November 24, 2025 • 33 mins
Most families know “Wake Up Jeff,” but far fewer know the gentle person behind it. Original Purple Wiggle, Jeff Fatt, sits down with Lachy and Simon for a rare conversation about growing into the purple skivvy, navigating shyness, and finding his place in a role he never chased - but ended up defining.
Jeff never set out to be a symbol of anything - he was just a quiet kid from Casino, NSW who loved music. But somewhere between The Cockroaches and that purple skivvy, he became an accidental icon of inclusion for millions of families.
HOSTS
Simon Pryce
Lachlan Gillespie
GUEST
Jeff Fatt
You can watch his episode of Who Do You Think You Are here.
PRODUCERS
Produced by The Wiggles and Mylk Media
Madeline Joannou
Nick Webb
For more Wiggly fun, visit:
The Wiggles 🌏 http://thewiggles.com
YouTube 📺 https://bit.ly/WigglesYouTube
Spotify 🎶 https://ab.co/TheWigglesSpotify
Apple Music 🎧 https://music.apple.com/au/artist/the-wiggles/7066283
Instagram 🟡 http://instagram.com/TheWiggles
Facebook 🔴 http://facebook.com/TheWiggles
TikTok 🟣 http://tiktok.com/@TheWiggles
Twitter 🔵 http://twitter.com/TheWiggles
About The Wiggles' Podcast - Wiggle Talk
Think you’ve got parenting figured out? So do Simon and Lachy - until the toddler throws a curveball. On Wiggle Talk - a podcast for parents, Red Wiggle Simon Pryce and Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie tackle the tricky, funny, and unexpected moments of raising little humans.
Simon, dad to son Asher, and Lachy, father to twin daughters Lulu and Lottie and stepdad to Jasper, share the highs and lows of parenting in the early years. Alongside their own stories, they welcome guests - from parenting experts to well-known personalities - who bring fresh perspectives and practical wisdom to the table.
Each week also features Dear Wiggles - where listeners send in their questions, the things that keep them up at night, or the dilemmas they’d love another parent’s take on. Simon and Lachy talk it through with honesty, and when needed, they call in expert friends to help provide thoughtful advice and reassurance.
With decades of experience in children’s education and entertainment, The Wiggles bring their trademark warmth and playfulness to conversations on everything from sleep and routines to tantrums, play, and the big feelings that come with family life.
Two dads, no filter, figuring it out as they go.
About The Wiggles
For over three decades, The Wiggles have been a beloved cornerstone of children's entertainment, captivating and educating millions of preschoolers—and their parents—around the world. Known for their high-energy performances, catchy songs, and colourful characters, The Wiggles have built a global legacy rooted in the power of music and movement to inspire early childhood learning.
With a mission to make education fun, The Wiggles create content specifically designed for pre-K, preschool, kindergarten, and nursery school age groups. Their unique blend of music, dance, and educational content not only entertains but also helps children understand the world around them. Generations of fans who grew up watching The Wiggles are now sharing that same joy with their own children.
The Wiggles’ impact is truly global: they’ve achieved billions of music streams and YouTube views, and have sold more than 30 million albums and DVDs, along with eight million books worldwide. The Wiggles continue to dominate the preschool entertainment scene, connecting with new generations through various platforms. Their live shows consistently sell out across three continents, and their videos are enjoyed on countless broadcast and digital platforms in over 190 countries.
The Wiggles continue to dominate the preschool entertainment scene, connecting with new generations
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Wiggles acknowledged the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia
and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay
our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to Wiggle Talk, a podcast for parents. I'm Simon Price.
I wear the color red, and.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I'm Locky Gillespie and I wear the color purple.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
Oh hello, Locky.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know today we're joined by someone who, well he
doesn't really need much of an introduction, the original Purple Wiggle,
known as the CEO of Snooze.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
That's right, Jeff Fat, Yes, Jeffy.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Before there was a skivy or a purple shirt or
a big red car, Jeff and Anthony were playing in
pubs together, in the Cockroaches. That was their group name,
Long Night's Loud Crowds and not a Wiggle in sight.
But then somehow that all turned into a band for
children that ended up touring the world.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Incredible story. Before he talked to Jeff, you just mentioned
that they used to play in pubs together, Anthony and
Jeff and Anthony's brother John and Paul in the Cockroaches.
Jeff is about to do a gig with Anthony's son Antonio, Yes,
and john Son, Seamous and Jeff's going to be playing
the keyboards in their gig, which I think is hysterical.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Isn't that amazing? Amazing?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So they so Johnson's son, Yeah, Antonio and Seamus and.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Jeff, they've got a good keyboard player. They really have
got a good keyboard player.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Is funny all these years later they were all in
a band together, and now he's going to play with
their sons.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Wonder if he knows the songs are going to play.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Knowing Jeff, you just have to know the key, hear
the key, you know the key, and then he just
play it. Yep, you know exactly what's going on. I mean,
they're probably playing unchained melody, so he's probably he probably
knows that. I don't have Shamus of no the words
to it. But you know, I would love.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
To be at that show, bigodes. But isn't that beautiful?
There is?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, that's Jeffy, always happy to help out, just
wants to play music, jump on the keys.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
I think he plays.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
He goes on cruises, doesn't he Now, Yeah, there's like
he just loves music, cruise cruises.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
They and yeah, there's all these keyboard players, and they
all talk about, you know, different chord structures and minus seventh, Yes,
I mean that that sounds like a wonderful week away.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Doesn't it? Or major seven wiggles music.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Major seventh sess where we don't go mina very often
on our audiences, not the chords or the.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Keys, no skeleton scats and G minor though.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, that's it's a lot special yep, isn't it Yep?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
That was controversial at the time using a minor.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
It was a good song. Yeah, it is a great song.
I say so myself.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, Jeff's story, everybody is one of full contradictions. He
says himself that there are two Jeff's, the quiet one
you see off stage and the one who comes alive
under the lights.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And while he might have been the shy wiggle, he
was also one of the most recognizable faces in children's
entertainment in the nineteen nineties. That was a time where
you didn't see many Asian Australians on screen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
But Jeff has never set out to be a symbol
of anything. He just wanted to do what he loved
and that was making music with his mates. So today
we're talking about the early days, the two sides of Jeff,
a few funny stories from the road, and what it's
like to look back on three decades of the Wiggles Magic.
Let's talk to Jeffy Simon.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
You. We better wake you up first. Welcome to Wiggle Talk. Jeff,
Wake up, Jeff, you're missing all the fun. Now wake up, Jeff.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Before that day through, can you keep that noise down.
I'm trying to sleep well.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
This is an exciting moment. Please welcome to wiggle Talk.
Everybody listening, Jeff Wiggle, Hello, Jeffy, Hello, the last of
the Ogs. Yeah, you've been asked for a lot really
what Yeah, people want, people want to hear from you.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
Yeah, I don't like to say much.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
We know that, so better so we'll do a lot
of talking on this podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Jeffy welcome. It's lovely to see you. It's always lovely
to see you in Wiggletown. And I want to start
with asking you about this. You've said before that there's
two Jeffs. Yes, there is Jeffy you and then there
is stage Jeffy, which is larger than life, loud, colorful,
which is the opposite to who you really are. So
how did you reconcile with the two parts of yourself
(04:35):
throughout your wiggle life.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Yes, the two jeffs my normal Jeff Yes is sort
of sort of now, although I am slightly larger yes
in life than I normally am.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (04:49):
Doing an interview, Yes, but the other Jeff doesn't like
to be on camera Jeff. And but to reconcile that,
it's interesting. I guess I given the wake up Jeff
Mantle was a way of concealing the real Jeff. So
I actually had a role that I could play without
having to show too much of my real self.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Was it kind of Anto that picked up on that?
Is that? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
And did you talk about that at the time really
early on, like, look, I'm not that comfortable, yes, Or
did he just go, hey, come on, I've got something.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Well, well, he Anto is really good in being able
to get the best out of people, so I'm sure
that he was aware of that, and it's just his
ability to be able to put together a show and
get the best out of people. So, I mean, originally
I think it was wake up Anto. Did you drive
(05:42):
a big red car? Initially I did, I was the
original big red cards drive.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And then I had heard that story that once they
changed it to wake Up Jeff, they realized it wasn't
a good idea. Not a guy who falls asleep randomly
to be the one guy.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
I'm not a very good example.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
That's probably class these days. That's bad modeling. Yes, it
is modeling behavior. Yeah, but that would be Jeff.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
No, never, never anyway that the role of the wake
up was. I embraced it.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Of course.
Speaker 6 (06:12):
I loved it. And I could just close my eyes
and basically tune out. Yeah, and without having to reveal myself.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
But also one of the most popular moments as well
for an audience.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Yes, it was because it is such an empowering thing
for young children to be able to have over a
grown up.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, that's right. Now, going back, you were in rock
bands in the early days, many, Yes, many. So you're
in Abound the Cockroaches with Anthony and his brothers John
and Paul. Yes, how did you meet up? How did
all that come about? Okay, so, because Anthony was quite
young then, yes, he.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
Was still at school, yeah, as were the other Field boys.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Okay, So around about the year nineteen eighty, I was
playing in a rockabilly band called the Roadmasters, and we
would play pretty well every week. This whole venue call
the Strawbery Hills Hotel and also the Oxford Hotel in
Oxford Street. Anyway, the boys used to get out of
(07:15):
boarding school on the weekends to go and see bands.
And it happened on this particular weekend that I was
confronted by Anthony with a cassette tape. Now this was
a bit later he actually I met Anthony, and then
two weeks after he came along with cassette recorder to
(07:36):
interview me.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
So wow, as it just as a musician.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
Yeah, I mean, Anthony loved music, so he wanted to
know a bit more. I guess he was somewhat intrigued
by the fact that there were two Chinese guys in
a rockabilly band with myself and my brother.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
My brother was on.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
Bas and I was playing keyboards. Wow, that was the
That was the fascination that Anthony had. But Anthony always
loved music, any form of music.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Soon, yeah, and so that's how you first met. And
then so how did the Cockroaches come about from that
first meeting?
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Okay, so how I ended up in the Cockroaches was
at the time I was also hiring aut PA systems
for bands in the city bands mainly, and then the
Cockroaches were playing gigs themselves and they needed a PA system,
so they came along to see me. And so this
was on a few occasions, and then there was another
(08:32):
occasion where they they needed me to take the PA
up to Newcastle for a gig and I was somewhat
a bit reluctant because of the distance, and I said, look,
I'll do it if I can play keyboards.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Yes, make it worth the trip exactly. Wow.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
So yeah, I didn't want to be waiting around for
a PA, and so you played that night I did
in Newcastle obviously went well.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Then well, I.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Guess they needed a p a rather first keyboard player.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
So going back a bit, did you have a name
for yourself back in that band for him to come
and want to talk to you.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
It was a very select audience, I mean music in
the punk era.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Soa when did you start playing piano?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
I started learning grade piano at the age of about
six r and then I discontinued at about grade three
because I cannot read music for the life of me.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
And then you just learned by listening to well after.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
That yeah, more are you?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
You're an incredible keyboard player. What did John Field call
you the zombie with.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Because I'm so laid back and chill. The real Jeff
is laid back and chill.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Well let's talk about that for a seconds.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So that's a difference in between performing for adults as
a keyboard player and then ending up in this world
performing for children where you probably could no longer be
a zombie with fingers. You had to have a different personality.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
You had to engage the children more. Yeah, so I
had to be a bit more larger than life.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And so did they then sort of guide you and
teach you along the way of okay, don't phrase that
the dialogue you would use for children and and talking
to the audience.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Yes, there was a lot of that in actually speaking
to young children. So it was quite a learning process
over ten years before. Exactly there's always fullback.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Did you pull that one doing an interview and it
got too tricky? You just.
Speaker 6 (10:58):
I mean, actually you can go back to the the
countdown days. I actually drew on that character. Then Anthony
and myself were doing a thing to camera. I think
it was an introduction or something, but I was asleep
at the time, and he wake me up to start
doing the introductions.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
And now here's Tony and jeff cockroach, Jeffrey, wake up,
wake up, Jeffy. Hey, yeah, Seana lag did you like it?
I liked it?
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Gee. It really has has its history there.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Do you remember the first kind of Wiggles moment you had?
Speaker 6 (11:37):
The first major Wiggles moment I had would have been
a preschool that we did, my very first shows. I
don't recall too much about those, but the first traumatic
moment would have been I think we were doing our
first public performance at Westfield in Chatswood, and I was like.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah, did you always get nervous? Even you know you
did it for twenty years? Was there always a sense
of anxiety that came with it?
Speaker 6 (12:08):
Not after a few years you settled in. Yeah, my
first experience in playing in a band, all that sort
of stuff stuff, Yeah, you feel a bit anxious.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
That reminds me of you lucky early days, Like it
would be backstage waiting to go on and be practicing.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Hi, I'm lucky. Hi, I'm lucky. There was a few nerves.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
There's a few, there's there's two Lockyes, I totally understand that.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Yeah, there are similarities between the not as good a
piano player.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
But that's why no way you are, you are.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Not at all.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
I can't read for nuts.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
That's you can play amazingly. And there is such a sound,
isn't there to that original wiggles? Yeah, you guys had
such an amazing thing.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
We're trying to be as poppy as as we can using.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
What what fingers you have?
Speaker 7 (13:02):
What?
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Yeah? I mean they're very simple but hopefully catchy licks
that I would improvise on.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
So yeah, but there's something quite complex in simplicity, isn't there.
It's easy, it's easy to feel it's.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
So difficult to make something which seems simple.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
You know, we still talk about when you start, and
he still gets brought up in interviews about you know
you asking Anthony how long will it take? But what
what did it feel like? Obviously weren't aware back when
Anthony asked you to come and was it the first
album to come and record?
Speaker 6 (13:36):
He wanted me to come down to the studio to
play on the children's songs that they'd written. That's right, Yeah,
And I still lasked him how long that was going
to take?
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Yes, thirty four years.
Speaker 6 (13:48):
I'm going. I wanted to get back to my house
renovations at the time.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, you're famous for your house renovations. Yeah, they take
thirty four Is that true? You lived out of one
room basically for quite a while while you're renovating.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
I had this old weatherboard house and I had the
whole side of the house off with a tarp hole
and over.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
It, and I was sleeping in the room that was off.
And that's when the Wiggles were at their height.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
Yes, yes, I was having cassettes and CDs delivered to
my porch when I was away. They would leave it
in a box on the porch some of the days
when you could.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah. Now, being Chinese Australian, did that ever come into play?
Did you recognize that as part of the group, part
of the Wiggles, that that had any impact with an
audience as you know now, where it castivate Wiggles to
reflect the world that we live in to you know,
(14:54):
and to be more relatable to our audience.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Did you ever think about that.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Look at the time, I never crossed my mind at all.
But in hindsight you can only analyze what has gone on,
and it really shows the impact that being Chinese Australian.
The impact that that has had on our audience, particularly
for the Asian community, whenever they would see like an
(15:18):
Asian person on screen, they could relate to that and
it made them feel important.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
And would you have people coming up to you and
talking to you about that? Quite a lot more the
relatives than anything else. We were saying this where everyone
around the world, a relative would turn up yep at
a venue and say I'm a relative of jeffs.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Everywhere.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
When we went from four Whiggles to eight Wiggles and
we went through the diversity and everything we're trying to achieve,
and I was doing an interview and they were talking
about this is a big move for the Wiggles. You're
diverse and woke and all those kind of terms have
been thrown around, and I said, hang on a second.
Whiggles had Jeff for twenty years. And the interview was like, oh, oh,
that's right, I think because the Wiggles were just the Wiggles. Yeah,
(16:08):
it was really interesting. He had to kind of take
it all back and go, oh, yeah, actually, the Wiggles
have always been It's just that it was never signposted,
or wasn't you know, it was just.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
It's just a very gradual thing that became more popular. Yeah,
it's just the we became part of the furniture.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You did the show Who do you Think You Are? Yep,
Now that goes back into your family's history. Yeah, that's
what the mean that the premise behind the show. How
was that experience?
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Initially when I was asked to do it, I was
in two minds as to whether or not to do it,
because that's I would have had to what I thought
was reveal the real Jeff. Yeah, so there was no
care the play. But I think the fact that it
was the carrot of being able to find out my
(17:06):
roots that really took me along there. So I rolled
the dice and you did it absolutely absolutely? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
What did you find out about your family? They didn't
know about.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
I sort of had an inkling that my great great
grandmother was from the UK or somewhere in that area.
But it's the detail that they are able to find
or to discover, to be able to confirm that was
great for me. Plus the other things with my grandmother
where she came from. There were lots of lots of
(17:40):
areas that were really I loved finding.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Out about it.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You from casino, yep. And I remember when we would
tour together in the past. Somehow we were always having
to go via casino, so you could sign some documents
just around the corner.
Speaker 6 (18:00):
Well, that's where my family company is. That was either
signing documents or back in the early days, called in
the casino to pick up more stock for on the road.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Oh yeah, so you were kind of a big part
of the merchandise and everything. You designed some things. Yes,
you studied industrial design is that?
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (18:20):
But I never practiced it. I just love the course.
I'm a very hands on, practical sort of a person.
I like building stuff with my hands. And back in
the day, I designed the Dorothy the designer.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
The designer.
Speaker 6 (18:36):
I think the dinosaur hat, yeah, with the teeth and
the back shape.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Yeah, we brought it back to to come back. You're
aware of that, you might know.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I haven't seen that.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
I haven't seen the latest ones as yours. You also
made the or the zebra, is that right? Zebra? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (18:55):
Spots, so the hand puppets for that zoric and fill
the platypusey and who else was there?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
The horse or the zebra filled the platus, and it's
not the Dalmatian.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
That's some trivia.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
They're still in a box here though, your hand puppets,
we still have them. Well, well, well sewn.
Speaker 6 (19:28):
I'm quite handy with a sewing machine.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Didn't you your PA system? Didn't you build them out of?
What did you make them?
Speaker 6 (19:36):
Well? I didn't actually build them. My brother actually was
behind that with another guy who actually designed them. But
they were made out of fiberglass, white fiberglass, so the
cabinets looked like washing machines, so so they were nicknamed
washing machines? Do they sound good? Theomin cycle? How did
(20:02):
you get being shy? How did you cope with attention
and popularity that came with the Wiggles just in your
day to day life?
Speaker 4 (20:10):
How did that? How did you manage that.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
In my day to day life? Because I mean the
Wiggles were really only identifiable to young children and perhaps
the parents, but only with our coloreds. Gives on. I
tended to fly well, we all tended to fly under
the radar in our everyday lives because we weren't wearing
the colors.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, I guess it's probably a little different now too,
because of social media. We're all a bit more exposed
to day to day life, and you know, you were
being seen on TV or on stage and that was
kind of it.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Yeah, and that's why I stay away from social media.
If I can, do you surf anymore? I still surf.
I hardly have a surf in Sydney, but when I
go up to Byron Bay, I usually surf.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah. Yeah, a few years ago you had a pacemaker
put in. Yep, you were driving the car at the time.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
I was driving a vehicle and I actually fainted while
I was driving and I went into a tree, but
there was no No one was injured, myself included, and
so it was recommended by Paul paul Field at the
time to get checked out. I was somewhat reluctant to
do that because I felt okay. So as it turned out,
(21:25):
it indicated that I was having an irregular heart rhythm,
and so it was recommended that I have a pacemaker,
and so I said, yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
There a massive difference, There was a There was a
huge obviously living with something you had no idea that.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
Yeah, And and I actually was feeling quite tired all
the time running up to that.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
That's quite funny.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Isn't it Ironically, Yes, but I just put it down
to aging.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, it's you've aged well though, you really have, You
really have. Jeffy hardly changed.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
We'd go on to Jeff would go have his little bags.
He had this little routine and have his fold up bike.
He would go off and you do your thing.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
You have your own little thing going on where we're all.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Faffing around with the massive bags off busses, and I
tried to minimize my baggage.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Tell us about that quickly and physically. It's incredibly impressive.
Like we're talking, we're going away for a long time
and we've got big suitcases. You have what like a
little carry on and mainly the bike. Yeah, a fold
up bike. Slept under in terms of clothing really well.
Speaker 6 (22:42):
We used the Tour of the US quite a bit,
and so we had tour buses and but we also
had facility over there to wash clothing and stuff. So
I didn't really need to take too much stuff. Yeah,
just a week's worth of monday's.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
So you hardly ever wear your cities and so you
don't need a lot of that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
So that enabled me to travel quite lightly, but also
take my folding bike, which enabled me to get away
from the tour bus or the hotel because you know
you're stuck there.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, sometimes you live nowhere. I don't know if this
is true. You had quite a collection of hotel soaps.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
I'm still using them.
Speaker 6 (23:33):
That's a great little look are you're picking up the soaps.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
And then well now now that I will have them
on the walls.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
You know, the good times are good.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
You take a little GoPro or a little taken a
photo every single.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
I've been taking a photo every day. I may have
missed one or two days since nineteen ninety.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Far out and used to come out for the listening.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Now well, back in the day, it used to be
the old click and take it down to the shop. Yeah,
to get developed. But that was the first ten years
it was doing that, and the reliability of cameras then
was a bit if he so batteries would fail and
things were much not as developed as they are now.
I went digital in about the year two thousand. I
(24:23):
carry around a go Pro because it's so small and
easy to put in your pocket.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Do you look back on them?
Speaker 6 (24:30):
I usually have a flurry of looking back yeah, so
like for the first ten years that they're more I
get more of a nostalgia out of those because they're
the hit and miss ones. You don't know what you're
going to find when you get them developed. And because
of the early days, the formation days of the Wiggles,
(24:51):
there's a lot of key moments that were captured with.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
The documentary that came out. Did you provide photos for
the documentary with it?
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Did they ask you?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Maybe they should have because by the way, everyone, no
one's ever seen one of these photos. You've been tagging
them since nineteen ninety we have never seen with the Wiggles.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
Doco, I put them out, but not for the who
do you think you are thinking?
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Yeah, that was relevant for the Wiggles. Yeah, yeah, Should
I do it now? Yeah? Yeah, I take a photo.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
Take a photo.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Yeah, here at the pod Okay, okay, here we go.
Here's the goro.
Speaker 6 (25:33):
On switch has got a very wide lens, very wide.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Am are you there? Yeah? Yeah? I think there we go.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
There it is photo of the day with Jeffrey and
no one will ever see it and so but we've
got it.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
We've captured it. Just in case.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Your health has always been really good and you've always
looked after yourself really well and been very active in
the pacemaker. But I keep thinking, so Murray's had heart surgery,
had a kaiak caress.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
I mean, it's not looking good, is it.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
We're all getting older, isn't that? It's interesting though, isn't it. Yeah,
did you have a plan for your life? Where did
you think all those years ago the direction of life
would go. You can't have ever expected that it would
it end up in children's music and heading down this path.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Now.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
When I was at school, I didn't really have any
idea of what I wanted to do, and I started
a course in economics to be an accountant, but I
dropped out of that. I don't have the academic ability
for that sort of thing, and so I finished that,
(26:44):
and then I took up the industrial design course, which
it was more more suited to what I love doing.
I love design, I love building stuff and doing stuff
with my hands. So apart from that, I could never
see myself being in a collar and tie nine to
five type job. And I never really knew what I
(27:05):
would be doing in my life. I just tend to
like to go along with the flow of things.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, I mean I guess that openness is how you
ended up where you ended up, because you were just
willing to try something, to experience something, to give something
a go, to help someone out, to record a few songs,
do whatever, you know, just as part of life's journey.
And somehow, you know, the Wiggles came along and became
one of the biggest children's bands in the world.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
And so I have been extremely fortunate and lucky.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Yeah, and we are too, Jeff, from what you all
started all those years ago. And what I think is
interesting about this.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
We have a perception of a children entertainer being larger
than life and being loud, and you know, but the
philosophy of the Wiggles, which you embrace and embodied, is
very gentle. We speak very honestly to our audience. And
I think you well, along with Dorothy, if you want
(28:03):
to talk of popularity within the Wiggles, were probably the
most popular Wiggles and it is because of that softness,
that gentleness that children related to. And I think that's
a real testament to yourself and also to the Wiggles
as well, that we hopefully speak to children in a
language and a dialogue they understand and just be ourselves.
And because you were yourself and you are yourself is
(28:25):
why it resonated so well with the audience.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
And I think that also extends to the current Wiggles
trying to be as true to your natural personalities as possible.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
How do you feel about the Wiggles now?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
And now that you're sitting back and watching there's eight
of us now where hopefully continuing on.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
You know, your legacy, How do you feel about it now?
Speaker 6 (28:45):
I'm loving it.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
I'm not.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Val retired, building building timber ducks or something.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
What does your days clot now?
Speaker 6 (29:00):
What does jeff do well at the moment? I'm I'm
I'm fixing up furniture and stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Great.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
I enjoy cooking. I swim every day.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
He's still renovating.
Speaker 6 (29:11):
No, there's always ongoing ongoing, not renovations, but prepares things, refinements.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, I love doing that. Well, we've loved having you on.
We will talk today, Jeffy. Thank you for coming in.
It's always so good to see you, and thanks for
taking the time to chat with us today.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Well, it's not as harrowing as I thought it was
going to be very enjoyable.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Glad.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Thanks Jeffy, Thanks jeff Well, he's the original purple Man.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
He really is. He's such a lovely person.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Jeff obviously have been around Jeffrey so much and it
does kind of take me back a bit, but how
how shy he really is.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Yeah, I've often witnessed him out and people come up
and sort of talk to him, and of course he responds,
and he's generous and kind and all that, but it's
not something he ever feels comfortable with or likes to
be in the limelight or and he always much prefers
to be kind of more in the background. And he's
happy for always being happy for other people to take
(30:20):
the limelight and get the accolades, get the applause.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
He was just happy being a musician. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
What a great musician he is too. He's unbelievable. But
you would never know I'm him. But he's just such
a humble and generous person and so kind and just
you know, we don't see him enough. No, he's around
Willtown every now and then, but you know it's always
lovely when he comes from and play piano.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Please, that's right.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
A lot of people talk about his piano playing. Yeah,
still he run into he's so great yeah, well, like
world renowned is piano playing. But he would never talk
about himself like that ever or think about himself like that,
I don't think. But the impact he had, and you
know we've spoken about with the other O G Wiggles,
the impact they all had over children and families lives,
(31:08):
which still continues on today because as we know, children
grew up with the Wiggles and now bringing their children
to the shows and watching the Wiggles. So it is
really a full circle moment for them being able now
to sit back and watch and how thankful they are
that it still continues today.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
We still hear wake Up jeffs, don't we Yeah? We
did around Yeah that what's that other one? Not now?
Jan No, what's a TV? Anyway?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What I'm saying is wake Up Jeff is part of
Australian you know, saying and across the world, America, everywhere.
Speaker 4 (31:43):
I love him.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I love on tour. Sometimes when Anthony's walking.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Not happy, not happy, it's not up there with Wake
Up Jeff. I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
You know, we're walking through somewhere and they accidentally get
wrong that they think Anthony's because that's just that's how
popular that catchphrase was that Anthony's walking down the shops
or something and someone yels out, wake up.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Yeah, I know they all get wake up, jeff.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
E.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
We just got that guy. Yeah, but thank you, Jeffy. Yeah,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
I'm not sure if we've told this story in the past.
We might have done when Anthony and Jeff were helping
out of their car and they had to put money
in the meter and Jeff's last name is fat and
that you would call him fatty, and Anthony yells out
to Jeffy goes, hey, Fatty, you got nick coins, and
the lady turns around says, oh, sorry, I happened.
Speaker 7 (32:35):
That was so No, No, we weren't talking to you.
We watched Jeffrey's name's Jeff fat we call him fatty.
She answered, that's terrible, but that's thank you Jeff for
coming in. Thanks Fatty.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yes, if you grew up watching Jeff or your children
have fallen in love with the Wiggles since, we hope
today's chat gave you a new appreciation for the quiet
genius behind the purple shirt.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, and if you'd like to see more of Jeff's story,
you can watch his episode of Who Do You Think
you are. It's on SBS on demand. It's a beautiful
look at the family history that shaped him.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
If you're enjoying wiggle Talk, please rate and review the show.
It really helps other parents find us, doesn't.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
It It sure does.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Thanks for listening to wiggled Talk, a podcast for parents,
See you soon, Goodbye.
The Wiggles acknowledged the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia
and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay
our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to Wiggle Talk, a podcast for parents. I'm Simon Price.
I wear the color red, and.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I'm Locky Gillespie and I wear the color purple.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
Oh hello, Locky.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know today we're joined by someone who, well he
doesn't really need much of an introduction, the original Purple Wiggle,
known as the CEO of Snooze.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
That's right, Jeff Fat, Yes, Jeffy.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Before there was a skivy or a purple shirt or
a big red car, Jeff and Anthony were playing in
pubs together, in the Cockroaches. That was their group name,
Long Night's Loud Crowds and not a Wiggle in sight.
But then somehow that all turned into a band for
children that ended up touring the world.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Incredible story. Before he talked to Jeff, you just mentioned
that they used to play in pubs together, Anthony and
Jeff and Anthony's brother John and Paul in the Cockroaches.
Jeff is about to do a gig with Anthony's son Antonio, Yes,
and john Son, Seamous and Jeff's going to be playing
the keyboards in their gig, which I think is hysterical.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Isn't that amazing? Amazing?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So they so Johnson's son, Yeah, Antonio and Seamus and.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Jeff, they've got a good keyboard player. They really have
got a good keyboard player.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Is funny all these years later they were all in
a band together, and now he's going to play with
their sons.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Wonder if he knows the songs are going to play.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Knowing Jeff, you just have to know the key, hear
the key, you know the key, and then he just
play it. Yep, you know exactly what's going on. I mean,
they're probably playing unchained melody, so he's probably he probably
knows that. I don't have Shamus of no the words
to it. But you know, I would love.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
To be at that show, bigodes. But isn't that beautiful?
There is?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You know, that's Jeffy, always happy to help out, just
wants to play music, jump on the keys.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
I think he plays.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
He goes on cruises, doesn't he Now, Yeah, there's like
he just loves music, cruise cruises.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
They and yeah, there's all these keyboard players, and they
all talk about, you know, different chord structures and minus seventh, Yes,
I mean that that sounds like a wonderful week away.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Doesn't it? Or major seven wiggles music.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Major seventh sess where we don't go mina very often
on our audiences, not the chords or the.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Keys, no skeleton scats and G minor though.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, that's it's a lot special yep, isn't it Yep?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
That was controversial at the time using a minor.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
It was a good song. Yeah, it is a great song.
I say so myself.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, Jeff's story, everybody is one of full contradictions. He
says himself that there are two Jeff's, the quiet one
you see off stage and the one who comes alive
under the lights.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And while he might have been the shy wiggle, he
was also one of the most recognizable faces in children's
entertainment in the nineteen nineties. That was a time where
you didn't see many Asian Australians on screen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
But Jeff has never set out to be a symbol
of anything. He just wanted to do what he loved
and that was making music with his mates. So today
we're talking about the early days, the two sides of Jeff,
a few funny stories from the road, and what it's
like to look back on three decades of the Wiggles Magic.
Let's talk to Jeffy Simon.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
You. We better wake you up first. Welcome to Wiggle Talk. Jeff,
Wake up, Jeff, you're missing all the fun. Now wake up, Jeff.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Before that day through, can you keep that noise down.
I'm trying to sleep well.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
This is an exciting moment. Please welcome to wiggle Talk.
Everybody listening, Jeff Wiggle, Hello, Jeffy, Hello, the last of
the Ogs. Yeah, you've been asked for a lot really
what Yeah, people want, people want to hear from you.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
Yeah, I don't like to say much.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
We know that, so better so we'll do a lot
of talking on this podcast.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Jeffy welcome. It's lovely to see you. It's always lovely
to see you in Wiggletown. And I want to start
with asking you about this. You've said before that there's
two Jeffs. Yes, there is Jeffy you and then there
is stage Jeffy, which is larger than life, loud, colorful,
which is the opposite to who you really are. So
how did you reconcile with the two parts of yourself
(04:35):
throughout your wiggle life.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
Yes, the two jeffs my normal Jeff Yes is sort
of sort of now, although I am slightly larger yes
in life than I normally am.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yes.
Speaker 6 (04:49):
Doing an interview, Yes, but the other Jeff doesn't like
to be on camera Jeff. And but to reconcile that,
it's interesting. I guess I given the wake up Jeff
Mantle was a way of concealing the real Jeff. So
I actually had a role that I could play without
having to show too much of my real self.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Was it kind of Anto that picked up on that?
Is that? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
And did you talk about that at the time really
early on, like, look, I'm not that comfortable, yes, Or
did he just go, hey, come on, I've got something.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
Well, well, he Anto is really good in being able
to get the best out of people, so I'm sure
that he was aware of that, and it's just his
ability to be able to put together a show and
get the best out of people. So, I mean, originally
I think it was wake up Anto. Did you drive
(05:42):
a big red car? Initially I did, I was the
original big red cards drive.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And then I had heard that story that once they
changed it to wake Up Jeff, they realized it wasn't
a good idea. Not a guy who falls asleep randomly
to be the one guy.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
I'm not a very good example.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
That's probably class these days. That's bad modeling. Yes, it
is modeling behavior. Yeah, but that would be Jeff.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
No, never, never anyway that the role of the wake
up was. I embraced it.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Of course.
Speaker 6 (06:12):
I loved it. And I could just close my eyes
and basically tune out. Yeah, and without having to reveal myself.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
But also one of the most popular moments as well
for an audience.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Yes, it was because it is such an empowering thing
for young children to be able to have over a
grown up.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, that's right. Now, going back, you were in rock
bands in the early days, many, Yes, many. So you're
in Abound the Cockroaches with Anthony and his brothers John
and Paul. Yes, how did you meet up? How did
all that come about? Okay, so, because Anthony was quite
young then, yes, he.
Speaker 6 (06:49):
Was still at school, yeah, as were the other Field boys.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:55):
Okay, So around about the year nineteen eighty, I was
playing in a rockabilly band called the Roadmasters, and we
would play pretty well every week. This whole venue call
the Strawbery Hills Hotel and also the Oxford Hotel in
Oxford Street. Anyway, the boys used to get out of
(07:15):
boarding school on the weekends to go and see bands.
And it happened on this particular weekend that I was
confronted by Anthony with a cassette tape. Now this was
a bit later he actually I met Anthony, and then
two weeks after he came along with cassette recorder to
(07:36):
interview me.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
So wow, as it just as a musician.
Speaker 6 (07:42):
Yeah, I mean, Anthony loved music, so he wanted to
know a bit more. I guess he was somewhat intrigued
by the fact that there were two Chinese guys in
a rockabilly band with myself and my brother.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
My brother was on.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
Bas and I was playing keyboards. Wow, that was the
That was the fascination that Anthony had. But Anthony always
loved music, any form of music.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Soon, yeah, and so that's how you first met. And
then so how did the Cockroaches come about from that
first meeting?
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Okay, so how I ended up in the Cockroaches was
at the time I was also hiring aut PA systems
for bands in the city bands mainly, and then the
Cockroaches were playing gigs themselves and they needed a PA system,
so they came along to see me. And so this
was on a few occasions, and then there was another
(08:32):
occasion where they they needed me to take the PA
up to Newcastle for a gig and I was somewhat
a bit reluctant because of the distance, and I said, look,
I'll do it if I can play keyboards.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Yes, make it worth the trip exactly. Wow.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
So yeah, I didn't want to be waiting around for
a PA, and so you played that night I did
in Newcastle obviously went well.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Then well, I.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Guess they needed a p a rather first keyboard player.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
So going back a bit, did you have a name
for yourself back in that band for him to come
and want to talk to you.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
It was a very select audience, I mean music in
the punk era.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Soa when did you start playing piano?
Speaker 6 (09:34):
I started learning grade piano at the age of about
six r and then I discontinued at about grade three
because I cannot read music for the life of me.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
And then you just learned by listening to well after.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
That yeah, more are you?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
You're an incredible keyboard player. What did John Field call
you the zombie with.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Because I'm so laid back and chill. The real Jeff
is laid back and chill.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Well let's talk about that for a seconds.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So that's a difference in between performing for adults as
a keyboard player and then ending up in this world
performing for children where you probably could no longer be
a zombie with fingers. You had to have a different personality.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
You had to engage the children more. Yeah, so I
had to be a bit more larger than life.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And so did they then sort of guide you and
teach you along the way of okay, don't phrase that
the dialogue you would use for children and and talking
to the audience.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Yes, there was a lot of that in actually speaking
to young children. So it was quite a learning process
over ten years before. Exactly there's always fullback.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Did you pull that one doing an interview and it
got too tricky? You just.
Speaker 6 (10:58):
I mean, actually you can go back to the the
countdown days. I actually drew on that character. Then Anthony
and myself were doing a thing to camera. I think
it was an introduction or something, but I was asleep
at the time, and he wake me up to start
doing the introductions.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
And now here's Tony and jeff cockroach, Jeffrey, wake up,
wake up, Jeffy. Hey, yeah, Seana lag did you like it?
I liked it?
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Gee. It really has has its history there.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Do you remember the first kind of Wiggles moment you had?
Speaker 6 (11:37):
The first major Wiggles moment I had would have been
a preschool that we did, my very first shows. I
don't recall too much about those, but the first traumatic
moment would have been I think we were doing our
first public performance at Westfield in Chatswood, and I was like.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah, did you always get nervous? Even you know you
did it for twenty years? Was there always a sense
of anxiety that came with it?
Speaker 6 (12:08):
Not after a few years you settled in. Yeah, my
first experience in playing in a band, all that sort
of stuff stuff, Yeah, you feel a bit anxious.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
That reminds me of you lucky early days, Like it
would be backstage waiting to go on and be practicing.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Hi, I'm lucky. Hi, I'm lucky. There was a few nerves.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
There's a few, there's there's two Lockyes, I totally understand that.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Yeah, there are similarities between the not as good a
piano player.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
But that's why no way you are, you are.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Not at all.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
I can't read for nuts.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
That's you can play amazingly. And there is such a sound,
isn't there to that original wiggles? Yeah, you guys had
such an amazing thing.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
We're trying to be as poppy as as we can using.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
What what fingers you have?
Speaker 7 (13:02):
What?
Speaker 6 (13:03):
Yeah? I mean they're very simple but hopefully catchy licks
that I would improvise on.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
So yeah, but there's something quite complex in simplicity, isn't there.
It's easy, it's easy to feel it's.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
So difficult to make something which seems simple.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
You know, we still talk about when you start, and
he still gets brought up in interviews about you know
you asking Anthony how long will it take? But what
what did it feel like? Obviously weren't aware back when
Anthony asked you to come and was it the first
album to come and record?
Speaker 6 (13:36):
He wanted me to come down to the studio to
play on the children's songs that they'd written. That's right, Yeah,
And I still lasked him how long that was going
to take?
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Yes, thirty four years.
Speaker 6 (13:48):
I'm going. I wanted to get back to my house
renovations at the time.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, you're famous for your house renovations. Yeah, they take
thirty four Is that true? You lived out of one
room basically for quite a while while you're renovating.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
I had this old weatherboard house and I had the
whole side of the house off with a tarp hole
and over.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
It, and I was sleeping in the room that was off.
And that's when the Wiggles were at their height.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
Yes, yes, I was having cassettes and CDs delivered to
my porch when I was away. They would leave it
in a box on the porch some of the days
when you could.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yeah. Now, being Chinese Australian, did that ever come into play?
Did you recognize that as part of the group, part
of the Wiggles, that that had any impact with an
audience as you know now, where it castivate Wiggles to
reflect the world that we live in to you know,
(14:54):
and to be more relatable to our audience.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Did you ever think about that.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Look at the time, I never crossed my mind at all.
But in hindsight you can only analyze what has gone on,
and it really shows the impact that being Chinese Australian.
The impact that that has had on our audience, particularly
for the Asian community, whenever they would see like an
(15:18):
Asian person on screen, they could relate to that and
it made them feel important.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
And would you have people coming up to you and
talking to you about that? Quite a lot more the
relatives than anything else. We were saying this where everyone
around the world, a relative would turn up yep at
a venue and say I'm a relative of jeffs.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Everywhere.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
When we went from four Whiggles to eight Wiggles and
we went through the diversity and everything we're trying to achieve,
and I was doing an interview and they were talking
about this is a big move for the Wiggles. You're
diverse and woke and all those kind of terms have
been thrown around, and I said, hang on a second.
Whiggles had Jeff for twenty years. And the interview was like, oh, oh,
that's right, I think because the Wiggles were just the Wiggles. Yeah,
(16:08):
it was really interesting. He had to kind of take
it all back and go, oh, yeah, actually, the Wiggles
have always been It's just that it was never signposted,
or wasn't you know, it was just.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
It's just a very gradual thing that became more popular. Yeah,
it's just the we became part of the furniture.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You did the show Who do you Think You Are? Yep,
Now that goes back into your family's history. Yeah, that's
what the mean that the premise behind the show. How
was that experience?
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Initially when I was asked to do it, I was
in two minds as to whether or not to do it,
because that's I would have had to what I thought
was reveal the real Jeff. Yeah, so there was no
care the play. But I think the fact that it
was the carrot of being able to find out my
(17:06):
roots that really took me along there. So I rolled
the dice and you did it absolutely absolutely? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
What did you find out about your family? They didn't
know about.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
I sort of had an inkling that my great great
grandmother was from the UK or somewhere in that area.
But it's the detail that they are able to find
or to discover, to be able to confirm that was
great for me. Plus the other things with my grandmother
where she came from. There were lots of lots of
(17:40):
areas that were really I loved finding.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Out about it.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You from casino, yep. And I remember when we would
tour together in the past. Somehow we were always having
to go via casino, so you could sign some documents
just around the corner.
Speaker 6 (18:00):
Well, that's where my family company is. That was either
signing documents or back in the early days, called in
the casino to pick up more stock for on the road.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Oh yeah, so you were kind of a big part
of the merchandise and everything. You designed some things. Yes,
you studied industrial design is that?
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (18:20):
But I never practiced it. I just love the course.
I'm a very hands on, practical sort of a person.
I like building stuff with my hands. And back in
the day, I designed the Dorothy the designer.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
The designer.
Speaker 6 (18:36):
I think the dinosaur hat, yeah, with the teeth and
the back shape.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Yeah, we brought it back to to come back. You're
aware of that, you might know.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I haven't seen that.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
I haven't seen the latest ones as yours. You also
made the or the zebra, is that right? Zebra? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (18:55):
Spots, so the hand puppets for that zoric and fill
the platypusey and who else was there?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
The horse or the zebra filled the platus, and it's
not the Dalmatian.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
That's some trivia.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
They're still in a box here though, your hand puppets,
we still have them. Well, well, well sewn.
Speaker 6 (19:28):
I'm quite handy with a sewing machine.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Didn't you your PA system? Didn't you build them out of?
What did you make them?
Speaker 6 (19:36):
Well? I didn't actually build them. My brother actually was
behind that with another guy who actually designed them. But
they were made out of fiberglass, white fiberglass, so the
cabinets looked like washing machines, so so they were nicknamed
washing machines? Do they sound good? Theomin cycle? How did
(20:02):
you get being shy? How did you cope with attention
and popularity that came with the Wiggles just in your
day to day life?
Speaker 4 (20:10):
How did that? How did you manage that.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
In my day to day life? Because I mean the
Wiggles were really only identifiable to young children and perhaps
the parents, but only with our coloreds. Gives on. I
tended to fly well, we all tended to fly under
the radar in our everyday lives because we weren't wearing
the colors.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, I guess it's probably a little different now too,
because of social media. We're all a bit more exposed
to day to day life, and you know, you were
being seen on TV or on stage and that was
kind of it.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Yeah, and that's why I stay away from social media.
If I can, do you surf anymore? I still surf.
I hardly have a surf in Sydney, but when I
go up to Byron Bay, I usually surf.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah. Yeah, a few years ago you had a pacemaker
put in. Yep, you were driving the car at the time.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
I was driving a vehicle and I actually fainted while
I was driving and I went into a tree, but
there was no No one was injured, myself included, and
so it was recommended by Paul paul Field at the
time to get checked out. I was somewhat reluctant to
do that because I felt okay. So as it turned out,
(21:25):
it indicated that I was having an irregular heart rhythm,
and so it was recommended that I have a pacemaker,
and so I said, yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
There a massive difference, There was a There was a
huge obviously living with something you had no idea that.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
Yeah, And and I actually was feeling quite tired all
the time running up to that.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
That's quite funny.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Isn't it Ironically, Yes, but I just put it down
to aging.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, it's you've aged well though, you really have, You
really have. Jeffy hardly changed.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
We'd go on to Jeff would go have his little bags.
He had this little routine and have his fold up bike.
He would go off and you do your thing.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
You have your own little thing going on where we're all.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Faffing around with the massive bags off busses, and I
tried to minimize my baggage.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Tell us about that quickly and physically. It's incredibly impressive.
Like we're talking, we're going away for a long time
and we've got big suitcases. You have what like a
little carry on and mainly the bike. Yeah, a fold
up bike. Slept under in terms of clothing really well.
Speaker 6 (22:42):
We used the Tour of the US quite a bit,
and so we had tour buses and but we also
had facility over there to wash clothing and stuff. So
I didn't really need to take too much stuff. Yeah,
just a week's worth of monday's.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:01):
So you hardly ever wear your cities and so you
don't need a lot of that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
So that enabled me to travel quite lightly, but also
take my folding bike, which enabled me to get away
from the tour bus or the hotel because you know
you're stuck there.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, sometimes you live nowhere. I don't know if this
is true. You had quite a collection of hotel soaps.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
I'm still using them.
Speaker 6 (23:33):
That's a great little look are you're picking up the soaps.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
And then well now now that I will have them
on the walls.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
You know, the good times are good.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
You take a little GoPro or a little taken a
photo every single.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
I've been taking a photo every day. I may have
missed one or two days since nineteen ninety.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Far out and used to come out for the listening.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Now well, back in the day, it used to be
the old click and take it down to the shop. Yeah,
to get developed. But that was the first ten years
it was doing that, and the reliability of cameras then
was a bit if he so batteries would fail and
things were much not as developed as they are now.
I went digital in about the year two thousand. I
(24:23):
carry around a go Pro because it's so small and
easy to put in your pocket.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Do you look back on them?
Speaker 6 (24:30):
I usually have a flurry of looking back yeah, so
like for the first ten years that they're more I
get more of a nostalgia out of those because they're
the hit and miss ones. You don't know what you're
going to find when you get them developed. And because
of the early days, the formation days of the Wiggles,
(24:51):
there's a lot of key moments that were captured with.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
The documentary that came out. Did you provide photos for
the documentary with it?
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Did they ask you?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Maybe they should have because by the way, everyone, no
one's ever seen one of these photos. You've been tagging
them since nineteen ninety we have never seen with the Wiggles.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
Doco, I put them out, but not for the who
do you think you are thinking?
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Yeah, that was relevant for the Wiggles. Yeah, yeah, Should
I do it now? Yeah? Yeah, I take a photo.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
Take a photo.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Yeah, here at the pod Okay, okay, here we go.
Here's the goro.
Speaker 6 (25:33):
On switch has got a very wide lens, very wide.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Am are you there? Yeah? Yeah? I think there we go.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
There it is photo of the day with Jeffrey and
no one will ever see it and so but we've
got it.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
We've captured it. Just in case.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Your health has always been really good and you've always
looked after yourself really well and been very active in
the pacemaker. But I keep thinking, so Murray's had heart surgery,
had a kaiak caress.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
I mean, it's not looking good, is it.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
We're all getting older, isn't that? It's interesting though, isn't it. Yeah,
did you have a plan for your life? Where did
you think all those years ago the direction of life
would go. You can't have ever expected that it would
it end up in children's music and heading down this path.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Now.
Speaker 6 (26:23):
When I was at school, I didn't really have any
idea of what I wanted to do, and I started
a course in economics to be an accountant, but I
dropped out of that. I don't have the academic ability
for that sort of thing, and so I finished that,
(26:44):
and then I took up the industrial design course, which
it was more more suited to what I love doing.
I love design, I love building stuff and doing stuff
with my hands. So apart from that, I could never
see myself being in a collar and tie nine to
five type job. And I never really knew what I
(27:05):
would be doing in my life. I just tend to
like to go along with the flow of things.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, I mean I guess that openness is how you
ended up where you ended up, because you were just
willing to try something, to experience something, to give something
a go, to help someone out, to record a few songs,
do whatever, you know, just as part of life's journey.
And somehow, you know, the Wiggles came along and became
one of the biggest children's bands in the world.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
And so I have been extremely fortunate and lucky.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Yeah, and we are too, Jeff, from what you all
started all those years ago. And what I think is
interesting about this.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
We have a perception of a children entertainer being larger
than life and being loud, and you know, but the
philosophy of the Wiggles, which you embrace and embodied, is
very gentle. We speak very honestly to our audience. And
I think you well, along with Dorothy, if you want
(28:03):
to talk of popularity within the Wiggles, were probably the
most popular Wiggles and it is because of that softness,
that gentleness that children related to. And I think that's
a real testament to yourself and also to the Wiggles
as well, that we hopefully speak to children in a
language and a dialogue they understand and just be ourselves.
And because you were yourself and you are yourself is
(28:25):
why it resonated so well with the audience.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
And I think that also extends to the current Wiggles
trying to be as true to your natural personalities as possible.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
How do you feel about the Wiggles now?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
And now that you're sitting back and watching there's eight
of us now where hopefully continuing on.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
You know, your legacy, How do you feel about it now?
Speaker 6 (28:45):
I'm loving it.
Speaker 4 (28:48):
I'm not.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Val retired, building building timber ducks or something.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
What does your days clot now?
Speaker 6 (29:00):
What does jeff do well at the moment? I'm I'm
I'm fixing up furniture and stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Great.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
I enjoy cooking. I swim every day.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
He's still renovating.
Speaker 6 (29:11):
No, there's always ongoing ongoing, not renovations, but prepares things, refinements.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, I love doing that. Well, we've loved having you on.
We will talk today, Jeffy. Thank you for coming in.
It's always so good to see you, and thanks for
taking the time to chat with us today.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Well, it's not as harrowing as I thought it was
going to be very enjoyable.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Glad.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Thanks Jeffy, Thanks jeff Well, he's the original purple Man.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
He really is. He's such a lovely person.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Jeff obviously have been around Jeffrey so much and it
does kind of take me back a bit, but how
how shy he really is.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Yeah, I've often witnessed him out and people come up
and sort of talk to him, and of course he responds,
and he's generous and kind and all that, but it's
not something he ever feels comfortable with or likes to
be in the limelight or and he always much prefers
to be kind of more in the background. And he's
happy for always being happy for other people to take
(30:20):
the limelight and get the accolades, get the applause.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
He was just happy being a musician. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
What a great musician he is too. He's unbelievable. But
you would never know I'm him. But he's just such
a humble and generous person and so kind and just
you know, we don't see him enough. No, he's around
Willtown every now and then, but you know it's always
lovely when he comes from and play piano.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Please, that's right.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
A lot of people talk about his piano playing. Yeah,
still he run into he's so great yeah, well, like
world renowned is piano playing. But he would never talk
about himself like that ever or think about himself like that,
I don't think. But the impact he had, and you
know we've spoken about with the other O G Wiggles,
the impact they all had over children and families lives,
(31:08):
which still continues on today because as we know, children
grew up with the Wiggles and now bringing their children
to the shows and watching the Wiggles. So it is
really a full circle moment for them being able now
to sit back and watch and how thankful they are
that it still continues today.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
We still hear wake Up jeffs, don't we Yeah? We
did around Yeah that what's that other one? Not now?
Jan No, what's a TV? Anyway?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What I'm saying is wake Up Jeff is part of
Australian you know, saying and across the world, America, everywhere.
Speaker 4 (31:43):
I love him.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I love on tour. Sometimes when Anthony's walking.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Not happy, not happy, it's not up there with Wake
Up Jeff. I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
You know, we're walking through somewhere and they accidentally get
wrong that they think Anthony's because that's just that's how
popular that catchphrase was that Anthony's walking down the shops
or something and someone yels out, wake up.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Yeah, I know they all get wake up, jeff.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
E.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
We just got that guy. Yeah, but thank you, Jeffy. Yeah,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
I'm not sure if we've told this story in the past.
We might have done when Anthony and Jeff were helping
out of their car and they had to put money
in the meter and Jeff's last name is fat and
that you would call him fatty, and Anthony yells out
to Jeffy goes, hey, Fatty, you got nick coins, and
the lady turns around says, oh, sorry, I happened.
Speaker 7 (32:35):
That was so No, No, we weren't talking to you.
We watched Jeffrey's name's Jeff fat we call him fatty.
She answered, that's terrible, but that's thank you Jeff for
coming in. Thanks Fatty.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yes, if you grew up watching Jeff or your children
have fallen in love with the Wiggles since, we hope
today's chat gave you a new appreciation for the quiet
genius behind the purple shirt.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, and if you'd like to see more of Jeff's story,
you can watch his episode of Who Do You Think
you are. It's on SBS on demand. It's a beautiful
look at the family history that shaped him.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
If you're enjoying wiggle Talk, please rate and review the show.
It really helps other parents find us, doesn't.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
It It sure does.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Thanks for listening to wiggled Talk, a podcast for parents,
See you soon, Goodbye.
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