How Molly Meldrum Almost Created A Japanese Juggernaut
Ian “Molly” Meldrum, one of Australia’s most prominent figures in the popular music world, came within a whisker in 1984 of making a then rising Japanese band reach superstardom while using Down Under as a launching pad to hit the top. Sandii and the Sunsetz had become only the second-ever Japanese act to reach the Top 10 in Australia with their 1983 hit, Sticky Music, but they were about to get kicked out of the country in disgrace. Meldrum, probably one of the world’s best-known rock journalists despite being notorious for poor elocution, stepped in and asked for help on behalf of the band, whose members had overstayed their visas…