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Jeff Fatt

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For his character in The Wiggles, see Jeff Wiggle.


Jeffrey Wayne "Jeff" Fatt is an Australian keyboardist who is best known as the original Purple Wiggle in The Wiggles and a member of the the 1980s and 1990s rock band The Cockroaches. He is also best known for having voiced Henry the Octopus. As a kid he and all of his siblings were encouraged by his mother to learn how to play the piano. He is the oldest Wiggle out of all of The Wiggles. He is also shortest Wiggle of the original lineup. He is the keyboardist in The Wiggles.

Other Information[]

Jeff is an Australian musician. He is best known as a member of the Wiggles, Jeff Fatt became one of the "most popular" Asian performers in the world. The son of Chinese parents who owned a large retail store in Casino, Jeff had aspirations to become an architect and earned a Bachelor of Arts in industrial design. He opened a public address equipment business with his brother in Sydney when he began playing keyboard for the rockabilly band The Roadmasters and was recruited by Anthony and Paul Field to join The Cockroaches. After The Cockroaches disbanded in the early '90s, Anthony asked Jeff, who was renovating his house at the time, to help them record The Wiggles' first album in 1991. Jeff reported, "I got this call from Anthony: 'Hello, Anthony. Go away, go away. I'm not interested,' you know. He's always got these ideas for things. He said, 'I've got this idea, come down to the studio.'" Jeff's response to Anthony's request was, "How long will it take?".

As a Wiggle, Jeff wore a purple skivvy. He was sleeping at odd times, which led to a Wiggles' catchphrase and the title of one of their songs, "Wake Up, Jeff!" Jeff is the oldest Wiggle and is well-known for his "laid-back personality". As Sam, when referring to the development of The Wiggles' acts, stated, "Jeff really does fall asleep". Jeff confirmed this by stating that "The irony is I'm a very light sleeper in the night-time. I will invariably have a snooze before the show". Jeff was the only member of The Wiggles without a background in early childhood education; he stated that was the reason falling asleep was chosen as his act, "because it was a way of getting me involved in the shows without actually having to do anything". Jeff reports that it took about a year to teach himself childhood development in the early wiggly days. Or as he quoted, "learn the language of preschool", including addressing children using the inclusive "everybody", instead of "boys and girls", and that The Wiggles' first performances were traumatic for him because he was not used to being around children. Since 1990, Jeff has taken a photo a day documenting the most eventful thing that has happened to him. He is "a keen surfer", leading to the production of album and accompanying song Surfer Jeff.

Jeff was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on 26 January 2010 for service to the arts, particularly children's entertainment, and to the community as a benefactor and supporter of a range of charities. In 2011, after numerous heart issues, Jeff underwent a triple bypass and received a pacemaker, and therefore could not perform in the band's US tour that year, making it the first show he missed in 20 years. Brad Carroll filled in for Fatt.

Jeff left the group in 2012. Since then he began making cameos and playing instruments with Murray Cook and Greg Page and was replaced by Lachlan Gillespie.

He has briefly returned to the role of the Purple Wiggle in 2020, following the absence of his successor, Lachlan Gillespie (the latter having temporarily left on paternity leave).

He also resurfaced in the Big W video, "The Biggest Wiggly Birthday Party" in 2021.

He also made a cameo in the episode Food from the YouTube Exclusive series Wiggle and Learn in 2024.

Wiggles Media Credits[]

Albums[]

For a full list of songs written and arranged by Fatt, see Jeff Fatt Songs

Television and Video Releases[]

Produced, Wrote, and/or Executive Produced:

Character Roles[]

Trivia[]

  • He, Greg Page, and Murray Cook have all briefly come back to play their original roles in the Wiggles since their departure.
  • He made an appearance on "Who Do You Think You Are?", where he found out more about his family history.
  • He was brought in at the very end of the recording sessions for the first album to sequence everything.
  • He is the only original Wiggle who isn't married, engaged or in any romantic relationship.
    • He does, however, have a nephew.
  • Jeff Fatt shares a birthday with the late actor and comedian, Robin Williams and the actor and comedian, Jon Lovitz.
  • He is the only original Wiggle without experience in early childhood education, which was part of the reason for his whole sleeping gag as he didn't understand how to speak to kids, so The Wiggles decided to give him this sleeping gag so that he had a way to get involved on stage with the audience without really having to say anything.
  • He is the oldest person to have ever been a Wiggle and was originally the oldest official Wiggle when he retired at 59, but was beaten by Anthony Field when he turned 60 in 2023.
  • At 5’9, Jeff is the shortest OG Wiggle, as well as the only one under 6’. (Anthony is 6’0, Murray is 6’3.5, and Greg is 6’4.5)

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Fatt wasn't initially credited as co-writer for "Rock-A-Bye Your Bear", "Dorothy the Dinosaur", "Spot the Dalmatian" and several spoken tracks, but was later revised to credit him.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fatt was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of subsequent home media releases of the special.
  3. ↑ Fatt was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of the Warner Home Video DVD release of the film.
  4. ↑ Fatt was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of the TV Series 1 Collector's Box Set DVD release.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fatt was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of all home media releases of the special.
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