Molly Meldrum finding Michael Gudinski’s death ‘difficult to comprehend’

Australian icon Molly Meldrum says he is finding the passing of music legend Michael Gudinski “difficult to comprehend”.

The 78-year-old called Gudinski his best friend and brother in a heartbreaking personal statement released this morning, writing that he was “unable to translate into words what (he is) feeling right now”.

“Michael and Sue are family to me,” he wrote.

“They have been a staple in my life forever. Right now, my love, support and focus are with Sue, Matt, Kate and the grandchildren. The void that is felt is immeasurable.”

Meldrum shared that he had been best friends with the Mushroom Group founder — who died suddenly of a heart attack on Monday — for over 50 years.

“The deep respect we had for each other was profound,” Meldrum said.

“He was a huge influence in my life. Like me, Michael’s passion for music was unwavering. He dreamed big, worked hard and had the tenacity, energy and determination to drive all his ambitions home. Failure was never part of his vocabulary.”

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Meldrum’s tribute to the 68-year-old joins a flood of dedications to the music giant — including messages from superstars Bruce Springsteen, Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran and Russell Crowe.

Meldrum referenced the Bee Gees’ hit song How Can You Mend A Broken Heart to explain how he was feeling, saying his last and most treasured memory was sharing Christmas Day in 2020 with the Gudinskis.

“As I have said many times before, Michael and I have had more dramas than Shakespeare and more laughs than Seinfeld,” he added.

Meldrum’s statement comes just one day after Springsteen dedicated the lyric video for his new song I’ll See You In My Dreams to the Australian music businessman.

Sharing the video with his more than one million YouTube subscribers, the US rock legend opened the clip with a message that read “in memory of Michael Gudinski”.

The song features the lyrics “well days go on, I remember you my friend, and though you’re gone and my heart’s been emptied it seems, I’ll see you in my dreams”.

Gudinski brought Springsteen to Australia many times on tour as chief of Frontier Touring.

In a statement published on March 2, Springsteen wrote that he had “never met a better promoter”.

“Michael always spoke with a deep rumbling voice, and the words would spill out so fast that half the time I needed an interpreter,” he shared.

“But I could hear him clear as a bell when he would say, ‘Bruce, I’ve got you covered’. And he always did. He was loud, always in motion, intentionally (and unintentionally) hilarious, and deeply soulful.”