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The Wiggles

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The Wiggles
The Wiggles 2007 Live at the MCI Center - November 8, 2007

The Wiggles is a children's musical group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. It was founded by Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. The group has achieved worldwide success with its children's albums, videos, television series and concert appearances. According to Business Review Weekly, The Wiggles were Australia's "richest entertainers" for the year 2005, earning more than AC/DC and Nicole Kidman combined.[1] In 2006, it was reported that they earned AUS$50 million.[2]

The Wiggles combine a rich knowledge of music and child development in their videos, television programmes, and live shows. Anthony Field and Jeff Fatt were members of the Australian pub rock band The Cockroaches in the 1980s, and Murray Cook was a member of several bands before meeting Field and Greg Page at Macquarie University while studying to become pre-school teachers. A school project led to the recording of their first album and tour in 1991. Their basic act expanded to include other characters (Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, and Wags the Dog) and a troupe of dancers.

By 2002, The Wiggles became the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's most successful pre-school property. They had also began to franchise The Wiggles' concepts to other countries, developed Wiggles sections in amusement parks in both Australia and America, and won several APRA and ARIA awards. In 2006, founding member Greg Page was forced to retire from the group and was replaced by former dancer Sam Moran.

History

Origins

Anthony Field and Jeff Fatt had been members of the Cockroaches, a popular pub rock band which had scored a number of Top 40 hits in Australia during the 1980s.

After the Cockroaches disbanded in 1988, Field enrolled at the Institute of Early Childhood Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. One of only a few male students in the program, Field soon met two of the other men: Greg Page and Murray Cook, both former musicians.[3] Cook was the guitarist in a minor Sydney pop band, Bang Shang a Lang, while also working as a clerk at the Australian Taxation Office.[4] The group initially teamed up to produce a music performance project for their studies, but they soon began working towards the goal of being children entertainers, using the concepts of early childhood education they learned in school. Recognizing the need for quality children's music, they produced their first self-titled album in 1991.[3]

Needing a keyboardist, Field asked his old band mate, Jeff Fatt, to help out. (Fatt's reply was "Sure, but how long will it take....").[5] The group received song writing help from John Field, Anthony's brother and former band mate, as they reworked a few of the old Cockroaches tunes into children's songs. For example, "Do the Monkey" was originally a Cockroaches song with different lyrics.[6] Another Cockroaches song, "Get Ready to Wiggle", inspired the new band's name.[3]

The band also received keyboards and songwriting assistance from fellow Macquarie student Phillip Wilcher, whose departure from the group shortly before their international fame has earned him comparisons to Pete Best, the "fifth Beatle."[7]

Early career

Using his connections with the Cockroaches, Field arranged with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to distribute their album in Australia. Their manager suggested that they tour.[3][8] Their public debut was at a pre-school in Randwick. At first, they would busk at places in Sydney like Circular Quay, performing their early songs to crowds debarking from Manly Ferry. After their first CD was released, their first tour consisted of Westfield shopping centres around Sydney. They also toured throughout New South Wales, playing shows promoted by local playgroups or nursing mothers' associations, with whom they split their proceeds. John Field and Mick Conway (who later became The Wiggles' general manager) also performed with them.[9]

As Jeff Fatt reported, "it was very much a cottage industry." They were their own roadies and travelled in Fatt's van, towing a trailer with their borrowed equipment.[9] Their basic act was later augmented with supporting characters--the "friendly pirate" Captain Feathersword (played by Paul Paddick since 1993) and the animal characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, and Wags the Dog. These characters were initially performed by the members of the band: Field playing Captain Feathersword and Wags, Cook playing Dorothy, and Fatt playing Henry.[10]

Early on, they adopted differently coloured shirts for each member--Greg in yellow, Murray in red, Jeff in purple, and Anthony in blue. The colour coding assisted their recognition by very young children, and they invariably wear the Wiggles "uniform" when appearing as The Wiggles in the media or in public. At first, Anthony wore a green shirt instead of blue. It was later changed so as to not clash with Dorothy the Dinosaur.[3]

Each Wiggle also developed a "schtick." Greg's was performing magic tricks; Murray's was playing the guitar; Jeff's was falling asleep; Anthony's was eating. They were based on the behaviour of each member of the group (as Sam Moran said, "Jeff really does fall asleep"), and made into caricatures to differentiate their characters and to make them more memorable to young children.[11]

Murray Cook got the idea for The Wiggles' signature index finger-wagging move after watching professional bowlers do the move on television.[8] It became Wiggles policy, when photographed with children, to adopt this move, insisting that touching children, no matter how innocently, was inappropriate. (It also protected them from possible litigation).[10] Early on, The Wiggles regularly invited children with special needs and their families to a pre-concert "meet and greet."[12] Since 1995, The Wiggles have visited and performed for patients at the Sydney Children's Hospital every Christmas morning.[13]

The Wiggles have also always had a strict code of conduct--a "zero tolerance policy" to drug use and no drinking, smoking, or using bad language for any employee or crew member.[2]

National, then international success

The Wiggles stage, Oakland, California.

Through the rest of the 1990s, The Wiggles maintained a busy recording and touring schedule, releasing multiple albums and home videos, and performing to increasingly large audiences in Australia and New Zealand. Unable to get a television programme produced through the ABC due to "irreconcilable artistic differences," they filmed two self-produced television series in the late 90s.[14] The band gained popularity in the United States beginning in 1998 by piggybacking on the success of the popular television programme Barney & Friends. Lyrick Studios, the producers of Barney, began distributing Wiggles videos in the U.S. and prominently advertising them in Barney videos. (Lyrick Studios was later acquired by HIT Entertainment). The Wiggles also opened for Barney during U.S. tours.[3]

Twentieth Century Fox produced a feature-length film The Wiggles Movie, which premiered in Australia in December 1997 and went on to become the fifth-highest grossing Australian film of 1998.[15]

By the late 90s, The Wiggles had grown so successful in America and in the UK that for a few years they travelled separately, in two separate planes and on two different buses, so that if disaster occurred, "at least half of them would survive and carry on." After it proved to be a logistical nightmare, they ended the practice, although by 2007, they travelled in two separate buses between cities.[2]

Their strong connection with the U.S. was "forged in the shell-shocked weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York in 2001," when The Wiggles travelled to America to perform in spite of the stated risks. Paul Field reported that "New York has really embraced them. It was a kind of watershed." The decision earned them respect and loyalty in the U.S., and strong U.S. sales of The Wiggles videos eventually caught the attention of the Disney Channel. In January 2002, they began showing a Wiggles video clip in between programmes of its morning Playhouse Disney block. By June of that year, the popularity of these interstitials prompted Disney Channel to add The Wiggles television series to the Playhouse Disney programme schedule, showing full episodes multiple times per day.[9][16] By 2002, The Wiggles began to film their television series exclusively with the ABC and became "the most successful property that the ABC has represented in the pre-school genre."[14]

The Wiggles have gone on to perform twelve sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden[5] and have been in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade at least twice.[3] As of 2005, worldwide sales of their DVDs and videos exceeded 17 million and they had performed in front of over one million people across the globe.[17]

The Wiggles' success in music and television has led to extensive merchandising of Wiggles-branded books, toys, clothing, and other products for children. Beginning in 2003, the group has begun franchising its concept to other countries, branching into Taiwan and Latin American markets with versions of Mandarin- and Spanish speaking Wiggles.[5]

In September 2005, Australia's largest theme park, Dreamworld in Queensland, opened a "Wiggles World" section. Driven by its success, Six Flags opened its first "Wiggles World" section in April 2007, and by the end of the year, made plans open twenty more at its parks all over the U.S. The sections emphasize family involvement; joint rides, for example, as opposed to rides in most parks where "parents might stick their kid on a ride and sit back and watch."[12]

By 2007, The Wiggles employed twenty full-time workers in offices in Sydney and Dallas, Texas, as well as another thirty employees on their tours.[2] They finally became formally consolidated in 2005. The original four members serve as their only directors; Paul Field has been their general manager of operations since the group was formed. Mike Conway has been their general manager since 2001.[9] At the end of 2007, The Wiggles donated their complete back catalogue of twenty-seven master tapes to Australia's National Film and Sound Archive.[18]

Greg Page leaves the group

In December 2005, lead singer and founding member Greg Page underwent a double hernia operation. He withdrew from The Wiggles' U.S. tour in June 2006 after suffering fainting spells, lethargy, nausea, and loss of balance. He returned to Australia, where doctors diagnosed his condition as orthostatic intolerance, a chronic but not life-threatening condition.[19]

On November 30, 2006, the Wiggles announced Page's retirement from the group "to focus on managing his health." Page was replaced by Sam Moran, who served as an understudy for The Wiggles for five years and had already stood in for Page on some 150 shows. Greg officially handed over his yellow skivvy (shirt) to Sam in a video posted on the Wiggles' official website.[20]

Characters

Aside from the four Wiggles, there are four secondary characters that usually appear in their television series, videos, and live concerts. They were developed in the early 1990s, and were originally played by group members and by Anthony's brother Paul Field, the band's manager. They are now played by hired actors, occasionally touring without The Wiggles as "Dorothy the Dinosaur and Friends."[10] In 1998, Sam Moran hosted this show before becoming Greg Page's understudy.[21]

Dorothy the Dinosaur of The Wiggles, the MCI Center, November 8, 2007
Wags the Dog of The Wiggles. the MCI Center, November 8, 2007

Dorothy the Dinosaur

Dorothy is a "rososaurus"--a "yellow-spotted green dinosaur with surprisingly scary teeth." She lives in a beautiful pink and purple house with her own Rosy Orchestra and rose garden in her backyard. She loves to eat roses and dance the ballet.[22] She also enjoys serving guests some kind of rose-derived treat like "rosy tea."[23] Dorothy, originally played by Murray Cook, has since been played by Leanne Ashley.[24] and Lyn Stuckey[25] South Australian Carolyn Ferrie, a trained opera singer and dancer, however, has provided her voice since 1997, after working with Anthony Field on an Irish music Wiggles CD. Ferrie describes Dorothy as "a dinosaur superstar ... very open, friendly, and warm. She is like a mother figure even though she is only meant to be five, and kids really respond to her...She is calm and mothering but friendly as well. She's young and still playful but has got a motherly feeling to her." Ferrie insists that Dorothy "is number one after the boys including Captain Feathersword, in terms of who kids say they love." She also has a distinctive, charming, trill-like, descending laugh created by Ferrie.[26][23]

In the spring of 2007, it was announced that Dorothy would star in her own television show in Australia.[26]

Wags the Dog

Wags is a tall, brown, furry dog with floppy ears and a happy face. He "loves to sing and dance and kids bring 'bones' that the Wiggly Dancers collect from the audience."[22]

Wags was originally played by Wiggles founding member Anthony Field.[10] Wags has also been played by Edward Rooke,[27] Andrew McCourt,[28] Kristy Talbot,[29] and Paul Paddick.[10]

Henry the Octopus

Henry the Octopus of The Wiggles, the MCI Center, November 8, 2007

Henry is an octopus. He likes to sing and break-dance with his eight legs.[22]

Since Henry's creation, Jeff Fatt has served as Henry's voice.[30] Other performers of Henry include Reem Hanwell,[31] Kristy Talbot,[29], and Katherine Patrick.[32]

Captain Feathersword

File:Captain Feathersword 110807.jpg
Captain Feathersword of The Wiggles, the MCI Center, November 8, 2007

Captain Feathersword, "the friendly pirate," wears a hat, patch, and puffy shirt,[10] and wields a "feathery saber."[33] He was created by Anthony Field, but was first played by Paul Paddick in 1993.[34]

At first, Paddick's role was minor, but it eventually evolved to such a dynamic role that he has been called "the Fifth Wiggle."[33] For many parents, his vocal impersonations "are the high point of the Wiggles stage show," and range from Mick Jagger, Cher, Placido Domingo, and James Hetfield (lead singer of Metallica).[10]

Minor characters

For their stage shows, The Wiggles utilize two 16-metre trucks, three tour buses, a cast of thirteen dancers, and ten permanent crew members.[9] The "Wiggly dancers" have always made up a major part of their shows and TV programmes, and portray many of the minor roles.

Minor characters of note include The Cook (portrayed by Anthony Field's late father, John and Crowded House drummer Paul Hester[35]) Professor Singalottasonga and Dapper Dave (both played by Sam Moran[36]), and Officer Beaples and Fiona Fitbelly (both played by Wiggles' choreographer Leanne Halloran.)[37]

Cultural references

Another measure of the Wiggles' growing fame is reflected in the references to them in media all over the world.

  • In the NBC comedy TV series Scrubs, Doctor Cox makes a reference to "Jeff that Wiggle that sleeps too darn much" while speaking to another cast member. He also made reference to having seen them in concert twice and said "They opened and closed with Big Red Car. It was... awesome."
  • The Wiggles and Captain Feathersword made a guest appearance in a November 2002 episode of the CBS sitcom "Yes Dear". Parts of the episode, entitled "Make Every Second Count", were filmed at an actual Wiggles concert.[39]
  • The Wiggles song, "Henry the Octopus," was featured in an episode of the HBO American HBO television drama series Six Feet Under during a scene with Australian actress Rachel Griffiths.[40]
  • In the opening minute of the premiere episode of NBC's My Name Is Earl, the Wiggles' "Do the Monkey" can be heard playing in the car that is soon to be robbed by Earl.
  • The Wiggles are mentioned in an episode of CBS's "How I Met Your Mother," Season One, episode 20 "Best Prom Ever" where Marshall claims The 88 is "...The Wiggles of wedding bands."
  • The Wiggles were mentioned in an episode of Neighbours in 2004 by Summer Hoyland when explaining to her father how she was now grown up. They also performed on the same show, three years earlier for an unwell Emily Hancock.
  • The Wiggles briefly appear in the 2007 movie "Knocked Up" and three of their songs are on the movie's soundtrack.[41][42]

Honours

  • In 2005, the Wiggles were recognized as Australia's "Exporter of the Year."[17]
  • The Wiggles won three prestigious APRA song writing awards in 1994, 1995 and 1996.[5]
  • The Wiggles have won the ARIA Award five times, in 1995, 1996, 1998, 2006 and 2007.[45][46] In 2003, they were awarded ARIA's Outstanding Achievement Award for their success in the USA.[5]

Videos/DVDs

Template:Infobox TV ratings The Wiggles have made numerous videos, including:

  • Wiggle Time (1993)
  • Yummy Yummy (1994)
  • Big Red Car (1995)
  • Wake up Jeff (1996)
  • Wiggledance (1996)
  • Wiggly Wiggly Christmas (1996)
  • The Wiggles Movie(1997)
  • Toot Toot (1998)
  • It's A Wiggly Wiggly World (2000)
  • Yule Be Wiggling (2000)
  • Hoop-Dee-Doo! It's a Wiggly Party (2002)
  • Wiggly Safari (2002)
  • Wiggle Bay (2002)
  • Space Dancing (2003)
  • Top of the Tots (2004)
  • Cold Spaghetti Western (2004)
  • Whoo! Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins (2004)
  • Santa's Rockin'! (2004)
  • Live: Hot Potatoes! (2005)
  • Sailing Around the World (2005)
  • Here Comes the Big Red Car (2006)
  • Splish Splash Big Red Boat (2006)
  • Racing to the Rainbow (2006)
  • Wiggledancing Australia (2007)
  • Getting Strong (2007)
  • Dorothy The Dinosaur Dance Party (2007)
  • Pop Go The Wiggles (2007)

Discography

Main article: List of The Wiggles songs
  • The Wiggles (1991)
  • Here Comes A Song (1992)
  • Stories And Songs: The Adventures Of Captain Feathersword The Friendly Pirate (1993)
  • Yummy Yummy (1994)
  • Big Red Car (1995)
  • Wake Up Jeff (1996)
  • Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas (1996)
  • The Wiggles Movie Soundtrack (1997)
  • Toot Toot (1998)
  • It's A Wiggly Wiggly World (2000)
  • Yule Be Wiggling (2000)
  • Hoop De Doo: It's A Wiggly Party (2002)
  • Wiggly Safari (2002)
  • Go To Sleep Jeff (2003)
  • Top Of The Tots (2004)
  • Cold Spaghetti Western (2004)
  • Santa's Rockin'! (2004)
  • Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins! (2004)
  • Live: Hot Potatoes (2005)
  • Sailing Around The World (2005)
  • Splish Splash Big Red Boat (2006)
  • Crunchy Munchy Music (2006)
  • Here Comes The Big Red Car (2006)
  • Tinsel Town Tunes (2006)
  • Racing To The Rainbow (2006)
  • Dorothy The Dinosaur (2007)
  • Wiggle and Learn - Getting Strong (2007)
  • Pop Go The Wiggles (2007)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kids' favourites Wiggle to the top of wealth list". ABC News. 2006-04-06. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Blake, Elissa (2007-09-02). "Unusual suspects". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-09-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Scott, Paul (2006-04-02). "Kid Rock". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Mulligan, Mark. "A brief history of nearly everything BSL". Bang Shang a Lang.com. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  5. ^ a b c d e "About Us". The Wiggles Official Website. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  6. ^ "New Best of the Cockroaches Hey Let's Go CD The Wiggles". Rare Music CDs. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  7. ^ Sams, Christine (2005-08-01). "The Fifth Wiggle speaks out". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b "Enough Rope with Andrew Denton, episode 15, The Wiggles". ABC TV Online. 2003-06-23. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e Munro, Catharine (2005-05-22). "The Wiggly way". The Age. Retrieved 2007-11-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "wigglyway" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Meacham, Steve (2005-12-03). "The master of sword play". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "swordplay" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ Durden, Douglas (2007-08-05). "A new face". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b Zuel, Bernard (2007-12-15). "Welcome to Wiggles World". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Australian AP (2007-12-26). "Wiggles make Christmas hospital visit". The West Australian. Retrieved 2008-01-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b Tabakoff, Jenny (2002-10-01). "Wake up, Aunty!". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Release Success of Australian Productions - Top 5 Box Office Each Year". Australian Film Commission. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  16. ^ "The Wiggles Join Playhouse Disney Monday, June 17" (Press release). Disney Channel. 2002-06-12. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ a b "The Wiggles win 2005 DHL Australian Exporter of the Year". Business Asia. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  18. ^ "Wiggles donate early tapes to Archive". Herald Sun. 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Associated Press (2006-11-30). "The Wiggles' lead vocalist to stop performing". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-08-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Greg Page Leaves The Wiggles" (Press release). The Wiggles. 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2007-01-24. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Wiggles Sam's family values". The Daily Telegraph. 2006-12-16. Retrieved 2007-11-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ a b c Wright, Diane (2007-03-14). "Hey, kids! It's fun--and you may even learn something". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ a b Horswill, Amanda (2007-06-05). "Meet Dorothy Dinosaur's giggle". The Couriermail. Retrieved 2007-11-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Leeanne Ashley". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
  25. ^ Fouch, Robert L. (2007-07-29). "Fast chat: Sam Moran". Newsday. Retrieved 2007-08-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ a b Browne, Rachel (2007-05-27). "Kids will go dotty about solo Dorothy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Edward Rooke". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  28. ^ "Andrew McCourt". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  29. ^ a b "Kristy Talbot". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  30. ^ "Jeff Fatt". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  31. ^ "Reem Hanwell". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  32. ^ "Katherine Patrick". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  33. ^ a b Baughman, Tony (2007-11-12). "Captain Feathersword may steal The Wiggles' show". The Aiken Standard. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Yeap, Sue (2006-08-17). "The fifth Wiggle sails on". The Age. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  35. ^ Harris, Chris (2005-03-28). "Crowded House drummer Paul Hester found dead in Australia". MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-10-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Meacham, Steve (2006-12-15). "First Dorothy, then another yellow road". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ "Leanne Halloran". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  38. ^ "Privateers". Television Without Pity. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  39. ^ "Make every second count (a.k.a. sloppy seconds)". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  40. ^ "Episode 59: Singing for our lives". Six Feet Under. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  41. ^ "To top it all off, a screen music award". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ "Soundtracks for Knocked Up (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  43. ^ "Guillermo tries out for The Wiggles: Jimmy Kimmel Live". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  44. ^ Sams, Christine (2006-04-06). "Wiggles four degrees hotter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Artist: The Wiggles". ARIA Awards. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  46. ^ "List of ARIA award winners". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2007-10-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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