is still one of my favourite tracks of all time.
A year after that tour, Molly and Elton had their first run-in after the rock star savaged Australia in a newspaper interview.
He said: “Everything (in Australia) is controversial, even Coronation Street. They have a sign flashing on the screen during the show: ‘Not suitable for children’. They are so archaic and they hate the English, or at least the press hate us. We’re still ‘Limeys’ to them. Since I found that out, I have willed every Australian team to lose.
“My cousin lives there and he had to accept the principles of a beer-drinking idiot to survive. It was a nightmare being there, but we’ll go back. Why not?
Elton added: “Don’t worry, they already know what I think about them.”
Molly was not happy.
“So Australia was a nightmare, was it?” Molly wrote in Go Set magazine.
“Oh, Elton, don’t you think you’re exaggerating just a bit? Heavens forbid, we now have our own local telly series entitled Number 96, which makes the gang from Coronation Street look like a church choir.”
Molly added: “All I can say is that I was once a friend of yours and I hope I still am.”
Elton returned to Australia three years later.
To celebrate, Molly organised a party at Silver’s Nightclub in Toorak. But the Rolls Royce taking them to the party crawled up Toorak Rd, backfiring every 100 metres.
Elton was furious. “Oh, this is ridiculous,” he huffed. “Whose idea was this?!”
An embarrassed Molly whispered to Elton’s minders: “Don’t tell him it was my idea, say it was someone from Sydney.”
At the time, Molly was doing a kids show on Channel 7 called Do It, with magician Ian Buckland. Molly asked Elton to appear on the show.
When Reid turned on the TV to see Elton performing alongside a magician, he freaked out.
After the Australian tour, Elton invited Molly to join him and Reid in New Zealand for a holiday.
The record company threw a lavish party for Elton, but soon ran out of whisky, his favourite tipple. When offered a glass of champagne instead, Elton threw the drink all over the party host.
Elton was in Melbourne on the dark day in 1980 John Lennon was murdered by a gunman in New York. Molly had organised a Christmas-theme dinner for Elton at his home, but it turned into a wake.
Sir Elton John makes a heartfelt dedication to long-time friend Molly Meldrum. Video: @nuionline pic.twitter.com/5i8qLNqPxA
— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) December 14, 2019
Elton is the godfather to Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
A few years later, during another visit Down Under, Elton threw a party on a luxury boat on Sydney Harbour. Molly was late, but water police said they’d race him out to Elton’s yacht.
They hurtled out to the party, sirens blazing. But when Molly boarded, no one was pleased to see him. He later found out that all the partygoers thought they were being raided by cops, so all sorts of illicit substances got thrown overboard.
In 1983, Australian artist Wes Walters painted Molly’s portrait for the Archibald Prize.
It didn’t win, but Elton bought the painting for Molly and it still hangs in Meldrum’s home today.
Elton married Renate Blauel in Sydney on Valentine’s Day a year later.
Molly gifted Elton and Renate flying kangaroos (instead of flying ducks) to put on the wall, gold placemats featuring kangaroos and emus, and a colonial cookbook.
At the reception, Elton’s best man raised a toast to the Queen.
“Thank you, thank you,” Elton responded.
Molly attended Elton’s 50th birthday party, in 1997, at a fancy dress event, in London.
Molly went dressed as a musical fairy, and gifted Elton one of the original wigs from the movie, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.
Elton made many appearances on the ABC-TV show Countdown, which Molly hosted. When Molly said it had become a regular occurrence having him on the show, Elton replied: “It’s like the Queen’s Speech, isn’t it?”
In another appearance on Countdown, Elton used the platform to bag Boney M (“I can’t stand them, they’re dreadful … my mum likes them”) the Rolling Stones (“I liked ‘Miss You’ … I thought the rest of the album was abysmal, I thought they should give up”) and Billy Joel (“I always felt sorry for the bloke because everyone said, ‘Poor man’s Elton John’. I thought that was really rubbish because the guy writes really great songs … (But if) you listen to ‘Big Shot’ – it’s Bennie and the Jets backwards.”
Later, Elton had Bruce Springsteen in his sights with this almighty zinger: “All his stuff sounds as if it was recorded on the lawnmower.”
But there were also times of serious reflection.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to be,” Elton told Molly for The Meldrum Tapes. “I wasn’t exactly a rock and roll-looking person. I was sort of like Billy Bunter goes frantic.
I didn’t have much fun in my teenage years. (My 20s) were the first time I had the chance to express myself and, boy, did I!
“For the first time in my life I was able to wear high-heel shoes and dresses and stand on top of the piano.”
Elton added: “I have had a personal life as well, God knows how, but I have. My career, I find it a game. I love it, it’s a constant game and a battle and I love it.”
When Elton toured Australia with Billy Joel in 1997, Molly was there.
“I tell you what, Billy, you may not follow cricket, but you have one thing in common with cricket that Elton and I have never really experienced,” Molly said.
Elton: “Balls.”
Molly: “No, you’ve bowled a maiden over.”
Molly interviewed Elton in 2012, which included the infamous off-the-record conversation that aired on Channel 7’s Sunday Night.
Elton told him: “You are the best thing that ever happened to Australian music. You’re a legend and you’re a friend and you’ve stuck by me through the good times and the bad and now the good times again. You’re an institution ... a mental institution, but you’re an institution.”
Later, Elton confided: “I’ve always been an Australian at heart.”
He asked Molly how his beloved Saints were doing, then smiled: “I always want them to win for you, Molly. It’s been so near and yet so far ... it will happen.”
But the meeting also included what the pair believed to be off-the-record banter, in which the Rocket Man superstar bagged Madonna as a “fairground stripper” and a “nightmare.”
After Elton’s comments were broadcast, the fall out was immediate. He froze Molly out of his life, and refused to meet with him until last weekend.
The long-time mates patched up their differences in a private meeting before Elton’s show at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
“It was just Elton and I, talking about the old days and our wonderful friendship,” Molly said.
“It was lovely.”
Elton arranged the backstage meeting and had a car deliver Molly to the venue..
“We had a great conversation,” Meldrum said. “We talked about when we first met, all the things we’ve been through, and how important our friendship is. He knew the interview thing was not my fault.”
Hours later, while on stage, Sir Elton paid a heartfelt tribute to Molly.
“We’ve had tears, we’ve had laughter, but we’ve had a friendship that’s lasted so long,” Sir Elton told the crowd. “Molly, I love you, I thank you dearly for everything you’ve done for me. Bless you.”
Molly acknowledged the superstar with a wave and a kiss.
They were friends again.