Conversation with a Blue Wiggle

When I was a teenager I was a Beatles fan. I liked to think that I was a groupie.  I had all of the vinyl albums, the books, the teen magazines and I ate enough of that horrible bubble gum to have all of the Beatles fan cards.  I dreamed of going to a concert and interviewing Paul or Ringo. I wanted their autograph on my favorite Beatles shirt.  I was going to frame it and put it on my wall.

So what happened? I grew up, got married to my high school sweetheart and had three wonderful children. I still listen to the Beatles but somehow the dream never materialized, but then sometimes dreams just wait until you get older and sometimes they just change altogether.

I am a grandmother now and I am so excited to be given the opportunity to interview Anthony Field of the Wiggles.  Well, I may have grown up but there is still a groupie locked up deep inside of me. And the Wiggles are to preschoolers, what the Beatles are to baby boomers. 

I was first introduced to the Wiggles by my granddaughter Kenzie, who at the tender age of six months started watching the DVDs and listening to the CDs.  I noticed while we were watching the DVDs together that the children and adults showed up at the live concerts with signs and dressed in all kinds of Wiggle attire.  Okay, I thought the tunes were pretty catchy, there were little messages in some of the songs and then they had dance moves and hand gestures, I could see where a child might like this. After watching the concert DVDs over and over I started noticing the audience. The adults knew all of the dance moves and hand gestures and they were performing them with their children. Little did I know that in less than six months I would turn into one of those adults.

There are four Wiggles, and they wear different colored shirts or skivvies.

Anthony Field (blue), Jeff Fatt (purple), Murray Cook (red), and Sam Moran (yellow). Greg Page was the original yellow Wiggle but was replaced do to illness in 2006. They are joined on stage by a Friendly Pirate, Captain Feathersword-Paul Paddock, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus and Wags the Dog.

In case you think that I am just pulling your leg on this, let me inform you that the Wiggles have sold over 22.5 million DVDs and 7 million CDs worldwide. Of course they were not an overnight success. Seventeen years ago they were borrowing equipment, pulling a trailer and acting as their own roadies. Their early dates consisted of pre-schools, local playgroups and shopping center concerts.  The group did have one thing going for them, with three of its members being involved in early childhood education they understood what approach to take when it came to entertaining young children. I could write a list of all their awards but frankly speaking......it is just too long.

With their family members filling in on videos and TV programs, plus running things behind the scenes, fans of the Wiggles were able to watch the beginning of an empire from the ground up. Okay, maybe empire is a little over the top but these guys do everything.  I noticed one girl in particular her name is Claire. She is a very young girl when she first appears in the early videos. Watching numerous DVDs I could track her childhood. Claire has now grown into a lovely young lady as witnessed on the latest DVD. She also tours with the group now and happens to be the niece of the blue Wiggle.  This is a family based business, but even those that are not related by blood seem to be related by their love of children.

Okay, so here I find myself a year and a half ago with a granddaughter who wants to watch some guy in a purple shirt that keeps falling asleep, a blue guy who makes fruit salad, a red rock and roll guitarist and a yellow guy who drives the Big Red Car.  And you have to do all the dances and learn all the songs, which isn't hard because you will listen and watch the DVDs over and over.  In fact you will pray for the day that a new one comes out.  You will hear these songs in your head during work and while you are trying to sleep. Okay I have to admit, I liked the songs. I even downloaded them to my Ipod. I learned all the dance moves and hand gestures.

Well, that's not entirely true, I cannot do one of the trademark songs "Lights, Camera, Action" movements.  My family will not let me do it in public because I am so bad at it and my granddaughter keeps saying "no Nana."  But other than that I am Wiggle material. I could feel myself slipping from fan to groupie real fast, just like in the old Beatles day. However, unlike my pre-teen Beatles days I am older and wiser and I have a car.  I found out from my daughter Stephanie that the Wiggles were coming to Tallahassee this month for a concert.  I have already seen the Wiggles in concert once; it was my birthday present from my daughter Jennifer and her family. I will never forget the look on my granddaughter's face when she got her first glance of the Wiggles and the Big Red Car. We were all totally entertained at the concert so we all decided to go again this month.  It was a couple of days later that I got this wonderful idea - I wanted to interview the Wiggles.  I wanted to interview Anthony Field, the blue Wiggle.  My story gets really crazy when I ask and am granted an interview with Anthony.  The funny part of this is that I actually forgot to ask my editor if he would run the story but things like that happen when you are in "groupie-mode"

I did all kinds of internet research to prepare for the biggest interview of my life.  I learned about how the Wiggles were named UNICEF goodwill ambassadors for 2008. They have opened up a Wiggly Play Center () in Frisco, Texas for children and their parents.  It is an affordable center that is both educational as well as entertaining. Six Flags opened its first Wiggle World at their theme park in Jackson, New Jersey and it was a big success.

 Their compassion for children is real and it transcends culture, color, and continents. I haven't even touched on their charity work but it is extensive. They visit hospitals and orphanages all over the world.  When the World Trade Center was attacked, the Wiggles were one of the few groups that did not cancel their concert dates in New York, choosing to show their support for the U.S. by bringing a little light and laughter to a very dark city. The more I researched the more I liked these guys. I was getting to the Wiggles overdose level. 

So how was I going to handle this interview? I knew Anthony would be used to big-time reporters and he would figure out pretty fast that I didn't fall into that category. I was afraid that this would probably be more like a conversation than a real interview. Should I tell him that I would like to put on skivvies and belt buckle and join them on stage? Would he want to know that my granddaughter has watched so many Wiggles DVD's she pronounces some of her words with an Australian accent? Panic was setting in by the time my phone rang.  By the time the phone rang for the second time, my mind went totally blank - and then I heard his voice.

Oh, I was still nervous but I quickly learned that Anthony Field is a very nice man.  What you see up on stage is what you get. We talked about the group's work with UNICEF, they wrote and donated a song for children to help educate them about washing their hands with soap and water. Worldwide we are losing thousands of children a day by the spread of waterborne diseases. Just the simple act of washing your hands with water and soap can drastically reduce that number and save lives.

I wanted Anthony to know that I especially like the group's Christmas DVDs. Yes, they have all the fun stuff like reindeer dancing and Santa but they also contain the most beautiful traditional Christmas songs. Children portraying the Nativity scene on the DVD are timeless and refreshing. It is just so nice to see someone remember the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. We touched on Anthony's work with animals and the fact that he is working on a book with his cousin.  It will involve fitness and a healthy lifestyle.  We both admitted to loving chocolate.  I told him that Kenzie has a Wiggle guitar but she now wants a real one so she "Play her guitar like Murray." And when she catches her Poppa asleep in the chair she shouts "wake up Jeff, we need you for the show." All catch phrases used by the group.  I asked him what the children of the blue Wiggle like to watch and he reported that they do watch and like the Wiggles show and DVDs.

He is pleased when he watches their reaction to the show. He gives high praises to his wonderful wife and family.  Always mindful of seeing life through the eyes of a child, the Wiggles now include bloopers on their DVD's.  It is good for children to see everyone, even Wiggles, make mistakes.

We chatted a little more about his children and mine. He shared that as he left for the last leg of this tour his daughter presented him with a rose and then handed him a bunch of roses to bring to Dorothy the Dinosaur.  During each Wiggles concert the action stops while several of the Wiggly dancers come off of the stage to collect roses and dog bones from the children in the audience. I asked him who had the idea about the children bringing roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur and bones for Wags the Dog.

He stated that it just happened. Children started showing up with them.  The real dog bones are donated to animal shelters after the show and the real flowers go to a local hospital. I believe Henry the Octopus has totally been left out on this deal, but when you are purple and have 8 legged pants that is to be expected. During their concerts, Capt. Feathersword (affectionately known as the 5th Wiggle) bungles his way throughout the entire show. He appears on stage as the comic relief to the Wiggles, always a step behind or an octave off key.

Anthony spoke with pride about Australia and its people and I could have listened to him speak for hours about his homeland but

 I knew that my time was running out. After all, the blue Wiggle had to get ready for a show.  I realized that I had failed at my job of doing a professional interview. It was what is was and that was simply, a conversation.

But if you walk away from this conversation with a different attitude about how a real children's entertainment group should act and you pick up one of their DVDs for your child or grandchild and watch it with them or if you attend a concert with your family and are completely entertained then maybe this conversation, non-interview has served its purpose.

I will go back to my classroom at the elementary school this week.  I will put a picture of the Wiggles up on the wall and tell my art students about the day their teacher talked with a Wiggle and I will practice that "Lights, Camera Action" song,  just in case they need a stand in sometime. 

So look for me at the Wiggles concert on Nov. 21 at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center ( or 800-322-3602).  I will be there with my family, a sign, a dog bone, some roses and a deep appreciation for a great group guys.

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