As The Wiggles prepare to launch a new album and tour Australia, Editor in Chief Michelle Giglio went out to Hot Potato Studios for a chat with Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie about the magic formula for writing a kids’ hit.
It’s 8am on a Friday and we’re down at the Lavender Bay boardwalk in Milsons Point trying to do a photoshoot with Lachy Gillespie, but it’s proving quite difficult. Every few minutes people stop and ask for a selfie.
Grandparents with children, adults who went to Macquarie University with OG (original) Wiggle Anthony Field, and even some fangirls. “Does this happen a lot?” our photographer asks. “All the time!” replies Lachy.
Yet Lachy, better known as the Purple Wiggle, does not miss a beat. The smile is genuine, the body poised and those Wiggle fingers are dancing. (Cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti…).
It’s been 13 years since Lachy replaced sleepy Jeff Fatt in the first major change in Wiggle history since Greg left. “Taking over the ‘Wake up Jeff!’ was one of the biggest things I’ve ever done,” admits Lachy. He remains as energetic as ever, fuelled by the ‘new’ Wiggles lineup of eight, formed in 2022. The group has just returned from a hugely successful world tour, where they even met Hollywood legend Robert De Niro in New York, the veteran actor a long-time fan of their work.
Lachy comes to our interview at Hot Potato Studios fresh from filming, in his ballet overcoat and trademark sparkly purple skivvy. The former North Shore resident is now based in Brisbane, but with filming Monday to Thursday in Bella Vista, he does a lot of commuting – and always stays on the North Shore.
There is a routine Lachy follows before he leaves home for the airport. “Every time I go away I leave notes for (my twin daughters) Lottie and Lulu,” he reveals. “And I do drawings. (Last night) Lulu wanted golden retrievers. Lottie wanted some squishy mellow thing, which they want to colour in, so I just have to draw it outlined. Those little things really do help.
“It’s getting harder (as they get older),” admits Lachy. “They start telling you (they miss you). But I’m also aware of the enjoyment (seeing me perform in The Wiggles) brings them. So it’s about finding a balance. It’s a pretty awesome job!”
The ‘job’ of a Wiggle is quite awesome indeed. As I walk through Hot Potato Studios, I come across the jam-packed costume room which has a kaleidoscope of colourful jackets, hats, shoes and accessories. The Wiggle House set, where their hugely popular You Tube episodes are filmed, is a happy place for children, with brightly-designed props. The studio seems like one big play room for grown ups. But it’s a playground where a lot of hard work takes place. The Wiggles are the largest and most successful children’s entertainment group in the world. Their YouTube channel has 10 million subscribers and is live streamed 24 hours a day. Over 35 years they have sold 30 million albums and DVDs, had three billion streams across platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, and been viewed five billion times on YouTube. Not to mention the 15 ARIA Awards for Best Children’s Album. There are few artists of any genre with these sort of statistics.
New character Tree of WIsdom will headline the upcoming Australian tour
The new line up of 8 Wiggles has provided a lot of energy, Lachy says.
And since the ‘OG’ Wiggles first played at a day care centre in 1991, they are more popular than ever. Lachy describes the group’s recent UK tour as a ‘like a craze,’ with ‘screaming and lines outside the venues after the shows,’ which included iconic theatres such as the Hammersmith Apollo in London.
Given the band had not done a major international tour since COVID-19 hit in 2019, they were not sure how the new line up of eight Wiggles would be received. But such was demand for tickets, the group had to perform three concerts a day in the UK for three weeks. “Even with the merchandise, everyone just wanted to buy something Wiggles,” Lachy says. “It’s gone very quickly to that ‘excitement’ level again (of a few years ago).”
US audiences were ‘the most intense,’ Lachy says, with The Wiggles performing 29 concerts over four weeks. “They always have been intense. They just love it. It’s a bigger tour, a bigger country.”
Lachy says the most satisfying part of performing is watching the audience. “Most of the time my piano’s at the front. I’ve gotten to the stage now where I just play and watch the kids, and then sometimes miss a cue if it’s too enjoyable!” he laughs.
“In recent years (what I’ve liked most) is probably the energy that’s come with the eight (Wiggles). And how exciting the audiences are. And overseas this year was just the best example of that.”
With so many songs to be written each day, the Hot Potato Studios are set up for artistic success. Downstairs is the engine room, a recording studio where Lachy and Anthony (the only remaining OG Wiggle) create and record the songs. “Creatively for me (writing together) is really important, and I love that side of it.”
Upstairs are the colourful sets, where the Ready Steady Wiggle and Wiggle and Learn series, screened on the ABC and other platforms, are recorded. Lachy explains the process. “We get in every morning and we write music. We’ve got our studio here, so we can literally record and in 15 minutes be filming it, which doesn’t happen in very many studios,” Lachy explains. “So that’s a big thrill.”
Lachy credits Blue Wiggle Anthony for expanding his knowledge of musical genres and artists – with country now one of his favourites. “I studied musical theatre, so (before The Wiggles) I knew musicals and only really liked pop.
“Now there are just so many artists who I love now because of Anthony, which is pretty cool.”
Most of the time, Lachy will start his songs inspired by ‘a little line, or a catch.’ “It can be pretty short and sharp. (That) will work, particularly with Wiggle music. We’re not writing an opera!”
Anthony has taught him to ‘get to the point’ in a song – start with a chorus and keep the verses short. “The other day I wrote a little song and sent it to ‘Anto.’ I still get nervous sending (him) songs!” he laughs. “The first thing he said was, he loved that there was a ‘catch’ in it, and said to put that first, to get people in. And as soon as I put that little catch at the start, it was like a completely different song.”
The Wiggles songs also appeal to adults who inevitably hear them a lot. “Parents like listening to them too, which is so important.”
Filming with the group of eight Wiggles, with all their diverse skills is quite inspiring, Lachy reflects. There’s Latin dance star Tsehay, Greek-speaking Lucia and strongman John – the ‘other’ purple Wiggle. “(I think) it’s probably the most creative it’s been in the 13 years I’ve been here. Just in terms of everyone giving ideas. There are so many different talents in the group, so it really lends itself to just ‘popping’ on the screen.”
Unlike musical theatre, where an actor has to learn a part, Lachy says being a Wiggle is ‘just an extension of me.’ “I think (to be a Wiggle) you have to be a really good person and obviously love children, but have a love for this kind of performing. Because there are so many really tough elements being away for so long, and working in a group. But the group’s fantastic.”
Not all of the work was instinctive for Lachy when he started 16 years ago as a Wiggles support act, fresh from working at Baker’s Delight and a roast chicken shop, waiting to use his musical theatre degree. “The naturalness of how we are on screen, but also on stage, doesn’t come easily. Especially coming from musical theatre. You put up a little bit of a wall naturally and learn to be someone.
The Wiggles are part of Australian sub-culture.
Yes that really is Robert De Niro, his wife and youngest daughter wth The Wiggles, backstage in New York, July 2025.
Lachy with twins Lottie and Lulu, wife Dana and her son Jasper.
“It took a while, but now I love the playfulness on set. A big part of it too is just being yourself enough to drop whatever you’ve got going on and just be fun. You’ve just got to be silly and be willing to look silly, and then that’s the most enjoyable part on camera.”
Becoming a parent to his five-year-old twin daughters with wife Dana Stephenson and her older son Jasper has helped Lachy be more natural when performing. “A lot more of the playfulness has come since then because you’re practicing it,” he reflects. “Every day you’ve got to think on your feet and do something to pull them out of a grump, or (when) they’re about to lose it. So that then helps on the screen.”
Parenting has also opened up a new pathway for the Wiggles, with Lachy and Red colleague Simon Pryce now hosting podcast Wiggle Talk – with season two just launched. Tagged as ‘Two dads, no filter, figuring it out as they go,’ Lachy explains the duo came up with the idea of Wiggle Talk as they journeyed through parenthood together, and would chat about the challenges they were facing with their children. “We don’t ever get to speak as ourselves long enough with parents because we’re in and out of towns. We know we’ve got a platform and it’s just another way of reaching the audience.”
Since the Wiggle Talk debut last year, they have featured many well known Australians and parenting experts, with Lachy nominating their chat with renowned animal conservationist Terri Irwin as one of the highlights. “She was just so amazing and quite emotional, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget how she still talks about (deceased husband) Steve. That was really moving.”
In between writing songs, filming, touring and the Wiggle Talk podcast, Lachy somehow has time to do charity work, and in September went to Timor-Leste with The Wiggles as a UNICEF ambassador to encourage Australians to support children’s access to healthcare and education. Lachy is also ambassador to Running for Premature Babies, a cause close to his heart as his twins were born a week premature. The week before we spoke he had run the City to Surf for the charity, helping raise money which buys equipment to save the lives of ‘premmies,’ some $10 million so far.
The Wiggles have been around so long they now form a part of Australian culture – and sub-culture, with the group being the only children’s band to take out Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2021, with their Tame Impala cover of Elephant. The song – which Lachy points out is about an animal, in keeping with Wiggle criteria – incorporated mega-hit Fruit Salad. The Wiggles have also done extremely popular adults-only shows to the ‘wildest audiences,’ with those who grew up singing hits like Dorothy the Dinosaur wanting to relive their blissful childhood.
“I reckon it’s the love that the kids had for the original (Wiggles). The originals did it so well and with so much love that now teenagers and adults looking back on it think ‘Far out, they’re still doing it. And I remember all those songs and I still remember the actions to it, even though I haven’t danced them for 20 years and I know the lyrics.’ It’s just such a unique thing. There’s so much love for them.
“Australia is massively proud of The Wiggles.”
And the beauty is that The Wiggles keep reinventing themselves to stay fresh, recently introducing new characters like the Tree of Wisdom, played by Anthony’s nephew Dominic Field – and loved worldwide, with even Khloe Kardashian resharing one of his viral crazy dancing posts (200 million views and counting). The Tree of Wisdom will headline this year’s traditional end-of-year concerts in the lead up to Christmas, with Lachy saying tickets have sold ‘faster than ever.’ “People love the tree so much. He’s so great and so random. You try for two seconds to dance like him and you can’t!”
The concerts this year will be done ‘in the round,’ to ensure the Big Red Utes – introduced as part of The Wiggles foray into country music this year at the Tamworth Country Music Festival – will have room to feature in the shows.
As for whether Lachy ever feels like a bit of a rock star, he laughs and says ‘no.’ “It’s just a cool feeling. (I still remember) when I was a ‘Wiggle in training’ and first sang Twinkle Twinkle with Greg Page. I was crying. From all the way back then (remembering) how special that was – it’s still as special now. I still cry! It’s a pretty amazing job.”
The Tree of Wisdom album is out 3 October. The Wiggles Tree of Wisdom Big Show Arena Spectacular is in Sydney 13 and 20 December. See thewiggles.com/live