Wiggle Dancing: Why I’m A Wiggles Fan
In case you weren’t already aware, my three year old is a great fan of the Australian childrens entertainers The Wiggles.
They were appearing at Newcastle City Hall today, and because we had planned sufficiently far in advance that Santa had brought the Wiggles tickets, we’d been able to get front row tickets.
For much of the performance, the little ‘un was simply too overawed by the nearness of The Wiggles (along with their friends Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur and of course Captain Feathersword) and so didn’t sing or dance much — he just sat on his Mammy’s knee, being a little teensy bit scared.
Not too scared of course to remember to hand over his roses to one of the Wiggledancers when they came into the audience to collect the roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur (we’d seen them live before, you see, so this time we knew what to do) … but still fairly apprehensive nonetheless.
He relaxed after a while and although he was disappointed when Jeff Wiggle (Jeff Fatt, in the purple top) came into the audience to shake hands and walked right past him without spotting his frantically waving hand, this was forgotten in a matter of seconds and he got on with enjoying the show — even relaxing enough to clamber out of his seat and dance and sing in the aisles (which we were right next to) with many of the other children.
As a parent, it’s a wonderful thing to see your child enjoying himself so much, with a massive beaming grin on his face, pointing his fingers in the air (“point your fingers and do the twist”) or dancing with his hands on his hips like some 3 year old with disco fever. It’s also tremendously funny.
It’s also worth noting that when we’d seen The Wiggles last year, Greg Page had been the “Yellow Wiggle”, but owing to health problems he’d retired and had been replaced by his long time understudy Sam Moran. Fortunately, we’d already broken the news to the lad months earlier when Greg officially retired so although he was slightly disappointed Greg wasn’t there (because he wanted to tell him to get better as he didn’t want him to be poorly), he was also looking forward to seeing New Wiggle Sam.
Fortunately, I have to say Sam Moran didn’t disappoint. His voice is quite different to Greg’s and it maybe took a couple of songs to get the hang of the fact that things were going to sound different, but that was only to be expected, and I think he did a sterling job — as indeed did the rest of the Wiggles and the supporting cast.
I’d like to give a special mention to two members of the supporting cast: that blond bloke with the spiky hair (who I remember from ‘Wiggly Safari’) who really gets into the spirit of the thing, leaping around even more manically than the rest of the cast — and I think deserves at the very least the decency of me looking up his name …
… Ben Murray. Cracking job, Ben.
The second supporting member again sums up that The Wiggles just seem to be about having fun: during the Fruit Salad song, he took part in a game of cricket with Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle) using a giant inflatable banana as a bat, and a giant inflatable apple as a ball — don’t ask. They’d done exactly the same routine the previous year too, but that didn’t stop me creasing up as Paul Paddick (as Captain Feathersword, surely virtually a Wiggle in his own right) proved to be a great physical comedian too.
Even watching the show as an adult — provided you’re not so self-conscious you won’t join in with the actions — it’s great fun. It’s also genuinely funny. Not sophisticated humour maybe, but still exceptionally well done. And despite the fact that it’s the same tour they’ve been doing since at least 2006 (when Greg was still Yellow Wiggle) they all seemed to be having a vast amount of fun, clowning around, pulling faces and so on.
One moment summed this up beautifully for me: in the middle of a song, Ben Murray (wiggle dancer) was leaping about next to Murray Cook (Red Wiggle) who was playing his guitar. While the main action on the stage was going on in front of them, and they were both grinning away anyway, Ben mouthed something to Murray, Murray grinned even wider and nodded. Just a little touch, but enough to create the impression that they weren’t just being professional, they really were having fun too.
And so was I.
I’d thoroughly recommed going to see The Wiggles. I’d just recommend that you take a small child along with you as well (borrow one, if necessary) so that you don’t look weird…
mark fairlamb says:
June 7th, 2007 at 10:09 am
as long as they stop mine from going in the knife drawer and sitting on the dog they’re ok by me
Marcel Cairo says:
June 7th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Love the Wiggles! Been to see them twice at Universal Studios. Last time was this past March. Though my wife was due to have our second child the day after the show, I forced her to go with me and our two-year old daughter. Needless to say, my wife went into labor right around the beginning of “Fruit Salad – Yummy Yummy”. We made it to the end of the show, and my wife had to be taken out in a wheelchair. Of course, I made her stop by the concession stand to buy my daughter a Dorothy the Dinosaur hat.
The best part is that I got up at front row to take some awesome pictures and film of the funny lads from Oz. I even had Ben pose for a photo (my wife loves Ben).
Anyway, this post was great for the mommy’s and daddy’s.
paul canning says:
June 7th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
hey darl
just wait ’till the polish government sees them ;]
only dingbats dont luv the wiggles..
Rox says:
June 18th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Well who cares if I look weird (I went to 8 concerts this tour on my own, and 4 more with a friend who is also an adult) – The Wiggles are suitable for all ages, if you allow them to be!
I agree with all your review – about Sam, how great Ben is, etc (and they definitely do entertain themselves while entertaining us – in “Brown Girl” you may have noticed Anthony, Ben and Brett (the other main male dancer (the other 2 are main too but I believe were also “helping” the characters if you get what I mean) doing some funny dances, and after a few shows, I noticed that they do a different thing each time, and Anthony starts and the other 2 have to copy!
The only thing I don’t quite agree with is that it’s the same tour. Certainly it included several of the same songs, but most of those are the classics that they “have” to do at every show (eg Point your Fingers, Hot Potato) although even the way they do those isn’t exactly the same.
raffe'smum says:
June 19th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
We LOVE the Wiggles!! We’ve taken our son to two concerts (post Greg Page, but the concerts were fabulous, nonetheless). During the first concert, our son (who was one at the time) fell asleep in my arms during the last two songs. My husband and I were still up on our feet, dancing away! (the baby likes the swaying movement). The second concert, he stood in the aisle, feathersword in one hand, big red car light stick in the other, sporting a Dorothy the Dinosaur tail, completely in awe (we were very close to the stage). And, when Jeff came jumped down from the stage, he patted our son on the head and said “hey there, little fella!” Our son was SPEECHLESS!! He talked about it for the rest of the night (he was two at the time)!
An added benefit to watching the Wiggles with my son: dancing along (of course we know all of the routines by now!) has helped to shed the baby weight I gained during pregnancy while having fun! Maybe they should come out with their own cardio video for new mums!
Keep Wiggling!!
Rita Wilcox says:
March 15th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I, too, love The Wiggles and was pleased to be able to take our daughter Isobel to their concert in London last year. I had such a great time at the concert, dancing to “Point your Hands” and laughing at Captain Feathersword. Oh and Isobel had a great time too.
I’m just a bit sad that although Isobel still loves The Wiggles, she says she is getting too old for them (she’s four!). I’m thinking of tagging along with my friend Sophie who is taking her little boy this year. How sad am I?
Raynie Daigle says:
December 31st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
My daughter loves the wiggles and I watch it with her every day, however I cannot stand ben the spiky head blond who looks and acts like a complete idiot every time he is on stage or on the show. He shakes his head too much and when he wears that hat with the things hanging from it, he thinks that it gives him the right to shake his head even more. Also he makes stupid faces and noises. He emphasizes every thing he does and personally it is just annoying and he really needs to watch himself sometime because he will realize just how stupid he really looks. He is the only one who looks like he is having a seizure when he performs. If you read this ben STOP shaking your head sio much you look stupid, and other people might like it but I think you look like a complete moron. He is nothing but a huge showoff on stage and makes sure everyone has eyes on him. There are other people stop hogging the spotlight. Now I feel better.
Jo Sysum says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Ahhh leave Benny Bandicoot alone!!! Granted, there is the concern that at some point his head might actually pop off, but dont you find you are just drawn to this mad man leaping about in the corner??? We think he’s great! My son (who is nearly 3, and nearly as excited about goin to see the Wiggles in Manchester in June) thinks he’s great, and loves the Emu song that Ben does, and being a childrens act, that’s all that matters to me… I am just hoping that the supporting cast that we have grown to love dearly through the many DVDs and countless episodes on Nick Jnr, will all be there when we go to see them in June… And yes, I am looking forward to the new series when it starts on Monday, probably even more than my son is!!!
maria says:
February 24th, 2009 at 1:42 am
YOU RE SO FUNNY BEN LOVE MAIRA
maria says:
February 24th, 2009 at 1:48 am
MAIRO AND BEN ADRIAN AND LUCY LEEANNE AND EMILY AND AND THE WIGGLES SAM ANTHONY JEFF MURRAY THE WIGGLY DANCERS LOVE MARIA
Newmummy says:
June 8th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Yes, I also want to counter that negative comment about Ben. We (my daughter actually) were just given 4 wiggles dvd’s over the weekend and have become big fans of the wiggles and of Ben. Ben, I love the head shaking and the enthusiasm! I think he was a fish in one of the acts and was an awesome head bobbing, dancing, swimming fish!
maria says:
June 30th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
the wggles sam anthnoy jeff murray love maria
Dan says:
August 13th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I’m a huge fan of Ben, as is my wife and are two young sons. However, I’m not sure he is actually with them anymore, which is dreadfully sad. We all went to a concert a few days ago, and after about three songs, I noticed that Ben wasn’t there.
After getting home and watching the new DVD, “The Wiggles Go Bananas,” he was not there, either.
I’ve Googled every place trying to look for an answer, but have yet to find one. If he is indeed gone, it has been kept very quiet.
And truly, that’s very sad.
Paula says:
November 11th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Oh no! I hope Ben isn’t gone! I love Ben! He adds so much to the shows and looks like he is genuinely enjoying himself.
team edward says:
January 24th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
greg i miss you you rock love dallas e baird
team edward says:
January 24th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
hi sam it is dallas
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julie halfen says:
May 1st, 2012 at 11:16 pm
Murray.
i tell you if sepcal song for you somainonme to love you fornver and if come over to my husoe and come hare ;6pm ;7pm ;8pm ;9pm ;10pm ;11pm meet my 4 kids sepcal to hi for you.
meet play with you Murray are ferind i want see tv show and make own suerpsie party for you love julie.
julie halfen says:
May 1st, 2012 at 11:16 pm
love you murray ferind julie