The Wiggles

The Wiggles is a Sydney, Australia-based band which specializes in creating and performing music for children. The group is internationally noted for its childrens’ albums, home videos and television programs. The Wiggles also tour heavily in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Wiggles are particularly popular in their native Australia. They are currently the nation’s highest-earning entertainers. According to an April 2006 survey published in the Australian media, The Wiggles grossed more in 2005 than AC/DC and Nicole Kidman combined.

The Wiggles have four members: Greg Page (lead vocals), Anthony Field (backing vocals and instrumentation), Murray Cook (backing vocals and instrumentation) and Jeff Fatt (keyboards and accordion). When performing each member wears a distinctively colored shirt and is strongly associated with his respective color: yellow (Greg), blue (Anthony), red (Murray), and purple (Jeff). (In early videos, Anthony wore a green shirt but he changed to a blue shirt because Dorothy the Dinosaur is green.)

In addition, each of the members has a recurring schtick, or bit. Greg performs magic tricks, Anthony is always hungry and eats, Murray is obsessed with playing his guitar, and Jeff falls asleep at any given moment (resembling narcolepsy).

The Wiggles are supported by recurring characters that appear in the songs, videos and television programs. The four main “Wiggles Friends” characters are Dorothy the Dinosaur (a horticulturalist dinosaur who eats roses), Captain Feathersword (a “friendly pirate”), Wags the Dog, and Henry the Octopus. Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus are played by various costumed actors, while Captain Feathersword is played exclusively by Paul Paddick, an Australian actor who has become closely associated with the band. Several other characters assume minor roles in the act. See Characters

Wiggles songs are often about simple topics familiar to very young children: sleeping (“Rock-A-Bye Your Bear”, “Wake Up Jeff”), eating (“Fruit Salad”), animals (“The Monkey Dance”, “Rock-A-Bye Your Bear”, “Ponies”) or the cast of characters created for their home videos and TV shows.

Another distinctive feature of the group’s songs is easy-to-repeat gestures, such as the “romp bomp a stomp” hand motions in the song “Dorothy the Dinosaur.” Much of the Wiggles’ music has been written by John Field (Anthony’s brother). The Wiggles also adapted the Bob Wills tune “Silver Bells That Ring In The Night” with a duck-like “quack quack-quack” in the refrain.

~ WikiPedia