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Wiggle Anthony Field started out as a rocker

By Mary Meehan mmeehan1@herald-leader.com

It's fun to make a Wiggle giggle.

Confronted with the information that, according to the group's publicist, he was the "hot" Wiggle, Anthony Field began to laugh. A low rolling giggle.

"Well it's not like I wear a T-shirt or anything" proclaiming it, said the blue Wiggle in his Aussie accent. "I don't want to make the other guys feel bad."

He claims he has never noticed that he makes moms go weak in the knees. "It must be very subtle," he said. "I try to concentrate on the children."

And children love all of The Wiggles. For those out of the know, The Wiggles is a collection of four Australian men who, for 18 years, have delighted pre-school audiences with catchy tunes and colorful outfits. The group tours the United States three times a year, selling out every time. According to Australia's Business Review Weekly, the group is the top earner in the entertainment field Down Under.

It might have been hard to envision all those years ago when they met in college. For his part, Field was part of a rock band called The Cockroaches. "It was a good way to spend my 20s," he said. "We were six guys in one van, starting to work at 11 o'clock at night and sometimes drinking alcohol on stage."

That is light-years away from the Wiggle that Fields has become. Each group member has an alter ego, and Field, as the blue Wiggle, is all about health.

Because he and the other Wiggles are on the road a lot, they spend a lot of time together. "We've learned to live in each other's pockets," he said. "You've got to learn to accommodate everyone's differences."

So, what's the secret to making music that appeals to kids yet is palatable to adults?

"You should just make good music and make the subject matter appropriate for children. It's like a good book for children. We want to be able to listen to it over and over again. We do try to keep it real and keep the music nice and easy to listen," he said.

Whatever it is, it seems to be working. There is a Wiggle World theme park in Australia and a Wiggle Bay water park. Wiggle Play Centers are opening in U.S. cities, and the band has created surrogate groups in Taiwan and in South America.

That doesn't mean The Wiggles rule everywhere. Field said his own two young children "prefer Dorothy Dinosaur or Dora the Explorer."