Anthony Field is happy to Wiggle out of his skivvy and become a Cockroach again.
Field, alongside brothers John and Paul and former Wiggle Jeff Fatt, are re-forming their energetic band the Cockroaches after 25 years.
Field’s youngest fans probably don’t know that Field and Fatt were rockers before they became children’s entertainers.
“The Cockroaches were a great party band in the ’80s and early ’90s,” Field says. “If you went out on a Friday or Saturday night, mainly in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and all up the coast, you’d go see the Cockies because you were guaranteed a great party time.”
During Wiggles shows, Field says he often notices some nostalgia for the Cockroaches, but the demand is not coming from their young fans.
“I’ve been on the road constantly with the Wiggles and I get a lot of parents at the shows – this is how old we’d be – their mums came and saw the Cockroaches, so it’s the grandparents of the kids” he says.
The desire from diehard Cockroaches fans for a reunion has started to appear on social media.
“A lot of the audience members are writing to me on Twitter,” Field says.
“One lady wrote to me and said, ‘I’ve got the words for all your songs and I’ve been memorising them in case you forget them’.”
Field’s brother Paul has been behind the scenes working as the Wiggles’ manager, and will now be back up front for the coming gigs.
“I’ll be taking a back seat, which will be really lovely,” Field says. “I’m playing the guitar and enjoying watching the other guys. The heat’s off me.
“Paul’s the lead singer. My brothers Johnny and Paul are kind of the guys who did the most work.”
But Field is used to playing with Fatt, having spent about 20 years performing in the Wiggles before Fatt left in 2012. Field admits he’s looking forward to “seeing Jeff on my right again, playing the piano”.
“I reckon we’ll be getting some Wiggles requests when we get up there, which will be funny,” he says.
“But we’ll stick to the Cockies, I think.”
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– AAP
