One day, Anthony had the idea to record an album of children's music, so the four guys, and a man called Phillip Wilcher, recorded and released the album in 1991.
Phillip Wilcher was employed by Macquarie University as an assistant to the Early Childhood Music program in which Field had enrolled as a student. Wilcher had previously been employed as Assistant Editor for the Classical/Educational Division of the Sydney based music publishing house of J Albert and Sons Pty Ltd as well as having worked for the ABC. Field first approached Wilcher requesting he write for the debut abum. Wilcher also contributed the most financially to the project. The album as to afford the Wiggles a contract ith the ABC for to further recordings but Wilcher soon found himself dumped by Field after the debut album appeared.
Wilcher states he had a verbal agreement to write for subsequent albums and whilst a document was drawn up for Phillip Wilcher agreeing that he would just stay behind the scenes as a writer and not be classified as a performer it was never officially acted upon. Wilcher did however appear in the film clip for Dorothy the Dinsosaur at the request of Anthony Field some months after initially leaving the group as a performer. According to Greg Page's autobiogrpahy, it would seem none of the other members of the group knew he had been asked back to be in the clip. In May 1992 went to the US to perform at celebrations honouring the legendary showman/pianist Liberace, whose family and friends Wilcher knew well, and when he came back to Australia he could not get in any contact with Anthony Field or any other of The Wiggles. Eventually, he was told that the album was recorded without him and he was no longer needed. Wilcher was in the States no longer than three weeks. Greg Page states in his book "Now and Then" that they had a three week deadline by which to record the second album "Here Comes A Song" , a deadline Wilcher was apparently unaware of and one which coincides with the exact dates he was performing in the States.Although he had already written nearly the whole album by himself, he later released a children's album of sheet music independently involving those songs which has received favourbale critical acclaim from several early childhood music experts.
The Wiggles' first character was Mischief the Monkey which was based on one of Wilcher's songs on the debut album, but he soon got cancelled out of the show. They have involved other characters into their shows such as Captain Feathersword, Dorothy The Dinosaur, Henry The Octopus and Wags The Dog. There have been other minor characters such as Zardo Zap, Officer Beaples and Professor Singalotta Songa. The Wiggles have a group of backup dancers called The Wiggly Dancers which have changed throughout the past 10 years. They tour with them and appear on the CD's, DVDs and television programs.
Two interesing articles have appeared in recent years about Wilcher's involvement with the Wiggles : "A Life Less Wiggly" by Steve Dow and "Becoming A Top Pre School Band was No Child's Play For Wiggles" by journalist Nick March writing for Abu Dhabi's The National.
The Wiggles have released close to fifty albums and video's and toured relentlessly, not just in Australia, but in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and many other places. They have one numerous amounts of awards and have been named the most successful children's act of all time.
The original five members of the group, before they wore colored skivvies.
The Wiggles once Phillip left. This is the era many people think about when The Wiggles are mentioned, as it lasted the longest (so far), and is when most of what we know about them today came about (outfits, logo, characters, etc.)
The group as it was when Greg retired from the band so he could recover from Orthostatic Intolerance.
This is the current Wiggles generation, after Murray, Jeff, and Greg all left.
The first Wiggles logo was just "The Wiggles" typed out in a specific font, and it was used from their first album until late 1996. By this time, the logo was redesigned with wiggly letters out of colours and with a yellow background (pictured), which is still used today.
The word 'The' is colored red, the 'i' 's tittle (dot above lowercase letter) is green, the 'L' is purple and leaving the other letters blue. However, in Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas the I is purple on the title screen.
In 1991, Wilcher worked with the early childhood music program at Macquarie University. Anton Field, a childhood development student, approached him about a music group Field was contemplating. Wilcher joined Greg Page, Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook, and Field from its earliest days through the production of the CD The Wiggles. Wilcher claims to have "contributed the most musically to the debut album."
In 1992, Wilcher travelled to the United States. When he returned he was informed that the group did not need him, and that a second album had been taped while he was overseas. Wilcher says he has no idea as to why he was kicked out of the group. The Wiggles, however, dispute this account. Dianna O'Neill, the group's spokeswoman, states that Wilcher wrote a letter of resignation. "There is no story. There was no fight, no fallout. Wilcher was just not so much into children's music, he was more into classical music."
Over the years, Wilcher's involvement with the group has been essentially deleted. The debut CD has been re-recorded, renamed Wiggle Time and re-released with all of Wilcher's contributions canceled. Wilcher indicates that he was too "reclusive" to be a Wiggle.
In 1996, The Wiggles did a pilot for ABC but was rejected due to artistic differences. The Wiggles did their own TV Series in 1997, and Channel Seven bought it a year later. Disney Channel bought their second series in 1999. In 2001, The Wiggles and ABC talked about a third series, which was filmed a year later. ABC is now the official channel for The Wiggles' TV Series. They air in other countries like Hulu in America, Treehouse in Canada, ect. Most series have 26 episodes (13 for Series 1), and last 22 minutes. A few series have 52 episodes (54 for Series 3) and last 11 minutes.
The Wiggles at ABC for Kids show
The Wiggles at Sydney radio station
The Wiggles peforming "Okki Tokki Unga" at the Sydney Opera House in 1991
The Wiggles in 1992 with colored shirts
The Wiggles on Play School
The Wiggles in ABC For Kids concert
The Wiggles in "Let's Wiggle" book
The Wiggles in "Wiggle Time" (1993)
The Wiggles on Uncle Noah's Ark
The Wiggles in "Yummy Yummy" (1994)
The Wiggles in pilot episode (1994)
The Wiggles in "Big Red Car" (1995)
The Wiggles, Dorothy and Wags
The Wiggles, Dorothy and Henry
The Wiggles, Henry and Wags
The Wiggles, Captain and Henry
The Wiggles in "Big Red Car" epilogue
The Wiggles in UNICEF Christmas commercial
The Wiggles in "Big Red Car" end credits (1995)
The Wiggles on January 28, 1996
The Wiggles in "Wake Up Jeff!" original version
The Wiggles in "Wake Up Jeff!" (1996)
The Wiggles, Captain and Dorothy
The Wiggles in Wags' perspective
The Wiggles, Wags and Captain
The Wiggles in "Wake Up Jeff!" epilogue
The Wiggles at Broken Hill
The Wiggles on "Saturday Disney"
The Wiggles at Hawthorn town hall
The Wiggles at the APRA music ceremony
The Wiggles on "Carols in the Domain"
The Wiggles in "Wiggledance!" (1997)
The Wiggles and the audience
The Wiggles in their new logo skivvies.
The Wiggles in Australia's Wonderland concert
The Wiggles in "Wiggledance!" promo picture
The Wiggles in "Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas" prologue
The Wiggles in "Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas" (1997)
The Wiggles at Manly Beach
The Wiggles at their movie premiere
The Wiggles at their movie premiere announcment
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Movie"
The Wiggles at Wags' World
The Wiggles in Wiggletown
The Wiggles in Brrrrrr Street
The Wiggles at Wigglehouse
The Wiggles in the wrong shirts
The Wiggles in "Yummy Yummy" 1998
The Wiggles in "Yummy Yummy" 1998 epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wiggle Time" 1998
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Big Show"
The Wiggles and company at the Album Award Presentation.
The Wiggles in New Zealand
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Hit the Big Time" interview
The Wiggles at Twinkle Toes
The Wiggles on March 31, 1998
The Wiggles and their mums
The Wiggles and their mums
The Wiggles on "Recovery"
The Wiggles and Spearhead
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Movie" prologue
The Wiggles on "Hey Hey It's Saturday"
The Wiggles and Daryl Somers
The Wiggles and Plucka Duck
The Wiggles on Seven Network
The Wiggles in "Dorothy's Bucket and Spade Chase"
The Wiggles in the Tennis Ball Chase
The Wiggles in "Anthony's Friend"
The Wiggles in "Murray's Shirt"
The Wiggles in "Jeff The Mechanic"
The Wiggles in "Zardo Zap (episode)"
The Wiggles in "The Party"
The Wiggles in "Wiggle Opera"
The Wiggles in "Muscleman Murray"
The Wiggles in "Spooked Wiggles"
The Wiggles in "Funny Greg"
The Wiggles in "Toot Toot!"
The Wiggles at Australia's Wonderland
The Wiggles at 1998 awards show
The Wiggles in CGI in A Day With The Wiggles
The Wiggles in Disney Channel hats
The Wiggles at Sydney airport
The Wiggles at Disneyland
The Wiggles on Main Street, USA
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Live at Disneyland"
The Wiggles at Sleeping Beauty's Castle
The Wiggles in Mickey's Toontown
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Live at Disneyland" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wiggles World" TV Series
The Wiggles in TV Series 2 epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wiggle Food"
The Wiggles in "Counting and Numbers"
The Wiggles in "Dressing Up"
The Wiggles in "Your Body"
The Wiggles in "Storytelling"
The Wiggles in "Friends" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Multicultural"
The Wiggles in "Music and Musical Instruments"
The Wiggles in "Hygiene" epilogue
The Wiggles in "The Wiggly Big Show" prologue
The Wiggles in "The Wiggly Big Show"
The Wiggles in "The Wiggly Big Show" end credits
The Wiggles on "Hey, Hey It's Saturday" (1999)
The Wiggles in "Movement"
The Wiggles in "Nutrition"
The Wiggles in "Directions"
The Wiggles in Lost Street
The Wiggles in "The Body"
The Wiggles in "Imagination"
The Wiggles in "Cows and Ducks"
The Wiggles in "It's a Wiggly, Wiggly World"
The Wiggles crossing Abbey Road
The Wiggles on "The Today Show"
The Wiggles in "Anthony Loves His Food" electronic storybook
The Wiggles at David Jones
The Wiggles National Federation Day parade
The Wiggles 10th birthday
The Wiggles in "Hoop-Dee-Doo! It's a Wiggly Party!"
The Wiggles in yellow shirts
The Wiggles holding yellow daffodils
The Wiggles holding yellow bears
The Wiggles on Channel 9's News
The Wiggles in "Yule Be Wiggling"
The Wiggles on "Neighbors"
The Wiggles on Ramsay street
The Wiggles on "Neighbors"
The Wiggles on "Neighbors"
The Wiggles, Captain and Dorothy on "Neighbors"
The Wiggles on Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Party" concert
The Wiggles and their logos
The Wiggles on "Steve Irwin's Crocodile Diaries"
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Safari" ad
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Safari: Behind the Scenes"
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Safari"
The Wiggles at the Australia Zoo
The Wiggles on "Big Brother"
The Wiggles in Playhouse Disney music video
The Wiggles on Playhouse Disney
The Wiggles on "Good Morning Australia"
The Wiggles at the dance rehearsal
The Wiggles on "60 Minutes"
The Wiggles in the Red Volkswagen car
The Wiggles in "Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles!" TV Series
The Wiggles in "Wiggle Bay"
The Wiggles in New York City
The Wiggles in "The Lost Joey" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in "Space Dancing"
The Wiggles in "Space Dancing" (CGI)
The Wiggles in a spaceship
The Wiggles at Planet Rock Star
The Wiggles, Paul Paddick and Goofy
The Wiggles as dolls in a toy commercial
The Wiggles in "Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins!"
The Wiggles at Network Wiggles
The Wiggles on "Rove Live"
The Wiggles eating Cereal
The Wiggles on "Enough Rope with Andrew Denton"
The Wiggles in Red Nose Day commercial
The Wiggles at ARIA Awards
The Wiggles at their office
The Wiggles in "Behind the Scenes of Cold Spaghetti Western"
The Wiggles in "A Wiggly Postcard from Asia"
The Wiggles in Shanghai, China
The Wiggles at Madison Square Garden
The Wiggles at Outstanding Achievement Awards
The Wiggles in December 2003
The Wiggles in "Top of the Tots"
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Work" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in "Cold Spaghetti Western"
The Wiggles at the Great Western Café"
The Wiggles at the Town Fair
The Wiggles in St. Vinnies ad
The Wiggles and Flipper the Dolphin
The Wiggles in "How Wags Almost Missed the Show!"
The Wiggles in "The Big Red Car Has a Rattling Experience"
The Wiggles in "Santa's Rockin'"
The Wiggles at Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Wiggles in "Live Hot Potatoes!"
The Wiggles and the Wiggly Orchestra
The Wiggles at the Sydney Entertainment Centre
The Wiggles in Sydney Hospital
The Wiggles in 2005 concert
The Wiggles in "Search For the Fifth Wiggle" interview
The Wiggles on Valentine's Day
The Wiggles at Sydney Harbor
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Show" TV Series
The Wiggles in "Dorothy's Ballet"
The Wiggles in "Friendly Feathersword Crew"
The Wiggles in "Kangaroo Dance"
The Wiggles in "I Swing My Baton"
The Wiggles in "A Wiggly Mystery"
The Wiggles in Wiggly Animation
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Friends"
The Wiggles in "Train Dance"
The Wiggles in "Murray and his Marvelous Guitar" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in "Sailing Around the World"
The Wiggles at Buckingham Palace
The Wiggles in "Sailing Around the World" deleted scene
The Wiggles in "Jeff and the Lumpy Mattress"
The Wiggles in spacesuits
The Wiggles in Little Rock concert
The Wiggles in Little Rock concert epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wiggledancing! USA" prologue
The Wiggles in "Wiggledancing! USA"
The Wiggles in "Wiggledancing! USA" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Santa's Rockin'!" concert
The Wiggles at their 15th birthday party
The Wiggles in Series 2 of "The Wiggles Show" TV Series
The Wiggles in "Here Comes the Big Red Car"
The Wiggles in "It's Time to Wake Up Jeff!"
The Wiggles and Craig Ferguson
The Wiggles in "Greg's Musical Surprise" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in "Splish Splash! Big Red Boat"
The Wiggles in "The Big Red Boat" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in "Racing to the Rainbow"
The Wiggles in "Racing to the Rainbow" promo picture
The Wiggles in "Racing to the Rainbow" epilogue
The Wiggles in "The Rainbow Palace" electronic storybook
The Wiggles at Australia House
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles' Dance! Tour"
The Wiggles in Hot Potato Studios
The Cartoon Wiggles at Wiggle Bay
The Wiggles in "Surfer Jeff"
The Wiggles in "Surfer Jeff" promo picture
The Wiggles at Dreamworld in 2012
The Wiggles in "Check, See, Turn the Key" safety campaign
The Wiggles in "Getting Strong" concert
The Wiggles in Royal Children's Hospital
The Wiggles in "A Message to the Wiggles' Fans"
The Wiggles and the Wiggles in Training
The Wiggles in "Celebration!"
The Wiggles in "Celebration!" deleted scene
The Wiggles on their "Celebration!" tour
The Wiggles on "This Morning"
The Wiggles on "Entertainment Focus"
The Wiggles on "Fun Kids Attic"
The Wiggles at Sirius XM Studio
The Wiggles on "ABC News"
The Wiggles in their Australia Celebration Tour message video
The Wiggles in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Wiggles in Hot Potato Studios interview (2012)
The Wiggles and the New Wiggles
The 7 Wiggles, Ben Hardie and his friends
The Wiggles in "Greg Speaks!"
The Wiggles in "Celebrity Parents Magazine" radio commercial
The Wiggles on "The Morning Show"
The 7 Wiggles, Captain and Dorothy
The 7 Wiggles, Captain and Dorothy at Dreamworld
The Wiggles in "Christmas Celebration Tour!"
The Original Wiggles' final interview
The Wiggles singing "Wiggling All Over the World"
The Wiggles at Jeff Fatt's 60th Birthday
The Wiggles in 2003 concert
The Wiggles at the Colonial Center
The Wiggles, Mickey and Minnie Mouse
The Wiggles at Dreamworld
The Wiggles at the Burswood Entertainment Complex
The Wiggles in "Wiggledancing!"
The Wiggles in "Wiggledancing!" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wags in New York" electronic storybook
The Wiggles on "The View"
The Wiggles on "The Big Idea"
The Wiggles in "Getting Strong!"
The Wiggles in "Health and Physical Development"
The Wiggles in "Getting Strong!" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Language and Literacy"
The Wiggles in "Language and Literacy" epilogue
The Wiggles in "Wags Mixes Some Colors" electronic storybook
The Wiggles playing basketball
The Wiggles in Hot Potato Studios
The Wiggles in "Pop Go the Wiggles: Behind the Scenes"
The Wiggles in "Pop Go the Wiggles"
The Wiggles in "Little Miss Muffet Joins The Wiggles in Concert" electronic storybook
The Wiggles in black clothes and sunglasses
The Wiggles in Hot Potato Studios interview
The Wiggles in "Steve Irwin Day" commercial
The Wiggles in "Wiggle and Learn" TV Series: Behind the Scenes
The Wiggles at Wiggles World theme park
The Wiggles in "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
The Wiggles in "Move and Groove"
The Wiggles in "Musical Landscape"
The Wiggles in "Fun in the Sun"
The Wiggles in "The Biggest Smile of All"
The Wiggles in "Teddy Bear Touch the Ground"
The Wiggles in "Ding, Ding, Dong!"
The Wiggles in London, England
The Wiggles on London Routemaster bus
The Wiggles at London Eye
The Wiggles in Manchester Apollo concert
The Wiggles at Six Flags New England
The Wiggles in "Sing a Song of Wiggles"
The Wiggles and a Volkswagen car
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles' Big Big Show"
The Wiglges in their ACMF commercial
The Wiggles on "Heart Breakfast"
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles Go Bananas!"
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Waffle"
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Waffle"
The Wiggles sleeping in "Wiggly Waffle"
The Wiggles in "UNICEF" commercial
The Wiggles in "Hot Poppin' Popcorn"
The Wiggles in "Circus Practice" electronic storybook
The 5 Wiggles at the 2009 awards
The Wiggles in "Big Big Show in the Round"
The Wiggles in "Hot Potatoes: The Best of the Wiggles"
The Wiggles at Wiggles Headquarters
The Wiggles in "Let's Eat!: Behind the Scenes"
The Wiggles in "Let's Eat!"
The Wiggles at Dorothy's house
The Wiggles on "CBS Early Show"
The Wiggles in "UNICEF Day for Change" commercial
The Wiggles in "Greatest Hits in the Round"
The Wiggles in Queensland
The Wiggles in Australia Day concert special
The Wiggles at Suncrop Stadium
The Wiggles in "Ukulele Baby!"
The Wiggles in "The Wiggles' Big Birthday!"
The Wiggles on "Australia's Funniest Home Videos"
The Wiggles in "Ukulele Baby!" concert
The Wiggles in "Fruit Shake!" special community announcement
The Wiggles in Coles campaign
The Wiggles, Jade Santilli and Anthony's family
The Wiggles on "Daybreak"
The Wiggles in Allen Americans commercial
The Wiggles in IZOD Center commercial
The Wiggles in Winnipeg commercial
The Wiggles in "It's Always Christmas With You!"
The Wiggles at Powerhouse Museum
The Wiggles in "Getting Strong" NDNA campaign
The Original Wiggles at ARIA Hall of Fame
The 5 Wiggles and Paul Paddick at the 25th Aria Awards
The 5 Wiggles in "ARIA Awards" backstage
The Wiggles in "Big Birthday Show"
The Wiggles in "Taking Off!"
The Wiggles in Guildford Castle
The Wiggles in Grand Brighton Hotel
The Wiggles in "Wiggly Showtime"
The Wiggles at Dreamworld (2013)
The Wiggles in Dreamworld concert
The Wiggles at Sky Point Australia
The Wiggles at Hyde Park concert
The Wiggles on Sunrise (2013)
The Wiggles on Wiggles Way
The Wiggles at Triple M Network
The Wiggles in "Ready, Steady, Wiggle!" TV Series
The Wiggles at Monkey Mania Bankstown Sports Club
The New Wiggles on "Sunrise"
The Wiggles at the 2BS Studio
The Wiggles and Dorothy the Dinosaur van
The Wiggles in "Taking Off Tour!"
The Wiggles in "Hat Song"
The Wiggles at the Sydney Royal Easter Show
The Wiggles in Corous Feeds Kids message
The Wiggles on "OMG! Insider!"
The Wiggles in "Meet The Musicians"
The Wigggles at Sirius XM Studio (2013)
The Wiggles at Westfield Whitford City
The Wiggles on "Preston and Steve's Daily Rush"
The Wiggles in "Food Allery" commercial
The Wiggles on "Red Nose Day" 2013
The Wiggles in "Furry Tales"
The Wiggles and their Twitter accounts
The Wiggles in "Lachy Shrinks The Wiggles"
The Wiggles in "Pirate Poetry"
The Wiggles in "A Lot of Camelot"
The Wiggles in "Simon Goes Quackers"
The Wiggles in "Hula Hoop Symphony"
The Wiggles in "Let's all Shake"
The Wiggles in "Hair Disaster"
The Wiggles in "Slow Motion Anthony"
The Wiggles in "Sign The ABC!"
The Wiggles in "Joanie Works with One Hammer"
The Wiggles in "Pumpkin Face"
Wiggles on their way to North America 2013
The Wiggles on "Time to Play"
The Wiggles on "Fox News"
The Wiggles on "Eyewitness News"
The Wiggles at Mix FM studio
The Wiggles in "Go Santa Go! Behind the Scenes"
The Wiggles on "Wall Street Journal Live"
The Wiggles and Kat Armstrong
The Wiggles at Westfield Eastgardens
The Wiggles on "BT Winnipeg"
The Wiggles on "BT Vancouver"
The Wiggles on "Daddy Blogger"
The Wiggles in Calgary, CandAa
The Wiggles on Houston TV
The Wiggles and their toys
The Wiggles on "Wiggle Time TV" (2013)
The Wiggles in "Go Santa Go!"
The Wiggles in New York interview
The Wiggles at the Apple Store
The Wiggles at Woolworth's Head Office
The Wiggles at White Water World
The Wiggles in "Big Aussie Road Trip" music video
The Wiggles at St Thomas Aquinas Primary School
The Wiggles in "Ready, Steady, Wiggle! Tour"
The Wiggles with their logo
The Cartoon Wiggles in 2013
The Cartoon Wiggles at Concert
The Cartoon Wiggles playing Cricket
The Cartoon Wiggles using Skates, Bikes, etc.
The Cartoon Wiggles sailing
The Wiggles at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The Wiggles at Westfield WestLakes
The Wiggles on "Carols in the Domain" (2013)
The Wiggles in Hot Potatoes: The Best of the Wiggles (2013)
The Wiggles in Hot Potato Studios (2014)
The Wiggles, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Blinky Bill and Angelina Ballerina
The Wiggles at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter
The Wiggles in "Apples And Bananas"
The Wiggles on St. Patrick's Day
The Wiggles in "Apples and Bananas Tour"
The Wiggles signing in sign language
The Wiggles at the Starlight Children's Foundation
The Wiggles in casual clothing
The Wiggles in "Wigglehouse"
The Wiggles in "Go the Socceros!" music video
The Wiggles in "Ready, Steady, Wiggle!" TV Series 2 promo
The Wiggles in "Ready, Steady, Wiggle!" TV Series 2
The Wiggles in "Anthony's Memory"
The Wiggles in "Rock & Roll Preschool"
The Wiggles in an upcoming DVD
The Wiggles dancing in a sandy area
The Wiggles stiting in a sandy area
The Wiggles gliding their arms in an upcoming DVD
The Wiggles in an upcoming DVD
The Wiggles wearing colored Clothes