(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WIGGLEVISION THEME")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) WiggleVision.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Australian musical group The Wiggles have gotten children to dance all over the world. Of course, children's entertainment has changed since The Wiggles got started in the early '90s.
ANTHONY FIELD: It really is a different world for children than when we first started. The thing is, though, children aren't the same as they always have been. They're all still gazing at the world in wonder. Everything's exciting for them.
SIMON: That's Mr. Blue Wiggle, aka Anthony Field.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE CIRCUS OF LIGHTS")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Roll up, roll up one and all. It's time for The Wiggles' Circus of Lights. Everyone...
SIMON: Mr. Field and his colorful pals - another Blue Wiggle, two Red Wiggles, two Yellow Wiggles, two Purple Wiggles - use music to help children see and appreciate the world around them. Blue Wiggle recently joined us to talk about his group's new visual album. It's called "Sparkle!: A Circus Of Lights."
FIELD: You know, it's a very colorful circus with lots of light-up lights and inflatable animals. The only thing these animals eat is air.
SIMON: You founded The Wiggles back in 1991. You were teaching preschool and also in a rock group?
FIELD: That's right. I have this rock 'n' roll background, and I was studying at university to become an early childhood teacher, which I became a preschool teacher. I met a couple of like-minded friends at university and made an album for children. We just did it because we were so interested in music and education. Thirty-five years later, here I am talking to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE CIRCUS OF LIGHTS")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Let's clap. Let's jump.
FIELD: Every album we do, we give everything we can to make it exciting and fresh in the world of children who are listening to it.
SIMON: I've got to tell you The Wiggles were so popular in our family. When our daughters were growing up, I thought they would begin to speak with an Australian accent.
FIELD: Well, that's funny. And do you know what? When "Sesame Street" first came to Australia, children were saying zee. We say zed. Children were also talking about fall, which we say autumn. It sort of does happen a little bit.
SIMON: Where do you get ideas for songs, and so many of them? Because you're going for a young audience, but also the parents are the ones who often have to snap on the device, aren't they?
FIELD: I think one thing about The Wiggles I've always tried to make music that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Now, the subject matter has to be understood by children in some way. You can't go above their heads. You want to speak in a language that they understand. But good music, good quality music can be enjoyed by all ages, just like good literature for children, like Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are." Mom and dad would love to read that themselves as well as to the children. And I hope that's the same with our music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPARKLE!")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Sparkle time. When we hear the music to do the move, let's all dance together, sparkling forever. When we hear...
SIMON: Do you have a song you'd like to point us to that's your favorite on "Sparkle!: Circus Of Lights"?
FIELD: The song called "Sparkle!" It's got a lovely theme about, you know, love in every color, and let's all love each other. And it's also got a real good beat behind it, and we've noticed children ready to get up and dance to it when we play it live.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPARKLE!")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Love in every color. Let's love one another. The world is big. Oh, so big. We need some sparkling. When we hear the music...
SIMON: You've brought a lot of joy and light into this world. But I gather you went through a period of deep darkness.
FIELD: You know, we do early childhood entertainment, and we're so happy. We've got the best audience you can ever play for families. But behind that, we're not cartoons. We are real people with real challenges. And over the years, I've had a few mental challenges like that, where, you know, I might be very, very happy onstage, and then I come offstage and I wasn't so happy. You know, in my early days, I didn't even understand it, but it was depression and I've received help from doctors. And, you know, I'm very good now.
For a lot of the families that come to see us, it's their first time mum or dad have taken their children to a show, and we realize that responsibility. We get out onstage, and the collective energy from the crowd is just so amazing. You know, I don't think I've ever had a bad day at work.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DOO, DOO-DOO, DOO!")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Doo, doo-doo, doo, doo, doo-doo, doo, doo. Doo, doo-doo, doo, doo, doo-doo, doo. La, la, la, la, la. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. La, la, la, la, la. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
SIMON: May I ask, how does it feel (laughter) when somebody who's pushing 40 comes up to you and says, boy, you were important to my childhood?
FIELD: Yeah, I love it. I absolutely love it. It makes me feel old, of course. But I absolutely love it. We're getting second-generation children of parents who were children watching The Wiggles back in, you know, the late 1990s and early 1990s and 2000s. And - no, it's wonderful, mate. Absolutely fantastic.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DOO, DOO-DOO, DOO!")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) La, la, la, la, la. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. La, la, la, la, la. La, la.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPINNING HOOP")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) We're playing a game called spinning hoop, spinning hoop, spinning hoop. We're playing a game called...
SIMON: The Wiggles have a new tour, the Tree of Wisdom Spectacular! Do you hope that this tour can help children look up from their screens and discover more joy in the world?
FIELD: Absolutely. I - when we do a show and we go out, we want parents and children to have a memory that'll be with them forever, you know? Like, we encourage the children at the show to get up and have a dance, make lots of noise. A lot of the parents spend most of the show looking at their children, enjoying the show, smiling, grinning from ear to ear.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPINNING HOOP")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) Spinning hoop, spinning hoop, watch the spinning hoop go round. Spinning hoop, spinning hoop, keep it off the ground. Spinning hoop...
SIMON: Thank you so much for being with us.
FIELD: Oh, mate, thank you so much for having me. God bless, everyone.
SIMON: Blue Wiggle. Excuse me, Anthony Field...
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: ...Of The Wiggles. Their new album is called "Sparkle!: The Circus Of Lights," and their tour is the Tree of Wisdom Spectacular!
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPINNING HOOP")
THE WIGGLES: (Singing) With your hands or doing the splits. Spinning hoop for everyone. Spinning, hooping fun. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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