If you have had children in the last 20 years, then you know the Wiggles and if you know the Wiggles, then you know the original Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page. Greg helped found the Wiggles in 1991 and he was their lead singer until his retirement in 2006 due a medical condition, dysautonomia. After recovering from his condition, he briefly rejoined the Wiggles in 2012 until moving on to exciting new projects like Butterscotch’s Playground. In November, Greg released “Here Comes Christmas!” a collection of classic and original Holiday tunes joyfully sung in his golden baritone.
For this special Christmas #8isEnoughQuestions interview, each of the following questions was written by one of our Full Van Fun family members and answered directly by Greg Page. Enjoy!
1) What is your favorite Elvis Christmas song?
My favorite Elvis Christmas song would have to be “Winter Wonderland” – I love Elvis’ voice in the song – he sounds so carefree – just like Christmas should be!
2) What inspired you to start Butterscotch’s Playground?
Butterscotch’s Playground was originally created by Alec Miller and Vera Nakovic – they asked me to help develop the concept into a TV show, and we have shot 3 episodes that are available on DVD and for download via iTunes. Butterscotch’s Playground features 4 cuddly puppets – Butterscotch (a rabbit), Honey Bear (a bear), Frankie (a monkey) and Charles (a bluebird). The concept of working with puppets really appealed to me, especially as it gave me a new vehicle to write songs and produce a show for children that teaches them that the whole wide world is their playground to play in and explore!
3) What fruit would you want in your fruit salad? Bananas? Blueberries? Pineapples? Strawberries? Cherries? Grapes?
Hmm, that’s a tough one – definitely Grapes, Apple, Pineapple and Strawberries!
4) What is your favorite part about writing music?
I love the challenge of making music meaningful – not just a song for the sake of writing a song. It has to have a purpose. Writing for children is so empowering because there is so much that children can learn about themselves and the world. It really gives you a chance as a writer to go to places that songwriters of adult music don’t go to because it would seem to mundane. However, most adults seem to enjoy children’s music too, because it allows them to let out their inner-child!
5) What is your favorite toy that you ever received for Christmas?
Wow – now I’ve got to cast back into the memory banks! Ok, so I received a toy trumpet when I was about 4 or 5 years old. It was a colourful, plastic trumpet, but I loved it because it made noise, but also looked like a “real” trumpet and made me feel like I was a “real” musician!
Greg Page (Photo credit: Vanessa Miller Page)
6) What would have been your career if the Wiggles never happened?
A teacher I would say – Anthony, Murray and I met at University where we were studying to become teachers, and I would definitely say that if Anthony had not had the idea of creating what became The Wiggles, we would all have gone out into the field as teachers – we ended up teaching a much LARGER classroom!
7) What Christmas movie do you like the best?
I love the old Rankin Bass movies with the stop-motion puppets – The Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, and Frosty the Snowman are all such classics! I just love the stories of these movies and the timeless style of narration and animation!
8) Do you know a snowman?
Frosty, of course!
Thank you Greg Page for a rippa #8isEnoughQuestions interview and don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Here Comes Christmas!” If your family is a fan of the Wiggles, they will certainly enjoy this new collection of Holiday favorites. Be sure to check out all of our 2015 #8isEnoughQuestions interviews with Rissi Palmer, Danny Weinkauf, Turkey Andersen, Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, Bryan Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, Play Date, Recess Monkey, Andrew and Polly, and Tim Kubart! Stay tuned for so much more in 2016!
