Posted on 12/01/2005 7:21:45 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
FOR a skivvy-wearing entertainer who feels more at home with an audience of screaming kids, winning a prestigious export award came as something of a surprise.
Jeff Fatt of The Wiggles was today still surprised the colourful children's entertainers had emerged ahead of some big companies to win Australian Exporter of the Year.
The award reflects the huge international success of The Wiggles, particularly in the US, following their humble beginnings as Australian kids entertainers.
Purple Wiggle Fatt, who received the award on behalf of the four member group at an Australian Export Awards dinner in Sydney last night, said he felt like a fish out of water at the highly prestigious event.
He was astounded the group, whose co-members Anthony Field, Murray Cook and Greg Page were unable to attend, won over companies like Qantas (qan.ASX:Quote,News) and Macquarie Bank (mbl.ASX:Quote,News).
"It was a real pinch yourself moment when they announced we had won over those big names and I was shocked," Fatt said.
"When we started in 1991 we were doing everything ourselves. We were setting up our own PA system and selling our cassettes out of a suitcase.
"So to go from that to three semi-trailer loads of equipment and two buses when we tour and win this wonderful award is amazing."
Fatt said the popularity of the group soared internationally in 2002 when Disney began airing The Wiggles in the US.
They toured the country for the second time that year and noticed a big growth in their fan base.
"The audience had built dramatically," he said.
"Being put on the Disney channel bought us into the homes of Americans and you could see the change."
Winning three ARIA Awards and three APRA song writer awards, the Sydney band have sold in excess of 17 million DVD/videos and five million CD/cassettes worldwide.
Last year, they had more than one million fans wiggling in the aisles at live concerts around the world.
The Aussie icons were presented with the exporter of the year award by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Trade, Mark Vaile.
"By matching great ideas, creativity and determination with smart business strategies, The Wiggles have built an international entertainment phenomenon that is also a sophisticated global business," Mr Vaile said.
Meanwhile another Aussie icon, the budgie smuggler, is also proving an export success.
The Aussie Bum company's retro style lycra swimming trunks are now raking in more than $5 million in sales in Europe, earning the company the Europe Australia Business Council's Exporter of the Year Award for 2005.
With claims to be worn by such famous Europeans as football star David Beckham and actor Ewan McGregor, Aussie Bum swimming costumes are now the fourth biggest brand in the UK department store Selfridges.
Jeff = The Creepy Wiggle. He weirds me out for some reason or other. ???
They're all pretty bloody weird, if you ask me!
They're not in-your-face treacly and irritating, like so much else in that realm. And no PC messages either.
I doubt they're gay but I do know they're very bloody rich!
This is true - I can actually stomach the Wiggles over most of the rest of the junk on kiddie TV.
Two of the Wiggles are married and their children are part of the show. One of them (Anthony) was part of an Aussie "best looking men" list. Then there is Jeff. . .
I've taken the kids 3 times to see them in concert and have never walked away disappointed.
Three of the Wiggles (Anthony, Murray and Greg, I believe) have degrees in early childhood education, so combining that with their musical talent came naturally to them.
They are the Beatles of the little kids set. Having kids who are fans gives us grownups the excuse to enjoy their truly wonderful music.
After working in show business for some time, I have come to the conclusion that MOST men who make their living in front of a camera or on a theater stage,
are gayer than a birthday tablecloth.
Even the ones who don't appear to be. The Wiggle boyz, appear to be. In my mind, that makes em a slam dunk.
Seriously, cut the guy a break - how many of you could go through life having kids screaming "WAKE UP JEFF!!" everywhere you go, and still laugh about it?
Plus the fact that he's of Chinese ancestry yet speaks "Aussie" English is cool.
Kindly refrain from posting such obscenity in the future. Its not appreciated. There's a line of good taste and you've crossed it.
Dude- lighten up Francis.
Sorry for ruining the highbrow tone of the Wiggles thread! I'll slink off into the shadows now.
That is an extremely disturbing picture. Ugh.
They are exactly what children's entertainment used to be before the age of PC. Kind of like a throw back in time.
Before you start throwing stones I suggest you rent a couple of randomly selected Wiggle DVDs at your local Blockbuster.
And as I pointed out above, 3 of them actually got degrees in early childhood education, met in college and started the Wiggles there. They didn't go into it for the $$$ and their hard work has been rewarded.
30 million hot German chicks plus one Bombshell Mrs. David Hasselhoff say you don't know what you're talking about...
I was just watching The Wiggles tonight since my two toddlers demanded it. They can be annoying, but compared to the other options, they aren't that bad. For those of you with young'uns I highly recommend They Might Be Giants' "Here Come the ABCs". An odd, but fun look at the alphabet with some very catchy tunes (TMBG is a long-running quirky alt-pop duo). And of course, Veggie Tales is great too.
Okay, defender of the thread that you didn't start anyway.
Calm down. Go take a cold shower. It's not like I'm ripping on Veggie Tales, or Looney Tunes.
Looney Tunes (the REAL Looney Tunes - pre-1960) were made just as much for adults as for kids. You must remember that the Warner Bros. cartoons were played before regular features in the movie theaters from the 1930s - 1950s. Hence their adult-oriented humor.
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