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Aussie band conquers
America one kid at a time The Kansas City Star KANSAS CITY, MO. -- The four Wiggles sing and dance to catchy ditties, with each wearing his signature-color T-shirt. It's no wonder kids love the act. The surprise, perhaps, is that these are four grown men from Australia, touring the United States on a bus, hitting city after city in a series of one-night stands. Their popularity is growing here among the younger set, but in Australia they are positively a smash. The Wiggles perform more than 500 shows a year to capacity crowds and have sold more than 2.5 million videos in Australia: One of every two Aussie children younger than 5 owns a Wiggles video. Expect to see more of them. They're hawking their new video, "Wiggly, Wiggly World!" during their tour, and Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney, a programming block for preschoolers, started airing Wiggles segments earlier this year. Wiggles members are as surprised as anyone that they've become a headline act on several continents. "People say, 'You guys are so clever to find a niche in the market,'" said Greg Page. There was no master plan, he said. It's just a small, sideline music project that snowballed. "We love music and we love kids," said Page, 30, the wearer of the yellow shirt. "Our hearts were in it." Three of the four Wiggles were studying early childhood education at a university in Sydney years ago when the idea arose to write songs for youngsters. That turned into a small recording project and a few gigs at child care centers. The tunes quickly grew addictive for Australian youngsters and their parents, a la the Barney phenomenon in the United States. In fact, the Wiggles were the opening act for Barney shows when the group first toured the States in 1999. Besides Page, who also performs the occasional magic trick, the Wiggles include Murray Cook, 42, who wears the red shirt, makes funny faces and plays guitar. Jeff Fatt, 48, wears purple and plays keyboard. He falls asleep from time to time, prompting children to scream, "Wake up, Jeff!" Anthony Field, 38, plays guitars and drums. He's known for enjoying fruit salad. Why "the Wiggles"? Because their emphasis on catchy tunes is matched by their focus on movement. "The audiences like the dancing," said Jackie Smith, a spokesman for HIT Entertainment in Dallas, which represents the Wiggles. "There's a lot of movement and a lot of simple dance moves and hand motions." Page said the Wiggles work to engage the youngsters, making them feel part of the show. "We ask them to get up and dance," Page said. "The main thing is positive entertainment, with a little bit of education in there as well." All of this has translated well to U.S. audiences, despite early concerns about cultural and language differences. The Wiggles' Aussie accents are quite conspicuous. It hasn't been a problem, Page said. Youngsters understand, even absorb, the dialect, starting with "G'day, mate." "Actually, some parents tell us their children are starting to speak with an Australian accent," Page said. Wiggles' Aussie expressions may require translation. Aussie idioms often sneak into the Wiggles' act. Here are some American translations: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Beauty, mate: Great! * Bob's your uncle: You're all right. See you later. * Bottler: Someone or something that performs well. "What a little bottler." * Fair dinkum: Proper, right, honest, true. "Fair dinkum, the Wiggles are fun." * Good on 'ya, mate!: Way to go! * Nappy: Diaper * Nipper: Small child * Off his head: Crazy, excited * Skivvy: T-shirt |