DAVID, MY FRIEND BY MOLLY MELDRUM

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For two crazy weeks in 1974, music guru Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum zig-zagged across Australia with David Cassidy’s whirlwind Thunder Down Under tour. He introduced the star to Vegemite – ‘unlike so many Americans, he quite liked it’ – took him to pat koalas and kangaroos, and watched in bemusement as thousands of screaming fans demolished the stage at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Cassidy was stopped everywhere he went, with everyone wanting a piece of him. ‘There were endless autographs to sign,’ 74-year-old Molly recalls. ‘David was the nicest guy, just so pleasant. I never, ever saw him lose it once or be rude. He got along with everyone.’

At one stage, Molly and the teen idol were photographed sitting side-by-side on a park bench. ‘We joked about looking like a couple of bums,’ laughs the former host. ‘All we needed was a couple of cans. But I didn’t introduce him to Aussie beer, I was a good boy back then!’

Fascinatingly, Molly also reveals that pop star Michael Jackson was obsessed with David Cassidy and considered him a role model. ‘Michael watched a lot of TV, including

and absolutely loved David,’ Molly explains. ‘He got it into his head that the only way he’d become an international solo artist was if he was white like Cassidy. That’s what Michael was about, wanting to copy David and feeling that being African-american wouldn’t cut it. Although he never knew it, David had an immense influence on Michael’s mind and career.’