Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
Name	Australian footballAustralian rules football
Union	AFL Commission
Nickname	Football, footy, Aussie rules
First	1859 in Melbourne, Australia
Registered	693,052 (total) (2008)130,000 (adult) (2007)
Clubs	2,659
Contact	Full contact
Team	22 (18 at a time)
Mgender	Single
Category	Outdoor
Ball	Football
Olympic	No }}

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also informally known as football, Aussie rules or (colloquially) as footy (and in some regions called—erroneously—AFL, after the Australian Football League, the only fully professional Australian rules football league) is a sport played between two teams of 22 players (18 on the field, and four interchanges) on either an Australian rules football ground, a modified cricket field or another modified sports venue.

The objective of the game is to score points by passing the ball through the opponent's goal. The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two major goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins unless either a draw is declared or a tie-break is used.

During play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their body to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a ''free kick'' is paid. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions), are awarded a free kick. Australian rules is a contact sport, in which players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. Frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring are the game's main attributes.

Details of the game's origins in Australia are obscure and still the subject of much debate. Australian rules football became organised in Melbourne in May 1859, when the first laws of the game were published by the Melbourne Football Club.

Australian football is a major participation and spectator sport in Australia. The sport is also played at amateur level in several countries and in several variations.

The most prestigious competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual AFL Grand Final - currently the highest attended club championship event in the world. Australian football is governed by the AFL Commission, which also runs the AFL competition, and the rules of the game are decided by the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee.

Rules of the game

Both the ball and the field of play are elliptical in shape. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time.

Up to four interchange (reserve) players may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. In Australian rules terminology, these players wait for substitution "on the bench"—an area with a row of seats on the sideline. Players must interchange through a designated interchange "gate" with strict penalties for too many players from one side on the field.

There is no offside rule nor are there set positions in the rules; unlike many other forms of football, players from both teams may disperse across the whole field before the start of play. However, a typical on-field structure consists of six forwards, six defenders or "backmen" and six midfielders, usually two wingmen, one centre and three followers, including a ruckman, ruck-rover and rover. Only four players from each team are allowed within of the centre square before every centre bounce, which occurs at the commencement of each quarter, and to restart the game after a goal is scored. There are also other rules pertaining to allowed player positions during set plays (that is after a mark or free kick) and during kick-ins following the scoring of a behind.

A game consists of four quarters and a timekeeper officiates their duration. In professional Australian football, quarters are 20 minutes plus time on. Time on refers to clock being stopped when the ball is out of play, meaning that an average quarter could last for 27 to 31 minutes. At the end of each quarter, teams change their scoring end.

Games are officiated by umpires. Australian football begins after the first siren, the umpire bounces the ball on the ground (or throws it into the air if the condition of the ground is poor), and the two ruckmen (typically the tallest players from each team), battle for the ball in the air on its way back down. This is known as the ''ball-up''. Certain disputes during play may also be settled with a ''ball-up'' from the point of contention. If the ball ever goes out of bounds (beyond the oval boundary line around the edge of the field), a boundary umpire will stand with his back to the infield and return the ball into play with a ''throw-in'', a high backwards toss.

The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a foot, clenched fist (called a handball or ''handpass'') or open-hand tap but it cannot be thrown under any circumstances. Once a player takes possession of the ball he must dispose of it by either kicking or handballing it. Any other method of disposal is illegal and will result in a free kick to the opposing team. This is usually called "incorrect disposal", "dropping the ball" or "throwing". If the ball is not in the possession of one player it can be moved on with any part of the body.

A player may run with the ball but it must be bounced or touched on the ground at least once every 15 metres. Opposition players may bump or tackle the player to obtain the ball and, when tackled, the player must dispose of the ball cleanly or risk being penalised for holding the ball. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees. If the opposition player forcefully contacts a player in the back whilst performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a push in the back. If the opposition tackles the player with possession below the knees (a ''low tackle'' or a ''trip'') or above the shoulders (a ''high tackle''), the team with possession of the football gets a free kick.

If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than from another player's kick, by way of a catch, it is claimed as a ''mark'' and that player is then awarded a ''free kick'' (meaning that the game stops while he prepares to kick from the point at which he marked). Alternatively, he may choose to "play on": forfeiting the set shot in the hope of pressing an advantage for his team (rather than allowing the opposition to reposition while he prepares for the free kick). Once a player has chosen to play on, normal play resumes and the player who took the mark is again able to be tackled.

There are different styles of kicking depending on how the ball is held in the hand. The most common style of kicking seen in today's game, principally because of its superior accuracy, is the drop punt (the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground, to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion as it travels through the air). Other commonly used kicks are the torpedo punt (also known as the spiral, barrel, or screw punt; the ball is held at an angle and kicked, which makes the ball spiral in the air, like a rugby throw, resulting in extra distance) and the checkside punt or "banana", kicked across the ball on the outside of the foot is used to curve the ball (towards the right if kicked off the right foot) towards targets that are on an angle. There is also the "snap," which is almost the same as a checkside punt, except that it is kicked off the inside of the foot and curves in the opposite direction. It is also possible to kick the ball so that it bounces along the ground. This is known as a "grubber". Grubbers can bounce in a straight line, or curve to the left or right.

Apart from free kicks or when the ball is in the possession of an umpire for a ''ball up'' or ''throw in'', the ball is always in dispute and any player from either side can take possession of the ball.

A ''goal'', worth 6 points, is scored when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly through "on the full" (without touching the ground) or bounce through, but must not have been touched, on the way, by any player from either team. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition (defending) player.

A ''behind'', worth 1 point, is scored when the ball passes between a goal post and a behind post at any height, or if the ball hits a goal post, or if any player sends the ball between the goal posts by touching it with any part of the body other than a foot. A behind is also awarded to the attacking team if the ball touches any part of an opposition player, including his foot, before passing between the goal posts. When an opposition player deliberately scores a behind for the attacking team (generally as a last resort, because of the risk of their scoring a goal) this is termed a rushed behind. Before the start of the 2009 season, there was no additional penalty imposed for rushing a behind, compared to any other behind. However, for the start of the 2009 season a new rule was announced awarding a free kick against any player who deliberately rushes a behind.

The goal umpire signals a goal with two hands raised at elbow height, a behind with one hand, and then confirms the signal with the other goal umpire by waving flags above his head.

The team that has scored the most points at the end of play wins the game. If the scores are level on points at the end of play, then the game is a draw; extra time applies only during finals matches in some competitions.

As an example of a score report, Team 1 and Team 2. Team 1's score of 15 goals and 10 behinds equates to 100 points. Team 2's score of 13 goals and 12 behinds equates to a 90 point tally. Team 1 wins the match by a margin of 10 points. Such a result would be written as "''Team 1'' 15.10 (100) defeated ''Team 2'' 13.12 (90)" and is said "Team 1: fifteen, ten, one hundred, defeated Team 2: thirteen, twelve, ninety".

Structure and competitions

The ''football season'', proper, is from March to August (early autumn to late winter in Australia) with finals being held in September and October. In the tropics, the game is sometimes played in the wet season (October to March). Pre-season competitions in southern Australia usually begin in late February.

The AFL is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission as being the National Sporting Organisation for Australian rules football. There are also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of which are now either owned by or affiliated to the AFL.

Most of these hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur organisations and competitions are often affiliated to their state organisations.

The AFL is the ''de facto'' world governing body for Australian rules football. There are also a number of affiliated organisations governing amateur clubs and competitions around the world.

For almost all Australian rules club competitions the aim is to win the ''Premiership''. The premiership is always decided by a ''finals series''. The teams that occupy the highest positions on the ''ladder'' play off in a "semi-knockout" finals series. From the 1930s the finals series was usually contested by the top four teams (3rd versus 4th ''(First semifinal)''; 1st versus 2nd ''(Second semifinal)''; winner of First versus loser of Second ''(Preliminary final)''; the winner of Second versus winner of Preliminary playing in the Grand Final for the premiership). Many leagues have adopted a final series involving 5, 6 or 8 teams with a variety of methods used to determine the winner. The AFL finals system is contested by the top 8 teams.

Unlike many association football competitions there are usually no separate "league" and "cup" trophies. The team finishing first on the ladder is often referred to as a 'minor premier', although this bears little or no significance. In the AFL, this is the McClelland Trophy and is considered a consolation prize. The team that finishes at the bottom of the ladder at the end of the season receives 'the wooden spoon'.

It is uncommon for promotion and relegation to occur in Australian football state level competitions although it is common among suburban leagues (such as the Eastern Football League and Victorian Amateur Football Association in Melbourne).

History

Origins

As early as 1841, there is documented evidence of "foot-ball" being played in metropolitan and country Victoria as well as mention of early matches in Adelaide (1843) and southern Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). While the exact rules being played in these matches are unknown they may have shared similarities and influences.

In 1858 English public school football games began to be played in Melbourne and surrounding districts. The earliest known such match was played on 15 June 1858 between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School on the St Kilda foreshore.

A letter by Tom Wills was published in ''Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle'' on 10 July 1858, calling for a "foot-ball club", or some other "athletic game", with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. This letter is regarded by many historians as being a catalyst for the development of a new code of football in 1859 today known as Australian football.

On 31 July, a knock-a-bout match at Yarra Park was played between a "St Kilda scratch team" and "Melbourne scratch team". Trees were used for goal posts and there were no boundaries and the match lasted from 1pm until dark. There were no rules and fights frequently broke out. Melbourne being a relatively young city, the majority of the early players were migrants and the media of the time noted that participants of each nationality played the game their own distinctive way: the English played in a fashion that resembled rugby football, the Scottish played recklessly, and the Irish played in a fashion that resembled the Irish sport of Gaelic football.

Another significant milestone in the sport's development was a match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College, which began on 7 August 1858 at Richmond Park, was umpired by Wills and Macadam, and which also involved Scotch College headmaster Thomas H. Smith. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. While the full rules that were used is unknown, some details of the match survived. It was played with a round ball, the distance between the goals was approximately half a mile (approximately four times longer than the modern Melbourne Cricket Ground playing surface), there were 40 players per side and one goal each side was scored with the game being declared a draw. The two schools have competed annually ever since for the Cordner-Eggleston Cup.

First rules

The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. The ten simple rules were drawn up on 17 May in a meeting was chaired by Wills and in attendance were journalists W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson. Accounts of the people directly involved differ. Some sources claim that Thomas H. Smith, Alex Bruce and or H. C. A. Harrison were also present. The meeting was held at the Parade Hotel, East Melbourne hosted by owner and Melbourne Cricket Club member Jerry Bryant. The publican was a friend of Tom Wills with a personal interest in introducing football to Melbourne's schools. Bryant had played a role in organising early football matches at the nearby Richmond Park and his son was one of the first players. The rules were signed by Tom Wills, William Hammersley, J. Sewell, J. B. Thompson, Alex Bruce, T. Butterworth and Thomas H. Smith. Importantly, the rules were widely publicised and distributed.

Early competition in Victoria

In 1859 several new football clubs formed including the Castlemaine Football Club, Geelong Football Club (which Wills directly helped to form) and the Melbourne University Football Club. While many one-off matches are recorded to have taken place between several early teams from Melbourne's suburbs and country Victoria (such as the Ballarat and Geelong competitions), in the early days many had not yet formed clubs for regular competition.

The first ever trophy for Australian Football, the 1861 Challenge Cup, was won in 1862 under Melbourne's rules by University over Melbourne. The competition continued into the 1860s with the addition of other teams from Melbourne's suburbs. Two further competitions, the South Yarra Challenge Cup (which had evolved from the Caledonian Games) and "Second Twenties" were held in the 1860s and 1870s.

Some rival rules eventually gave way to an acceptance of the Melbourne rules. In 1860, the Melbourne Football Club redrafted its rules following the input of several other clubs. The requirement to bounce the ball while running was introduced in a significant redraft of the Melbourne rules in 1866 by H.C.A. Harrison and his rules committee to satisfy the Geelong Football Club's own set of very different rules. Behind posts were introduced at this time are also believed to have come directly from the Geelong rules. The new rules became known as the Victorian rules, which became more widely adopted. In 1869, a 100-minute time limit was introduced to the game for the first time. Previous to this, winners were decided in a number of ways, but most commonly the first side to kick two goals.

The relationship with cricket primarily came out of co-existence and many of football's founders were cricketers. As a result, the sport shares some terminology (i.e. "umpires" and "boundary"). However cricket authorities did not initially allow football to be played on their grounds and in the early years football was played primarily in parks. The first football match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was not until 1876. Cricket authorities soon saw the opportunity to capitalise on the rapid growth of Australian Football, however, and soon most grounds in Victoria were expanded to accommodate the dual purpose, a situation that continues to this day.

Football matches between 1859 and 1899 were played in a 20-per-side format.

Spread to other colonies

Gradually the game—known at first as "Melbourne rules" became "Victorian rules" and then "Australian rules" or "Australasian rules" following its spread from Victoria into other Australasian colonies, beginning with South Australia (Although there is conjecture that the game co-developed in South Australia, with games recorded as far back as 1843), Tasmania (1864), Queensland (1866), and New Zealand (1871). In 1877, the sport's first governing bodies, the South Australian Football Association and the Victorian Football Association were formed on 30 April and 17 May respectively. The game began to be played in New South Wales in 1877, in Western Australia in 1881 (During the 1880s, young men sent to school in Adelaide brought the game home when they had finished their education—more came from the eastern states later in the WA gold rush) and the Australian Capital Territory in 1911. By 1916, the game was first played in the Northern Territory, establishing a permanent presence in all Australian states and mainland territories.

The South Australian National Football League (SANFL), formerly named the South Australian Football Association, and the West Australian Football League (WAFL), formerly named the Western Australian Football Association, were strong, separate competitions by the 1890s. However, late in the century the code began to decline in New South Wales and Queensland largely due to interstate rivalries and the lack of strong local governing bodies. In the case of Sydney, denial of access to grounds and the loss of professional players to other football codes directly inhibited to the game's growth.

The first intercolonial match had been played between Victoria and South Australia on 2 August 1879.

Emergence of the VFL

In 1896, delegates from the stronger and wealthier VFA clubs—Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne—met to form a breakaway competition and in 1897, the Victorian Football League (VFL), was born as an eight-team competition. Popularity of the VFL grew rapidly and by 1925 with 12 teams, had become the most prominent league in the game and would dominate so many aspects of the sport from that point on.

Effects of the two world wars

Both World War I and World War II had a devastating effect on the sport of Australian football and on Australian sport in general. While scratch matches were played by Australian "diggers" in remote locations around the world, the game lost many of its great players to wartime service. Some competitions never fully recovered. Between 1914 and 1915 talks were held for a proposed amalgamation with rugby league, the predominant code of football in New South Wales and Queensland was considered and trialled. World War I saw the game in New Zealand go into recess for three quarters of a century. In Queensland, the state league went into recess for the duration of the war. VFL club University left the league and went into recess due to severe casualties. The WAFL lost two clubs and the SANFL was suspended for one year in 1916 due to heavy club losses. The ANZAC Day clash is one example of how the war continues to be remembered in the football community.

Interstate football and the Australian National Football Council

The Australian National Football Council's primary role was to govern the game at national level to facilitate interstate representative and club competition.

The ANFC ran the Championship of Australia, the first national club competition, which first ran in 1888 and saw clubs from different states compete on an even playing field. During this time, the Port Adelaide won a record four national club championships. Although clubs from other states were at times invited, the final was almost always between the premiers from the two strongest state competitions of the time—South Australia and Victoria—and the majority of matches were played in Adelaide at the request of the SAFA/SAFL. By the 1960s, as VFL clubs increasingly recruited the best players from other states, they began to dominate the competition and the last match was played in 1976, with North Adelaide being the last non-Victorian winner in 1972. Between 1977 and 1987, the Australian Football Council (AFC) in conjunction with the VFL ran a night series, which invited clubs and representative sides from around the country to participate in the "National Football League" for the Wills Cup, however Victorian sides still dominated.

With the lack of international competition, representative matches between state teams were regarded with great importance. Originating from the early intercolonial matches, these tests continued well after Federation of Australia in 1901 and the Australian Football Council co-ordinated regular interstate carnivals. In 1908, a Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival was held to celebrate 50 years of Australian rules football. The carnival included teams representing Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and New Zealand. Again, due primarily to the VFL recruiting the best players, Victoria dominated interstate matches for three quarters of a century. Representative football was kept alive longer than the national club competition with the introduction of State of origin rules in 1977. The new rules mean that rather than representing the state of their adopted club, players would return to play for the state they were first recruited in. This instantly broke Victoria's stranglehold over state titles and Western Australia and South Australia began to win many of their games against Victoria. Both New South Wales and Tasmania scored surprise victories at home against Victoria in 1990.

Towards a national club competition

In 1978, the term Barassi Line was used to describe the football dichotomy that had emerged in Australia over three quarters of a century and also the first suggestion of regular interstate club competition or national league.

By 1980, the way the game was played had changed dramatically, with the phasing out of many of the game's kicking styles, changing rules and the influence of the handballing game and television.

In 1982, in a move that heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to the rugby league stronghold of Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans as it was on verge of going out of business. In the late 1980s, due to the poor financial standing of many of the Victorian clubs, the VFL led to a more national competition; two more non-Victorian clubs, the West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears began playing in 1987. In their early years, the Sydney and Brisbane clubs continued to struggle both on and off-field before an eventual bailout by the league, which granted significant draft concessions and financial aid to keep them competitive. Each club was required to pay a licence fee which allowed the Victorian based clubs to survive.

The league changed its name to the Australian Football League (AFL) following the 1989 season. In 1991, it gained its first South Australian team, Adelaide, which paid five million dollars to enter the AFL. During the next five years, two more non-Victorian teams, Fremantle and Port Adelaide, joined the league. From 2011–2012 two new teams will be added to the competition. The Gold Coast Suns and the Greater Western Sydney Giants, with the former joining the competition in 2011 and the latter to compete in the 2012 fixture. The AFL, currently with 18 member clubs, 17 of which will compete in the 2011 season, is the sport's elite competition and the most powerful body and continues to seek further opportunities to expand into new markets.

Following the emergence of the Australian Football League, the SANFL, WAFL and other state leagues rapidly declined to a secondary status. Apart from these there are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas. The VFA, still in existence a century after the original schism, merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998. The new entity adopted the VFL name and remained a primarily state based competition.

State of origin games also declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of withdrawals by AFL players. The AFL turned its focus for representation to an annual International Rules Series against Ireland in 1998 before abolishing State of Origin in 1999. The second-tier state and territorial leagues still contest interstate representative matches.

Although Tasmanian AFL Bid has been ongoing, rather than pursue a national competition, the AFL's focus has become gaining marketshare in lucrative and broadcasting rights in the more populous Australian states and has advanced plans to create football franchises on the Gold Coast, Queensland (Gold Coast Football Club) and in Greater Western Sydney (Greater Western Sydney Football Club). The AFL regularly schedules pre-season exhibition matches in all Australian states and territories as part of the Regional Challenge.

Australian football internationally

Australian rules football is played at an amateur level in various countries around the world. Over 30 countries are home to clubs or leagues who play regularly, with around 20 that have either affiliation or working agreements with the AFL. There have been several players in the VFL/AFL who were born outside Australia and since 1982, an increasing number of players have been recruited from outside Australia through initiatives such as the Irish experiment and more recently, international scholarship programs.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the game spread with the Australian Diaspora to areas such as New Zealand and South Africa; however this growth went into rapid decline following World War I. After World War II, the sport experienced a small amount of growth in the Pacific region, particularly in Nauru, Papua New Guinea and later New Zealand.

Most of the current amateur clubs and leagues in existence have developed since the 1980s, when leagues began to be established in North America, Europe and Asia. As the size of the Australian diaspora has increased, so has the number of clubs outside Australia. This expansion has been further aided by multiculturalism and assisted by exhibition matches as well as exposure generated through players who have converted to and from other football codes. In Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States there are many thousands of players.

The AFL became the de facto governing body when it pushed for the closure of the International Australian Football Council in 2002. The Australian Football International Cup is currently the highest level of senior international competition.

International Rules Football

Since 1967 there have been many matches between Australian rules football teams (mainly from Australia) and Gaelic football teams (mainly from Ireland), under various sets of hybrid, compromise rules known as International rules football. In 1984, the first official representative matches of International Rules were played, and these were played annually each October between the AFL and the Gaelic Athletic Association, also known as the GAA, between 1998 and 2006. These were part of the official International Rules Series, which attracted large crowds and media interest in Ireland and Australia. In 2007 the international rules series was abandoned because of the aggression and the severity of the Australian team in the previous year, but in 2008, under new rules to protect the player with the ball, it resumed in Australia.

Australian rules football culture

Australian football is a sport rich in tradition and Australian cultural references, especially surrounding the rituals of gameday for players, officials and supporters.

Australian football has attracted more overall interest among Australians (as measured by the Sweeney Sports report) than any other football code, and, when compared with all sports throughout the nation, has consistently ranked first in the winter reports, and most recently third behind cricket and swimming in summer.

In 2006, a total of 615,549 registered participants played Australian football in Australia. Participation increased 7.84% between 2005–06. The Australian Sports Commission statistics show a 42% increase in the total number of participants over the 4 year period between 2001–2005.

Australian football is played in more than 30 countries around the world. In 2004, there were a total of over 25,000 participants outside of Australia. This has grown to about 35,000 people in 32 countries playing in structured competitions outside of Australia Australian rules is the national sport of Nauru.

Many related games have emerged from football, mainly with variations of contact to encourage greater participation. These include Kick-to-kick (and its variants such as "End to End Footy" and "Markers Up"), Auskick, Rec Footy, Women's Australian rules football, 9-a-side Footy, Masters Australian Football, handball and longest-kick competitions. Players outside of Australia sometimes engage in related games on the available fields, like Metro Footy (played on gridiron fields) and Samoa Rules (played on rugby fields).

Australian Football Hall of Fame

For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, the Australian Football Hall of Fame was established. In that year 136 identities were inducted, including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and six media representatives.

The selections have caused some controversy, mainly because of the predominance of VFL players at the expense of those who played in other leagues in the years before there was a national competition.

The elite ''Legend'' status was bestowed on 12 members of the Hall of Fame in 1996: Ron Barassi, Haydn Bunton Senior, Roy Cazaly, John Coleman, Jack Dyer, Polly Farmer, Leigh Matthews, John Nicholls, Bob Pratt, Dick Reynolds, Bob Skilton and Ted Whitten (see above list for further details).

The following ten members have been promoted to the status of "Legend" since 1996: Ian Stewart (1997), Gordon Coventry (1998), Peter Hudson (1999), Kevin Bartlett (2000), Barrie Robran (2001), Bill Hutchison (2003), Jock McHale (2005), Darrel Baldock (2006), Norm Smith (2007), Alex Jesaulenko (2008) and Kevin Murray (2010).

See also

Australian rules football attendance records

Australian rules football positions

List of Australian rules football clubs

List of Australian rules football terms

References

External links

Laws of Australian Football 2008

Australian Football explained in 17 languages – a publication from AFL.com.au

Culture Victoria – Football Stories from Country Victoria

Australian Football League (AFL) official site

Aussie Rules International

Masters – Australian Football for the over 30s

Australian Institute of Sport AFL website

Australian Sports Commission website

Full Points Footy – comprehensive history site

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Category:Australian culture Category:Ball games Category:Team sports Category:Sports originating in Australia Category:Football codes

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Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Hamish & Andy
medium	Television, radio
nationality	Australian
active	2003–present
genre	talk radio
notable work	''The Hamish & Andy Show'', ''Rove', ''Afternoons with Hamish & Andrew''
footnotes	}}

Hamish & Andy are an Australian comedy duo formed in 2003 by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. They currently host the radio program ''The Hamish & Andy Show'' which airs in Australia on the Today Network.

Most well-known for their work on television as correspondents on ''Rove'' from 2007 to 2009, they also created the sketch comedy series ''Radio Karate'' in 2003 and ''Real Stories'' in 2006, and hosted the variety show ''The Hamish and Andy Show'' in 2004. They were signed by the Nine Network in 2011.

In addition, they have made numerous appearances hosting events, and competing on game shows and in celebrity sporting events.

Background

The two met while studying commerce at the University of Melbourne, and entered comedy competitions.

Radio career

The duo began presenting radio on the Student Youth Network, in the Friday afternoon drivetime slot. They hosted a late-night radio program on Fox FM. The duo then hosted the Fox FM program, ''Almost Midday''. From 2006, they host the two-hour afternoon program, ''Hamish & Andy'', formerly ''The Hamish & Andy Show'', on the Today Network in all states and territories of Australia and in New Zealand. A weekly highlights package is also broadcast in Dubai.

The duo have presented two radio specials on BBC 6 Music in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2009 and 26 January 2010. On Friday 11 June it was announced on the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show that Hamish & Andy would be presenting three shows in London during July 2010 to cover Christian's holiday. Hamish and Andy signed a deal to present a series of shows to air on Absolute Radio Sunday evenings.

''The Hamish & Andy Show''

The duo have hosted a two-hour weekday show, ''The Hamish & Andy Show'', since 2006. The show is broadcast in all the seven major cities of Australia, in the afternoon drivetime slot (and a compilation of the past week's best on Saturday mornings in New Zealand). The show is the highest-rated radio series in Australian history, with approximately two million listeners daily. Notable activities include the inventing of a new potato crisp, and the purchasing of a greyhound, Fred Basset. In addition, the group has made numerous trips: two domestic and two foreign caravan tours, Bass Strait sailboat trip, and trips to Afghanistan, Beijing, and India, recording live on location. The program has won 13 Australian Commercial Radio Awards.

The duo released a compilation album of segments from their radio show, ''Unessential Listening'', in 2008. The album peaked at on the Australian Top 100 Albums Chart, received platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association and went on to win Best Comedy Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009. They released a second compilation album ''Celebrating 50 Glorious Years'' in 2010. The album debuted at number six and received gold certification.

Blake and Lee announced in August 2010 that they would be cutting down their show to a single program each week from 2011 onward. The final daily program aired on 3 December 2010.

Television career

Blake united with Lee in 2003 when they developed a Channel 31 sketch show, ''Radio Karate''. Blake reunited with Lee in 2004 when they were named hosts of a new Seven Network variety program, ''The Hamish and Andy Show'', a show described as a successor to ''Big Bite''. It premiered in 2004, and steadily built a moderate cult audience. However, due in part to poor programming, the show did not rate well and was cancelled after its initial run of six episodes.

In 2005, they were recruited by comedian Rove McManus, to develop the satirical television comedy series, ''Real Stories'', which aired on Network Ten in 2006 and 2007. From 2007 to 2009, the duo appeared fortnightly on ''Rove'' in pre-recorded segments. They hosted the Logie awards in 2007 and 2008, and the ARIA awards in 2008. They appeared on ''Joker Poker'' and ''Australia's Brainiest Comedian'' in 2005, ''Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?'' in 2009 and ''Good News Week'' in 2010. The group appeared on ''The Jay Leno Show'' twice in 2009, and on ''The 7PM Project'' numerous times from 2009, in a similar manner as they did on ''Rove''. They appeared on UKs ''The Graham Norton Show'' in June 2010.

Network Ten Specials

The duo have presented numerous televised clip show specials on Network Ten: ''Hamish and Andy: Re-Gifted'' on 19 November 2008 that was viewed by 1.136 million, ''Hamish & Andy's American Caravan of Courage'' on 10 September 2009 that was viewed by 1.307 million, ''Hamish & Andy: Re-Gifted, Another Very Early Christmas Special'' on 23 November 2009 that was viewed by 1.052 million and ''Hamish & Andy's Caravan of Courage: Great Britain and Ireland'' on 17 June 2010 that was viewed by 1.749 million. The ''Re-Gifted'' specials consisted primarily of excerpts from the duo appearances on previous episodes of ''Rove''. The pair presented a special for Network Ten for the 2010 Commonwealth Games entitled ''Learn India with Hamish and Andy''.

Nine Network

Following a series of media reports, the pair confirmed in February 2011 that they had joined the Nine Network on a two-year contract, to produce ''Hamish and Andy's Gap Year''. The show first aired on 28 July, 2011.

Other projects

On 7 July 2007 they presented the Australian leg of Live Earth. They played in the 2008 and 2009 E. J. Whitten Legends Game. They also made a mockumentary short film ''The Greystone 2800'', that won the 2005 Melbourne Comedy Festival Short Film competition. They also hosted FHM's ''Search for Australia's Funniest Man''.

They had a minor acting role on soap opera, ''Neighbours'', portraying radio presenters Fred and Big Tommo on the episode dated 27 August 2008. The episode featured them promoting university drop-out Ty Harper's (Dean Geyer) band, and interviewing schoolgirls Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) and Donna Freedman (Margot Robbie) about their situation with Harper. They make a cameo appearance in the upcoming 2010 short film ''IA: Interview Artist''.

See also

Hamish & Andy (radio show)

Frank Stallone

The People's Chip

References

External links

Hamish & Andy's official site

Real Stories

Category:Australian comedians Category:Australian radio personalities Category:Celebrity duos Category:Comedy duos Category:Hamish & Andy

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Stephen Merchant
birth name	Stephen James Merchant
birth date	November 24, 1974
birth place	Bristol, England
occupation	ActorDirectorWriterRadio presenter Comedian
yearsactive	1998–present
height	6 ft 7 in }}

Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom ''The Office,'' as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of ''Extras'', and as the co-host of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in its radio, podcast, audiobook and television-show forms. ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in radio form has won a bronze Sony Award. He is also due to be appearing in the new TV series ''Life's Too Short''. He voiced the character Wheatley in the popular 2011 video game ''Portal 2''.

Early life

Merchant was born in Bristol, England, the son of Jane Elaine (née Hibbs), a nursery nurse, and Ronald John Merchant, an insurance representative. He attended Hanham High School. As he has described in Xfm London shows and podcasts, Merchant was a very shy child, tending to focus more on school work as opposed to sport. His school yearbook predicted that he would enjoy success. Merchant has also described his relatively normal childhood, which is often contrasted with that of his friend Karl Pilkington. Merchant is a graduate of the University of Warwick, and a former film reviewer on the student radio station, Radio Warwick, where he began his broadcasting career. The station's 1995/96 yearbook tipped him for great things: Members of Merchant's "posse" included film critic James King, Dan Warren, Neil the Maskell and Geraint the Welshman. Recently, a number of tapes of "The Steve Show", recorded at the time, have been rediscovered and are being distributed on various Merchant fansites. He graduated with a first class degree in Film and Literature in 1996.

Career

Pre-2001

Merchant began his career performing stand-up comedy at Bristol's Comedy Box, where, he recalls, "The first week I did really well ...The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all." He also appeared as a contestant on a 1997 episode of the TV game show ''Blockbusters'' and worked for a short time as a DJ for Radio Caroline.

Merchant met Ricky Gervais for the first time in 1997, when Gervais (then in the position of "Head of Speech" at the London radio station Xfm) hired Merchant as his assistant. (Gervais said later that he had called Merchant for an interview simply because it was the first CV handed to him.) Merchant and Gervais hosted a Saturday afternoon radio show together from January through to August 1998, when both of them left XFM as it was bought by the Capital Radio Group. In the same year, Merchant was a finalist at the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.

Merchant did a total of 7 years on XFM 104.9. The Saturday show never had a large audience; Gervais says "It's a tin pot radio station... It's not even the biggest radio station in the building." Merchant created the features 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Make Ricky Gervais laugh' and 'Song for the Ladies.'

After leaving XFM, Merchant began a production course at the BBC. As part of his coursework, he enlisted Gervais to perform in a 30-minute short film, "Seedy Boss," which became the earliest inspiration for their sitcom ''The Office''. They collaborated on a sitcom pilot called ''Golden Years'' featuring a manager suffering a mid-life crisis; the pilot aired on Channel 4's ''Comedy Lab'' series in September 1998, but failed to find further success.

2001–03 (''The Office'' and return to XFM)

In summer 2001, BBC Two aired the first series of ''The Office'', co-written and co-directed by Merchant and Gervais and starring the latter as paper sales office manager David Brent; the show initially received low ratings. Beginning in September, Merchant and Gervais returned to Xfm as co-hosts of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'', another Saturday afternoon program, which led to their fruitful relationship with producer Karl Pilkington.

They took a break from the radio show in mid-2002 in order to film the second series of ''The Office'', which aired that autumn; in addition to writing and directing the show, Merchant made a cameo performance in the episode "Charity" as a friend of Gareth Keenan's character known by the name Oggy or Ogmonster. (Merchant's father also appears in multiple episodes as an office handyman named Gordon.) Merchant also directed a sitcom pilot called ''The Last Chancers'', which aired on ''Comedy Lab'' in November 2002 and became a five-part series broadcast in December on E4.

Merchant and Gervais continued to host ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' through 2003, taking another break to film the ''Office'' Christmas special, which aired that December. The radio show went off the air indefinitely in January 2004. During 2004, Merchant appeared in a recurring role as a chef on ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' and in a cameo on ''Green Wing'', and served as a script associate on the Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker sitcom ''Nathan Barley''. The same year, ''The Office'' aired in the U.S to critical acclaim. It went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy which both Merchant and Gervais accepted.

This was followed in 2005 by a 4th series of the radio show, consisting of six episodes.

US series of ''The Office''

In March 2005, the American version of ''The Office'' premiered, with Merchant and Gervais credited as executive producers. They would later co-write the third-season episode "The Convict", and Merchant would direct the fifth-season episode "Customer Survey".

Podcast series

In December 2005, with sponsorship by ''The Guardian'', Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington began recording a weekly podcast (also called ''The Ricky Gervais Show''). Throughout its first series (through 20 February 2006), the podcast was consistently ranked the most popular in the world, and was certified as the most-downloaded of all time by Guinness World Records. Two more series and three special instalments (the "Podfather Trilogy") were recorded in 2006, with the final episode released on Christmas Eve. In late 2008, they recorded four more podcasts and began a series of audiobooks examining Pilkington's perspective on various subjects.

''Extras''

In July 2005, following a brief return of the XFM radio show (filling in for Adam and Joe), Gervais and Merchant's new sitcom ''Extras'' premiered on BBC2. The series features Merchant in a supporting role as Darren Lamb, the incompetent agent to struggling actor Andy Millman, played by Gervais. Series 2 of ''Extras'' aired in late 2006, followed by a Christmas special in December 2007; all three instalments aired on HBO in the United States. Merchant won a 2006 British Comedy Award for Best TV Actor for his performance as Lamb.

''The Steve Show''

In January 2007, Merchant began hosting his own radio show on BBC 6 Music, airing weekly on Sunday afternoons. Instead of comedy, ''The Steve Show'' focused on music and particularly "new music," defined by Merchant as "music you've not heard before." Many of the songs on the show were suggested by listeners or co-presenters. In addition to Merchant, the show featured several of his friends, including his housemate Dan, his childhood friend Harry, and actor Rufus Gerrard-Wright (who also appeared in an episode of ''Extras''). A spring search for a "she-J" resulted in the addition of former ''Byker Grove'' actor Sammy T. Dobson joining the ensemble. "The Steve Show" aired for four seasons and concluded in May 2009; the presenters continue to contribute to a music blog called the Steve Show Posse.

''Stand-up''

Merchant will begin his first nationwide tour of the UK, ''Hello Ladies...'', in September 2011, with a stop in New York as well.

Other work

Merchant has played small roles in the films ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), ''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007), and ''The Invention of Lying'' (2009), the latter starring Ricky Gervais. He has a supporting role in the 2009 film ''Tooth Fairy''. On television, Merchant made a cameo appearance in a non-speaking role on the sixth season premiere of ''24''; he also starred as a sports commentator in the unaired pilot ''No Skillz''. Additionally, Merchant provides the voice-over in 2009 advertisements for Barclays and Waterstone's.

In 2009, Merchant and Gervais collaborated on the film ''Cemetery Junction'', set in working-class England in the 1970s. The film was released in April 2010 to generally mixed to positive reviews.

In September 2010, Merchant produced a television show alongside Ricky Gervais starring Karl Pilkington called ''An Idiot Abroad''.

In July 2010, filming finished for the pilot of ''Life's Too Short'', written by Ricky Gervais and Merchant, who will both cameo alongside the show's star, Warwick Davis. In 2011, he lent his voice to the CGI film ''Gnomeo and Juliet'', and had a role in the Farrelly brothers' comedy ''Hall Pass''.

In January 2011, Stephen appeared at the 'Free Fringe Benefit' at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. A show of stand-up to benefit the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, alongside comedians Jeremy Hardy, Michael Legge, Robin Ince, Mitch Benn, Isy Suttie, Bennett Arron, Andy Zaltzman and founder Peter Buckley Hill. He also stated on the recent free podcast ''The Ricky Gervais Guide to...Comic Relief'' that he will be touring his first solo stand up tour later in the year.

On ''Film 2011'''s Questionnaire feature, broadcast on 2 March 2011, Merchant described his favourite film as ''The Apartment'' (1960), his guilty pleasure as ''Con Air'' (1997), the film he cried at as ''The Bridges of Madison County'', and the film he didn't get as ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy.

Merchant provides the voice of Wheatley in Valve's 2011 video game ''Portal 2'', a role which earned him widespread acclaim among reviewers. While he states his work on the project as "exhausting", Merchant is also "very pleased by the response people have had to it. What I was really pleased by how people seemed to respond to it in the way they do with a movie they've enjoyed, or a TV show they've enjoyed."

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2007	''Hot Fuzz''	Peter Ian Staker
2007	''Run Fatboy Run''	Man with Broken Leg
2009	''The Invention of Lying''	Man at the Door
2010		Tracy
2010		Dougie Boden	Also Writer/Director
2010	''Jackboots on Whitehall''	Tom	Voice Only
2010		Holyrood Footman
2011		Gary
2011	''Gnomeo and Juliet''	Paris	Voice Only
2012	''Movie 43''	Donald

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002	''The Office''	The Ogg Monster	Writer/Director
2004	''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace''	Chef	Episode 2 – Cameo
2004	''Green Wing''	Lab Technician	Episode 6 – Cameo
2005	''Extras''	Darren Lamb	Writer/Director
2010–	''An Idiot Abroad''	Himself
2010–		Himself
2011	''Life's Too Short''	Version Of Himself	Writer/Director
2011	''Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain''	Himself	Guest

Game

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2011	''Portal 2''		Voice Only

Awards

!Awarding Body/Event	!Awarded
! BAFTA Awards		* 2002 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2003 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2004 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''
! British Comedy Award		* 2006 Best TV Comedy Actor ''Extras''
! Broadcasting Press Guild		* 2002 Best Writer ''The Office''	* 2003 Best Writer ''The Office''
! Emmy		* 2006 Outstanding Comedy Series ''The Office''
! WGA Award		* 2007 Best Comedy Series ''The Office''

Personal life

Merchant spent two years dating digital advertising producer Claire Jones, although their relationship reportedly ended in 2009. Merchant is an atheist.

Appearance

Merchant's considerable height (6ft 7in; 2.01 m) has been a source of humour and teasing throughout his life. He made a cameo appearance in ''The Office'', playing a character nicknamed the Ogg-Monster, whom David Brent called "a big lanky goggle-eyed freak". His height, and also dance moves, have attracted comments from several sources. The ''Daily Mail'' newspaper described him as a "giant albatross hopping on stilts" as he danced in a London pub (although Merchant denied this during an episode of the ''Ricky Gervais Show'', stating that he did not take to the dance floor on that occasion). While discussing what the Daily Mail had said on the show, friend and collaborator Ricky Gervais has likened him to an "upright lizard being given electro-shock treatment" and a "stick insect with glasses" or ''Beaker'' from ''The Muppet Show''. Radio producer and co-host of Merchant, Karl Pilkington, has described his moves as a "bit of weird art" in the past, while British comic and broadcaster Russell Brand has likened him to a "graceful grasshopper". Merchant has commented that he prefers to liken himself to fellow tall man and English football player, Peter Crouch who is also six foot seven inches. Merchant impersonated Crouch in a BBC sketch broadcast as part of the pre-match build-up to England's opening game at the 2006 World Cup.

References

External links

Stephan Merchant's official website

Steve's BBC 6Music site

The Steve Show's post-6Music site

Stephen interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live

6Music homepage

Xfm: Stephen Merchant Biography

RaW: Radio Warwick

''Tall man, taller success story'' – interview in ''The Telegraph'' – 8 August 2005

Interview with Barbara Ellen in The Observer Magazine – 5 November 2006

Radar Online interview – 11 January 2007

An Englishman abroad

Stephen Merchant interview

Stephen Merchant interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on ''New Statesman''.

Category:1974 births Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English comedy writers Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English video game actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:People from Bristol Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English atheists

be:Стывен Мерчэнт da:Stephen Merchant de:Stephen Merchant nl:Stephen Merchant no:Stephen Merchant pt:Stephen Merchant ru:Мерчант, Стивен sv:Stephen Merchant

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
Name	Ian "Molly" Meldrum
Alt	Upper body shot of a smiling man in a cowboy hat and black leather jacket. He is wearing a black T-shirt with a gold design which is mostly out of shot. In the background are people behind a barrier fence.
Birth name	Ian Alexander Meldrum
Birth date	January 29, 1946
Birth place	Orbost, Victoria, Australia
Other names	Molly MeldrumWillie Everfinish
Known for	''Countdown'' compere
Employer	7 Network
Occupation	music critic, journalist, record producer, musical entrepreneur, author
Home town	Melbourne, Australia
Partner	Rui
Footnotes	}}

Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1946) is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer (including as Willie Everfinish), and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer and music news presenter on the now defunct popular music program ''Countdown'' (1974–1987) and is widely recognised for his trademark Stetson hat, commonly mistaken for an Akubra, which he has regularly worn in public since the 1980s.

Meldrum has featured on the Australian music scene since the mid-1960s first with his writing for ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974), a weekly teen newspaper, then his tenure with ''Countdown'' and subsequent media contributions. He produced top ten hits for Russell Morris ("The Real Thing", "Part Three Into Paper Walls"), Ronnie Burns ("Smiley"), Colleen Hewett ("Day by Day"), Supernaut ("I Like it Both Ways") and The Ferrets ("Don't Fall in Love").

Meldrum hosted the Australian leg of Live Aid in July 1985, Oz for Africa, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for ''service to the fostering of international relief and to youth'' in January 1986. Meldrum has earned a reputation as a champion of Australian popular music both in Australia and internationally, his contributions have been acknowledged with an Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Award for "Special Achievement" in 1993, and the "Ted Albert Award" in 1994 at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards. Music journalists, Toby Creswell and Samantha Chenoweth describe him as "The single most important person in the Australian pop industry for forty years" in their 2006 book, ''1001 Australians You Should Know''.

Early years

Ian Meldrum was born in Orbost, Victoria in 1946, he was shifted around during childhood, he grew up with his grandmother in Quambatook, where he attended the local school alongside future country music artist, John Williamson, and he also stayed with a series of aunts. He was raised with a religious Church of England background, his later years of schooling were in Melbourne, initially intending to become a disc jockey, Meldrum then started a law course at University of Melbourne. By 1964, he had moved in with the family of his close friend Ronnie Burns—his two week stay became nine years—who is a noted Australian 1960s pop star first as a member of The Flies and then as a solo artist.

During The Beatles' tour of Australia in June 1964, Meldrum was captured by TV cameras climbing atop the bonnet of their car shortly after arrival at Melbourne airport. Later, he and Burns were ejected from The Beatles' Melbourne concert for being "too enthusiastic". While on a surfing holiday at a Victorian coastal resort in Lorne in 1964, Meldrum met and became friends with teenager Lynne Randell, who became a pop star in the mid-1960s and later worked as Meldrum's personal assistant in the 1980s. Meldrum began his music career as a roadie for his friends' band, The Groop, which had early performances in Anglesea.

''Go-Set'' years: 1966–74

''Go-Set'' was a weekly pop music newspaper started in February 1966 by Phillip Frazer and his Monash University mates. Meldrum started writing for the paper in July 1966 after befriending editor Frazer, his first story was on Burns, "Ronnie Meets the Barrett Brothers". Soon he was writing a weekly gossip column, and regular feature stories, he continued until the paper folded in August 1974. By social networking and building a list of industry contacts, Meldrum was able to cover many facets of the local scene, his gossip columns informed not only general readers but also other musicians and according to Frazer was the major reason people continued reading ''Go-Set''. His gossip columns' writing style tended to be "freeform ramblings, always in the first person, and nearly always concerning aspects of the music scene with which he had been involved". It was during this period that Meldrum was given his nickname, "Molly", by his friend and fellow ''Go-Set'' writer Stan Rofe, a Melbourne radio DJ, it first appeared in print in 1968. While working for ''Go-Set'' he became editor and compiler of its monthly offshoot, ''Gas'', which was aimed at younger teen girls and was first published in October 1968 with a feature on The Monkees, its last issue was in March 1971.

The Groop had landed a recording deal with CBS Records, Meldrum followed them to Armstrong's Studios, in late 1966, to learn about the recording process. He learned production and engineering techniques from studio owner Bill Armstrong and in house engineer/producer, Roger Savage. Meldrum became involved with a number of artists releases, including The Masters Apprentices' August 1967 single, "Living in a Child's Dream", Somebody's Image's first three singles, "Heat Wave" (September), "Hush" (November) and "Hide and Seek" (April 1968). Besides producing, he was also Somebody's Image's manager from early 1967 and formed a friendship with lead singer, Russell Morris.

''Kommotion'' was a teen-oriented daily pop music show, which had premiered in December 1964 on ATV-0, later Channel Ten, it included performers miming to the latest overseas hits. In August 1966 producer, David Joseph, was fired and most of the cast walked out in support. Al Maricic took on the production of ''Kommotion'' with Meldrum reporting for ''Go-Set''. Maricic asked Meldrum to join the show, originally declining, he was convinced by Frazer who reasoned it would be good for ''Go-Set''. Meldrum's repertoire included miming to Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva", The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" and George Formby's "Why Don't Women Like Me?". Episodes of ''Kommotion'' were directed by Rob Weekes, fellow mimers included Grant Rule, Denise Drysdale and Maggie Stewart—who later married Burns. Meldrum's stint with ''Kommotion'' ended in January 1967 after Actors Equity banned the practice of miming other artists' work. He moved on to another ATV-0 music show, ''Uptight'', hosted by Ross D. Wylie, which was broadcast for four hours on Saturday mornings with live bands.

From January 1968, Meldrum relocated to London, reporting in ''Go-Set'' on The Groop's efforts to break into the United Kingdom market; and on the rock music scene. While there Meldrum extended his networking to the international scene, including meeting Apple Records executive, Terry Doran, who introduced him to his idols, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. His writing style in ''Go-Set'' developed a 'camp' form. Meldrum returned to Australia to attend his mother's funeral in May.

In September, he became the manager and producer of Morris, both had quit with Somebody's Image. Meldrum produced Morris' first solo single, a Johnny Young-composed song "The Real Thing". Young had written the song for Meldrum's friend Burns, but when Meldrum heard Young playing it backstage during a taping of the TV pop show ''Uptight'', he determined to secure it for Morris, reportedly going to Young's home that night with a tape recorder and refusing to leave until Young had taped a "demo" version.

In collaboration with Armstrong's house engineer John Sayers, Meldrum radically transformed "The Real Thing" from Young's original vision of a simple acoustic chamber ballad backed by strings, into a heavily produced studio masterpiece, extending it to an unheard-of six minutes in length (with encouragement from Rofe) and overdubbing the basic track with many additional instruments, vocals and sound effects. To achieve this, they used the services of his friends from The Groop as the backing band, with contributions from vocalist Maureen Elkner, The Groop's lead singer Ronnie Charles, guitarist Roger Hicks from Zoot—who played the song's distinctive acoustic guitar intro—and arranger John Farrar. The single is reported to have cost A$10,000—the most expensive ever made in Australia up to that time—and features one of the earliest uses of the studio technique known as "phasing" on an Australian recording. "The Real Thing", released in March 1969, became a national number one hit for Morris in mid-year and is widely considered to be one of the finest Australian pop-rock recordings. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "The Real Thing" as one of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time. "The Real Thing" was followed by a second number one hit, "Part Three Into Paper Walls", with Meldrum producing, he now encouraged Morris to promote "The Real Thing" with a tour in the United States but Morris disagreed and they separated in late 1969.

Meldrum also produced several other hits—including Burns' top ten single "Smiley" in December 1969—while continuing to write for ''Go-Set'' and a variety of magazines. Meldrum made his first of many visits to Egypt and by December, had travelled on to UK, and through Doran, began working for Apple Corps as a publicist, which enabled him to score a scoop interview with Lennon and Yoko Ono, in which Lennon first revealed publicly that The Beatles were breaking up. Meldrum left UK in 1970 to travel to US, reporting on the Los Angeles and New York music scenes and further establishing contacts.

After returning to Australia in late 1970, Meldrum continued writing for the music press, including ''Go-Set'' as well as venturing back into television as a music reporter on ''Happening '70'', hosted by Wylie, on ATV-0; then a short-lived TV children's show, ''Do It''; followed by ''Anything Can Happen'' on Channel Seven where he met producer Michael Shrimpton and reunited with Weekes from his ''Kommotion'' days. In October 1971, Elton John toured Australia for the first time and all concerts were exclusively reviewed by ''Go-Set''—Meldrum had met John in London and they formed an enduring friendship. By September 1972, Meldrum was assistant editor for ''Go-Set'' working with national editor Ed Nimmervoll who had started at the paper in 1967.

Meldrum produced the soundtrack for ''Godspell - Original Australian Cast'' including the hit single, "Day by Day" for Colleen Hewett in 1972. He remained with ''Go-Set'' until its last issue on 24 August 1974. Most of his work was typed up by his secretary, Glenys Long, with Meldrum pacing the office as he dictated—sometimes typewriters were thrown or a person was shoved inside a filing cabinet. After ''Go-Set'', Meldrum wrote columns for ''Listener-In TV'' and then ''TV Week'' as their rock music reporter.

''Countdown'' years: 1974–87

In 1974, Shrimpton and Weekes were meeting at the Botanical Hotel in South Yarra, formulating the concept for a new weekly pop music show aimed at the teenage market and decided they needed a talent scout, Meldrum walked in and was given the job. The trio approached the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), with their idea based on the British show ''Top of the Pops'' and on ''Kommotion''. ''Countdown'' premiered on 8 November, with Meldrum as the show's talent coordinator. He did not originally appear in the series, which had a different guest host each week. Shrimpton decided an editorial was needed, so Meldrum provided a weekly Rock Report from mid-1975 which was renamed "Humdrum" by guest host John Paul Young, and by year's end he had become the face of the series. "Humdrum" saw Meldrum provide a visual form to his ''Go-Set'' gossip column, he would interview celebrities, detail events and new releases for the week. Joining Shrimpton and Weekes as a producer was Rule, also from ''Kommotion''.

Originally broadcast weekly, at 6:30pm on a Friday evening for 25 minutes, ''Countdown'' was fortunate to have begun just before the introduction of colour television in Australia in March 1975. Equally crucial to its success was the move in January to the 6pm Sunday timeslot, with the show being extended to 60 minutes. Its reach was further enhanced by the fact that a midday Saturday timeslot was used to repeat the previous week's show. The combination of the ABC's nationwide reach, the novelty of colour broadcasting and the show's dual timeslot enabled ''Countdown'' to reach an unprecedented number of viewers. It soon became the most successful and popular music program ever made in Australia and exerted a massive influence on Australian music over the next decade. The advent of colour TV also coincided with a major change in the direction of Australian popular music, and it was vital in making national successes of bands such as Skyhooks and Sherbet. ''Countdown'' benefited from the fact that it appeared just as the music video genre was taking off. Indeed, the show was instrumental in popularising the use of purpose-made promotional videos—which had previously only been a minor part of pop show programming—and its extensive use of film-clips and videos by both established and emerging overseas acts (who at that time toured Australia only rarely) made ''Countdown'' an important venue for breaking new songs and new groups. Meldrum produced, ''Supernaut'', the debut album for Western Australia's Supernaut in 1976 and its related hit single, "I Like It Both Ways".

One new group Meldrum broke nationally was The Ferrets, he had them signed to Mushroom Records and started producing their debut album ''Dreams of a Love'' on 19 July 1976. After nearly a year, production was still incomplete, so The Ferrets took over (assisted by recording engineers Tony Cohen and Ian MacKenzie) and completed on 15 August 1977 with Meldrum attributed as Willie Everfinish. Meldrum had carefully crafted their first single's A side "Lies" taking weeks but the B side "Don't Fall in Love" was rushed in three hours. The Ferrets premiered on ''Countdown'' and used "Don't Fall in Love" which reached #2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Many customers wanted a copy of The Ferrets' album, however there was concern at Mushroom Records as Meldrum had not organised an album cover: a white hand stamped cardboard sleeve was issued with a promise of the album artwork to follow.

The series is credited with giving early exposure to, and generating breakthrough Australian hits for, a number of major international acts including ABBA, Meat Loaf, Blondie, Boz Scaggs, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Michael Jackson, sometimes years before they became international stars. Meldrum made many overseas trips and became personally friendly with many of the top pop and rock stars of the period, enabling ''Countdown'' to gain international exclusives. Meldrum's on-screen performances were sometimes criticised for rambling and incomprehensible commentaries and interview questions. When giving album reviews he would often hold the album awkwardly in front of camera with the lights glaring off the surface making it difficult to see the cover. In an early "Humdrum" segment, Meldrum told viewers to "Go out and buy it" when reviewing an album, Shrimpton was furious, ABC policy prohibited direct endorsements and so "do yourself a favour" became Meldrum's catch phrase recommendation.

In the early 1980s, Midnight Oil was scheduled to appear on an episode of ''Countdown'', but on the day of the show they were "bumped" from the line-up. ''Countdown'' required artists to mime their songs during 'live' performances, Midnight Oil and manager Gary Morris insisted they perform completely live and have their sound engineer supervising—neither side backed down. According to Shrimpton, the band had arrived late for rehearsal, and due to the show's very tight schedule and budget there was a strict policy that latecomers were not allowed to appear, and as such they were told they could not perform that day. In response, the group declared that they would never appear on the show, a promise they faithfully kept.

After Randell's marriage had failed, she returned to Australia in 1980 and became Meldrum's personal assistant until 1986. On 13 April 1980, the ''TV Week''/''Countdown'' Rock Music Awards for 1979 were broadcast as a revamped version of the previously existing ''TV Week'' King of Pop Awards with the 'King of Pop' title replaced by 'Most Popular Male' and 'Queen of Pop' replaced by 'Most Popular Female'. ''Countdown'', with Meldrum organising the ceremonies, presented music awards during 1980–1987, initially in conjunction with ''TV Week'', they were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

The following year, on 16 March 1981, Meldrum co-hosted the 1980 awards ceremony with international guests Suzi Quatro and Jermaine Jackson. Big winners were Cold Chisel with seven awards, which were not collected; they performed the last live number, "My Turn to Cry", to close the show and then trashed their instruments and the set. The performance was seen as being directed at ''TV Week'', ''Countdown'' and Meldrum as being hangers-on. Sponsors ''TV Week'' withdrew their support for the awards and ''Countdown'' held its own awards ceremonies thereafter.

In February 1985, after Meldrum was announced as King of Moomba, he quipped "I was at the cricket the other day and the boys in Bay 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were all yelling out 'Moomba' and 'hail the king'... not to mention a few 'hail the queen'". On 13 July, Meldrum compered the 1985 Oz for Africa concert—Australian leg of the global Live Aid program running for four hours—which was broadcast in Australia on both Seven Network and Nine Network and on MTV in the US. During December, he used his industry contacts to organise a charity single for research on Fairy penguins, he produced the recording of a cover of Lennon, Ono & Plastic Ono Band's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by The Incredible Penguins with Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo), Brian Canham (Pseudo Echo), Scott Carne (Kids in the Kitchen), John Farnham, Venetta Fields, Bob Geldof, Steve Gilpin (ex-Mi-Sex), Colin Hay (Men at Work), Hewett, Jim Keays (ex-The Masters Apprentices), Brian Mannix (Uncanny X-Men), Wendy Stapleton (Wendy & the ) and Chris Stockley (ex-Axiom, The Dingoes). On Australia Day 1986 Meldrum was made a Member of the Order of Australia for ''service to the fostering of international relief and to youth''.

In 1986, Shrimpton, Rule and Meldrum created another series, ''The Meldrum Tapes'', for ABC with an international or local artist interviewed in depth for 55 minutes—eventually 24 shows were made—which were later broadcast by MTV.

Meldrum was noted for several on-screen gaffes, although the most "famous" of all never actually appeared on screen. In a much retold incident, a clearly anxious Meldrum gushed during an interview on 13 November 1977 with Prince Charles , "I saw your Mum in London in a carriage!" to which the Prince icily replied, "Are you referring to Her Majesty the Queen?" Although this incident is often related by Meldrum in interviews, it was never broadcast.

Despite such episodes of ineptitude, Meldrum became a major star in his own right and was a champion of local talent and regularly used the show to pressure radio stations to play more Australian music. As a result of his efforts, ''Countdown'' was in a position to make overnight hits with songs and performers it featured, and through the late 1970s and early 1980s it was a key factor in determining the direction of Australian popular music.

The final episode of ''Countdown'' aired on 19 July 1987, followed by the 1986 ''Countdown'' Awards, Meldrum appeared at the end of the show wearing his cowboy hat. He saluted the music industry and fans, then bared his shaved head in imitation of Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett and expressed regret that they had never appeared on the show.

After ''Countdown''

After ''Countdown'' finished its run, Meldrum and Amanda Pelman, Mushroom Records executive, formed the Body Beat and Melodian labels, they signed Peter Andre, Jo Beth Taylor and Indecent Obsession. Meldrum presented a regular music segment, titled "Molly's Melodrama", for the popular Australian variety show, ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' from 1988. He travelled extensively, conducting interviews for the segment; one of these was a one-on-one with each member of The Rolling Stones.

Meldrum attended the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) ARIA Music Awards on 29 March 1988 as a presenter. A fracas developed between band manager Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and Meldrum. Morris felt that foreign artists such as Bryan Ferry should not present awards to local artists and made fun of Ferry's deliberately crumpled suit. Meldrum objected to Morris' disrespect to Ferry and he and Morris became embroiled. In 1993, Meldrum received an ARIA 'Special Achievement Award' for services to the music industry.

According to Google Books and Angus & Robertson, Meldrum co-wrote his autobiography, ''Some of My Best Friends Aren't: The Molly Meldrum Story'' with journalist Jeff Jenkins in 2000, published by Random House Australia. However, ''The Age'' reported on 4 June 2007 that the book had still not appeared.

A televised roast, in 2003, for the openly gay Meldrum, ''Molly: Toasted and Roasted'', was characterised by Meldrum as a "gay bashing" due to its excessive homophobic slurs. ''Footy Show'' star Sam Newman received boos from the audience during his speech. Meldrum became a judge on 2004's ''Popstars Live'', a reality program on Channel Seven, alongside fellow judges, Christine Anu and John Paul Young.

Meldrum's trademark cowboy hat headwear, enthusiasm for popular music, and sometimes incoherent interviewing style remain well known. By visiting Egypt over 27 times since 1969, he has become an amateur Egyptologist and collector. That his extensive general knowledge extended beyond popular music was perhaps less well-known until, as a contestant on a celebrity edition ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', he won $500,000 for a charity, the equal biggest win on the Australian version of the program until October 2005, although he only got the $500,000 by phoning a friend, Red Symons of Skyhooks fame. He appeared on the fourth series of the Australian version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2006, where he dressed as a pharaoh to dance to "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles—he was voted off after the first round. He was also on an episode of ''Deal or No Deal'' (Dancing with the Deals) on 13 February 2006.

Meldrum is a prominent supporter of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).

In September 2006, Molly's interview with Prince Charles on Countdown was listed at #41 in TV Week's 'Top 50 most memorable moments on Australian television' list. Molly made a cameo appearances in ''Remembering Nigel'' (2007) and ''Ricky! the movie'' (2010). Meldrum is listed as coauthor of Jeff Jenkin's 2007 book ''Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia'' where he provided comments on various Australian rock acts from 1958 to 2007. During September–October 2009, Meldrum appeared in ''Hey Hey Its Saturday'' reunion specials on the Nine Network despite working for rival Seven Network. In early December, Meldrum interviewed UK singer and ''Britain's Got Talent'' runner-up, Susan Boyle. After signing with Seven to continue on ''Sunrise'', ''Weekend Sunrise'' and ''Sunday Night'' he was unavailable for the 2010 season of ''Hey Hey It's Saturday''. In February, Meldrum was appointed King of Moomba – his second appointment – with Kate Ceberano as Queen of Moomba.

Personal life

Meldrum has a younger brother Robert, who was involved in alternative theatre, and had a cameo role on Joe Dolce's one-hit wonder "Shaddap You Face" video-clip as an accordion player. A second younger brother, Brian, is a successful racing and golf journalist and editor. Although one of the first openly gay TV stars in Australia; according to Meldrum, "I had girlfriends. I was engaged a few times", one engagement was to Joy. Since 1986, he has lived in Richmond in an Egyptian-themed house, Luxor: his long-term partner, Rui, is a chef.

Bibliography

Note: As of 4 June 2007, the existence of this book is disputed.

References

;General Note: [on-line] version is an excerpt from Chapter 2: There's a meaning there but the meaning there...

;Specific

External links

Interview MP3 extract of Molly Meldrum taken from Interviews Archive

Countdown Website

Lauren Bergman Management article

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian media personalities Category:Australian music critics Category:Australian music journalists Category:LGBT musicians from Australia Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Television personalities from Melbourne