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Dallas, Texas 09/27/2001
Combine four guys in red, blue, yellow and purple skivvies (T-shirts), in Aussie-speak, a dinosaur, a pirate, a dog, an octopus, interactive songs and dances with an educational twist and you've got The Wiggles! They are the most popular children's entertainment group in the history of Australia, and now they are bringing giggles to children in the U.S. with live shows, videos and CDs. As Australia's premier children's entertainment group, they have sold more than two million videos and one million CDs and cassettes. One in every two Aussie children under the age of five owns a Wiggles video. In addition to their Australian television broadcasts, the band plays an average of 500 concerts a year to capacity-filled auditoriums of adoring young fans and their parents. The success of The Wiggles grew out of a class project for three "mates" who were studying Early Childhood Education at Macquaire University in Sydney. Anthony Field, Murray Cook and Greg Page soon began writing children's songs, and by the time they graduated they had launched careers as entertainers for the younger set. In 1991 the group recruited another friend, Jeff Fatt, a fellow musician with the popular '80s rock band, The Cockroaches, and The Wiggles were born. They began playing at day care centers but soon moved on to larger venues as "Wiggle mania" spread across Australia. Band member Anthony Field says their training in early childhood education has helped The Wiggles tune in to the toddler mind-set. "Kids this age think the world revolves around them, so we make sure we include them in everything," he said. Everyone can participate, so we ask them to help us in the shows. That makes the children feel good about themselves." On stage the guys dress in brightly colored T-shirts. Each clad in his own signature color, they are easily recognized by young fans and their parents. As well as the four band members, the Wiggles entourage includes the costumed characters Dorothy the Dinosaur(TM), Henry the Octopus(TM), Wags the Dog(TM) and Captain Feathersword(TM) the friendly pirate. Who's Who in The Wiggles: Greg Page - the lead vocalist, wears a yellow skivvy (t-shirt), loves to sing and dance, always has a happy smiling face and can perform amazing magic tricks. Anthony Field - sings, plays the guitar and drums, wears a blue skivvy, loves to eat, especially fruit salad. Murray Cook - sings and plays the guitar, wears a red skivvy, makes lots of funny faces, but his favorite one is a big happy smile. Murray likes to tune his guitar. Jeff Fatt - plays keyboards and sings, wears a purple skivvy, and cannot help falling asleep! He gets a big surprise when children shout, "Wake up Jeff!" Dorothy the Dinosaur(TM) - a big, green, friendly dinosaur with yellow spots and a heart of gold. She dons a white floppy hat and loves eating roses. Henry the Octopus(TM) - a purple fun-loving eight-legged octopus. He is clad in tartan clothes and wears a black polished shoe on each of his eight tentacles. Henry and his band, The Underwater Big Band, live under the sea where they make bubbly music. Wags the Dog(TM) - a large brown furry dog with floppy ears and a happy face. Wags loves to dig in his garden and speaks by saying "Woof." Captain Feathersword(TM) - a friendly pirate who tickles everyone with his sword made out of feathers. The Captain lives on "The Good Ship Feathersword," where he loves to cook, dance and sing. |