JOHN PAUL YOUNG 'I WAS FROZEN WITH FEAR'

THE LEGEND TALKS MUSIC, MOLLY AND MENTAL HEALTH

- Jenny Brown

Mortified by M the failure of his first stab at music stardom, John Paul Young fled home to his parents in Sydney, tail between his legs, flat broke.

"My old man was looking at me because I'd just left the factory in a blaze of glory and here I was again with no job and 15 cents in my pocket," laughs the man best known simply as JPY' to his countless fans.

Making mates: JPY chats to fellow Men's Shed members.

"But there was no way I was going back into the sheet metal trade - too much humble pie. I didn't know what to do, so I sat there at my folks' place... then I heard the sounds of a telegraph boy on a motorbike in the street. And that's what changed my life." Fifty years ago, that fateful telegram invited JPY to audition for the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The show would finally launch his pop career after a few false starts.

On opening night in May 1972, he met music guru Ian Molly' Meldrum, sparking an unlikely friendship. Soon, JPY became a regular guest and part-time host on Countdown.

"I had a healthy disrespect for Molly, as he did for me," says the 71-year-old, still most famous for his much-loved global hit, Love Is in the Air'.