Anthony Field revealed he doesn't actually sing in The Wiggles. Photo / Supplied
Anthony Field revealed he doesn't actually sing in The Wiggles. Photo / Supplied
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field may have just changed the way parents around the world watch the beloved kids' entertainers.
Chatting on Nova's Fitzy and Wippa this morning, Field, 57, explained that he's been miming the words to The Wiggles back catalogue for years, these days under the guise of RedWiggle Simon Pryce's vocals.
"I have this low voice and people would ask me to sing in public and they'd be very disappointed," he joked when greeted by the hosts for the show's virtual Hide & Sing segment.
Having belted out a small section of Fruit Salad for the radio crew, Field bashfully said: "I never sing!" as they struggled to guess who was on the line.
"Have you just lifted the lid on a huge Wiggles scandal? … I thought you all sang," said Sarah McGilvray.
"For years I mimed! Believe this or not, I mimed Simon's voice for years. I have this low voice and people would ask me to sing in public and they'd be very disappointed," Field responded to shock from the presenters.
The radio chat comes after a huge announcement from the group over the weekend, with four new members added to the line-up in a bid for greater cultural diversity.
Tsehay Hawkins, 15, is originally from Ethiopia and will wear red; Evie Ferris is a 24-year-old Indigenous woman who will wear blue; Kelly Hamilton, 45, is Asian-Australian and will wear yellow; and John Pearce, 28, of pop group Justice Crew, has Filipino heritage and will wear purple.
Founding member Field came up with the idea, telling NCA NewsWire he felt "morally, we have to do this".
On radio this morning, he expressed excitement for the future of The Wiggles.
"It's a new era. It's gonna be great," he said.
The new members will join the existing ensemble of Field, Simon Pryce, Emma Watkins and Lachy Gillespie, who have been entertaining children all over the world since 2013. Field first started The Wiggles in 1991 with the original line-up of Greg Page, Jeff Fatt and Murray Cook.
Opening up about the group's popularity, Field described their reception across the pond in the US.
The Wiggles just revealed a huge diversity shake-up among its cast members. Photo / NCA Newswire
"The USA was massive … We would do six weeks, two or three times a year; 250,000 people a year. We sold out Madison Square Garden 13 times. It was mad, it was absolute madness."
He went on to reveal that a New Zealand company is interested in creating a documentary on the original Wiggles coming together to do an over-18 gig at Madison Square Garden.
When asked about the most popular Wiggles songs, Field said: "It's Rockabye Your Bear, yeah, it's the first song parents sing with their kids. But in America it's Fruit Salad, in Australia, Hot Potato."
Those who aren't well-versed in the hits of The Wiggles (or who have them playing on repeat during lockdown), may have been seeing the colourful performers pop up in an UberEats ad campaign with Simon Cowell.
Or so viewers have thought, reveals Field, explaining that the Simon Cowell in the ad is actually a Sydney real estate agent named Richard.
