With The Wiggles’ Tree of Wisdom going viral on social media (you’ve never seen a tree dance so hard) the only other person to steal the show at this Saturday’s Canberra concert will be the “OG” yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, who’s making a one-off cameo.
For those not wise to the Tree of Wisdom, he’s Dominic Field disguised in a cheap wig and leaves held on by a thread. He’ll soon be flailing his limbs at AIS Arena better than break-dancer Raygun, uprooting and upstaging those around him, including his uncle, original Blue Wiggle Anthony Field.
Never mind the big red car, it’s probably red cordial that’s driving this G-rated foliage frenzy. With such worldwide hysteria over The Wiggles’ trending tree, it’s hard to imagine that in 1996, Charles Conder Primary School hosted four guys in skivvies for a concert for just a few bucks a pop.
At that 1996 show was a kindergarten student, Kahri D’Este, who’s now 33, and this Saturday she’s taking her three daughters to the 4pm Wiggles concert.
“I have a vague memory of going when I was five and they just did it in the hall, we were all sitting on the floor, there were no chairs or anything fancy,” Kahri said. “I’m still a fan, so I’m very happy to watch it again with the kids. I’ve watched all the different iterations.”
Canberra is the only show on the Australian tour to have a cameo by “OG” yellow Wiggle Greg Page. Gen Y is going to go nuts.
Times have changed since the original Wiggles started 30 years ago. For one, there was no merchandise. When Kahri was in kindy she’d just dress up in Wiggles’ colours. Fast forward to 2024, Kahri has too many Emma dresses (former yellow Wiggle) because her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, is obsessed.
“This will be Charlotte’s fourth concert. She’s only six but she’s already been to four Wiggles concerts,” Kahri said.
The first two shows at AIS Arena sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert, so an extra show was hastily added. En route to Canberra is a “big red truck” with massive inflatable sets, props and sound equipment – a far cry from their do-it-yourself sets in the mid-’90s.
Raelene Stanley from Kaleen took her children to a Wiggles show at Albert Hall in 1995. Twenty-nine years later she’s taking her grandkids to AIS Arena.
“They had cardboard cut-outs of the big red car and there were just four of them, so they had to go offstage for costume changes to be Captain Feathersword,” Raelene said.
Jenny Cannell from Googong remembers buying a ticket at Erindale Vikings Club for $8.
“My eldest daughter was about two years old (she’s now 28) and I remember sitting on the floor up the back with the parents, it wasn’t even seated, it was just a room with a small stage and the kids would be dancing up the front,” Jenny said.
AIS Arena has a capacity of 4,200 and today, The Wiggles have an estimated net worth of $50 million. After Canberra, they’re preparing for a world tour in 2025.
I’m old enough to remember when the blue Wiggle and yellow Wiggle played in ‘80s band, The Cockroaches. I saw a free show at Queanbeyan Park (one of their songs was Mr Wiggle’s Back in Town, hence their later incarnation).
I recently caught up with the current purple Wiggle, John Pearce, who was preparing to drive down to Canberra for the concert (he’s driving himself because he’s “on call” for the imminent arrival of his first child).
Given the media frenzy over the dancing Tree of Wisdom I had to ask, “what does he drink?”
“I think he just drinks water, he’s a tree,” John said. “He has such a good energy. When you see him dance, it’s exactly his personality. He’s great, we love him.”
John grew up watching The Wiggles on telly and he said it was a “real cool, full-circle moment now that I can call myself a Wiggle”.
“It’s surreal. I still feel like I’m dressing up because my originals were Greg, Anthony, Murray and Jeff,” he said. “So, I guess I can have that impact for the next generation. They’ll remember me from their childhood.”
And the crazed dancing Tree of Wisdom.
