of the cameras with lights glaring off its surface making it difficult to see. In an early "Humdrum" segment, Meldrum told viewers to "Go out and buy it" when reviewing an album. Shrimpton was furious, since ABC policy prohibited direct endorsements, so "do yourself a favour" became Meldrum's standard recommendation. Other catchphrases that he added to the vernacular are "So watch out for that one", "So there you go!" and "A good mate of mine". In October 1977 Rod Stewart started his Foot Loose & Fancy Free Tour through the US. In New York the press corps were waiting for comments, Stewart was granting very few interviews – he recognised Meldrum and called him over for a "ten-minute grab [which] turned into an hour and a bit." After Meldrum had run out he was "being fed questions to ask Rod by the rest of the world's music press." In July 1978 Michelle Morris of The Canberra Times described Meldrum as "sometimes outrageous, accident-prone and stumbling ... [who] has become an authority in the industry and often a promotional clip has only to be played on Countdown for a record to take off in the charts." Lynne Randell, a friend of Meldrum's since her teenage years, and a local singing star of the 1960s, had returned to Australia from the UK in 1980 after her marriage had failed, and she 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 to 1987. Initially they were held in conjunction with TV Week, they were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. In August 1980 Gregg Flynn of The Australian Women's Weekly was on set during the taping of an episode which featured INXS, Doc Neeson (The Angels), Daryl Braithwaite (ex-Sherbet) and Toy Love. Flynn felt that Meldrum "appeared decidedly more healthy than some of his guest bands who looked as if anorexia nervosa was one of the side effects of guitar strumming." His appointment to the show had had "TV critics whipping themselves into a lather of hysterical accusations that the coiffured host was at best a