Patrons at a New South Wales bowling club were in the presence of greatness on Monday when children's entertainer Jeff Fatt, better known as the original Purple Wiggle, participated in a classic meat tray raffle at the Club North Haven near Port Macquarie.
A Surprise Win
The 72-year-old Wiggles star posed proudly with his prize, which consisted of two large trays of red meat, after taking part in the competition at the pub. A social media post on the club's official Facebook page read: 'Jeff woke up in time to take home two meat trays in tonight's Monday Raffle!' The post added: 'A little reference for the '90s kids and parents.'
The club described a staff member named Taylor as being 'starstruck' by meeting Jeff in person. Fans of the performer were equally delighted, with many sharing their thoughts in the comments section.
Fan Reactions
'Is there anything more Australian than a Wiggle winning a meat tray?' wrote one person. Another commented: 'Oh cool someone won two meat tr- OH MY GOD ITS JEFF???' A third fan said: 'I'm a 2007 kid and I knew the reference WAKE UP JEFF,' referring to the famous Wiggles catchphrase. Others referenced the band's popular children's songs, with one joking: 'I guess that's better than winning cold spaghetti or hot potato,' and another adding: 'That's not fruit salad! Still yummy yummy though!'
Jeff's Shyness and the 'Wake Up Jeff' Catchphrase
Jeff was often addressed by the catchphrase 'Wake up Jeff!' when performing on stage with The Wiggles. In recent years, he shared the surprising reason his character was known to fall asleep onstage and the song that was concocted to wake him up. In the Amazon Prime documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles, Jeff admitted he previously suffered from shyness and used fake sleeping as a way to deal with introversion.
'It used to be [Blue Wiggle] Anthony Field that would fall asleep, and the children got to wake Anthony up. But it really suited me because it was a bit of a mask,' Jeff said. He was candid about his difficulty performing, noting he was the only group member without a background as a preschool teacher. 'I'd actually say, I'm very shy and introverted because I was the only non pre-school teacher and I had very little experience in dealing with children,' he explained.
Jeff finished by saying he always struggled to be in front of an audience and admitted he had always feared public speaking. 'It was a way of getting me involved and on stage and as it turns out, it's such an empowering thing for a child to be able to wake up a grown-up,' he said.
Retirement and Legacy
Fatt retired from The Wiggles in 2012 and was replaced by Lachlan Gillespie as the new Purple Wiggle. However, he still appears on stage with the band occasionally, much to the delight of fans.
