MOLLY Meldrum has thrown his weight behind a future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Melbourne.
Meldrum is hoping the new Music, Melbourne + Me exhibition at RMIT will light the fuse for a more permanent monument to Australia's musical history.
"There should be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Australia and it has to be in Melbourne," Meldrum says.
The music guru has been campaigning for the construction of a monument to pay respect to Australian music for years.
"We just need to find a building, or the government needs to find a building. Then it's a matter of funding it,'' Meldrum said.
More: Melbourne's music history on display
"But this Music, Melbourne + Me exhibition will show just how passionate Melbourne people are about music. They're passionate about football, sport and music. Melbourne people support the things they love. Melbourne is the music capital of Australia. There's no question. It just is."
Music promoter Michael Gudinski's Mushroom Records is the backbone of the Music, Melbourne + Me exhibition, which celebrates the last 40 years of the local music scene and the Mushroom Records label he began in 1972.
Meldrum and Gudinski have joined the likes of Kylie Minogue, Split Enz and Skyhooks in lending their personal memorabilia to the free exhibition, which opens on November 19.
As well as stage costumes, tour posters and other historic items there will be footage of some of Meldrum's most iconic moments on Countdown.
The Melbourne based TV program helped break a long list of musical acts in Australia, as well as giving Madonna, Blondie and ABBA their first hits anywhere in the world.
"People don't realise Countdown was getting three million viewers in its heyday," Meldrum says.
Gudinski said he hoped the exhibition will attract a mix of generations.
"Kids are getting into music so much younger these days," he said. "I was 14 when I went to my first gig. There's 14 year olds singing on TV now and kids much younger than that going to gigs and downloading music. I want this exhibition to be something kids can go to. When I was at school I remember the excursions were sometimes boring, this is one kids should be excited at seeing.
"When we did the Mushroom 25th anniversary concert at the MCG (in 1998) there were three generations of family members attending, and this is an exhibition parents can bring their kids to. Retro music is really popular at the moment, vinyl has just had the most sales it's had in over a decade, people are interested in the history of music.
"And if anyone gets inspired and ends up getting any form of job that they love to do with music because they've come to this exhibition, that'd be more than enough for me.''
The exhibition opens next Tuesday November 19 and runs until February 22 at RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston St, City.
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