Jeff Fatt was on the roof of his house fixing tiles when a phone call came through from his friend Anthony Field asking for help. Field, a trainee early childhood teacher at Sydney's Macquarie University, was recording children's songs for a project he was doing with two other students. 'I told Jeff we needed that piano boogie woogie thing he did so well,' Field recalls. 'He asked how long would it take? I said a couple of hours.' That was 20 years ago. Fatt, who had previously worked with Field in the 80s pop band The Cockroaches, took up the offer and joined Field and fellow students Murray Cook and Greg Page. The collection of songs they produced was released as an album in 1991 - and The Wiggles were born. Fast-forward to 2011 and The Wiggles are one of the most popular children's entertainment groups in the world with an army of fans stretching from Australia, across Asia, Europe and to the US and South America. They have sold more than 30 million DVDs and CDs with several records attaining gold and platinum status. They've received many awards, recorded 700 songs, sold six million books worldwide, worked with Kylie Minogue, and have even been transformed into cartoons. Their shows have aired in 147 countries and inspired a Wiggles World section at a Gold Coast amusement park. In 2008, they were made Unicef Goodwill Ambassadors focusing on numeracy, literacy and sanitation. 'It's unbelievable it's been 20 years and I still shake my head at that,' Field says on the phone from Sydney. 'We've worked so hard and it's gone so fast. I couldn't tell you how many times we've been to Hong Kong or how many times we have been to the US because we have done so many things. Maybe one day I will have the time to look back and remember it all, but at the moment we are just so busy. 'But it's all been incredible. The awards are nice but meeting people and doing the shows are more fulfilling. We've met so many great people, celebrities and so many great children and families. We've had some very special moments with children with special needs and with terminal illnesses. I still remember a lot of them. Not everyone gets to share time with special people like that. 'What pleases me most about our success is that it means we can still keep on doing what we love. Today, we are recording sounds for an album. I still love doing all that - playing music and getting together with the other guys.' Field, now a 48-year-old father of three, say the group's shared passion for children's education and entertainment brought them together, kept them going over the past 20 years, and made them a hit with preschool children around the world. They're all a little older, wiser and have a few wrinkles now, but largely they are still very much the same people pursuing the same aims as they were in 1991. 'We've always done what we think is good for children and talk in a language that children understand,' he says. 'Murray, myself and Greg are all qualified early childhood teachers and we thought through a lot of things when we started. For instance, with the different coloured shirts, we knew children responded to colours and it was another way to help them learn to identify colours. 'Although we've never taken ourselves seriously, we do take our job seriously. It's about helping children have fun and so we cop a few creams pies in the face during a show, fall over and act the fool.' It's a recipe that has worked well. So much so, it is probably fair to say millions of teens and young adults today spent their early years singing along to the likes of Hot Potato, Fruit Salad and Big Red Car. Some are now parents of Wiggles fans who can sing along with their children with a sense of nostalgia. 'There's a whole stack of second-generation Wiggles fans out there,' says Field. 'We've met quite a few parents over the past year who watched us 20 years ago and now bring their children to the shows. It does make one feel pretty old.' Like their parents, you can guarantee this new generation of fans knows that Purple Wiggle is the one who always falls asleep (Wake up Jeff!), Red Wiggle plays the guitar and drives the red car (Toot Toot!), Yellow Wiggle does magic tricks and Blue Wiggle is the one that loves his food (Yummy Yummy Fruit Salad). 'Jeff is actually really like that. He's a very laid-back guy and will fall asleep at the drop of the hat,' says Field. 'I'm also a bit of a foodie. When we first started out and I was 20 year younger, I was singing about yummy fruit salad and eating pizzas. Now my metabolism slowed down, I am actually eating fruit salad, as well as singing about it.' The highlights of the 20 years are too many to list, says Field, although he admits they got a real buzz when they sold out 12 shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2003. A low point came in 2006 when Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle, left after being diagnosed with orthostatic intolerance, a disorder that effects blood pressure causing balance, co-ordination and breathing difficulties. 'Greg had been with us 14 years from the beginning but it became increasingly hard for him. He kept fainting and passing out. 'He fainted in Hong Kong in 2003 at the time of Sars. It was before he had been diagnosed and we worried he'd caught Sars. 'It was very strange when he left and we had to make some changes. Greg was also trained in early childhood education and he knew where we were coming from. A lot of people loved him and miss him.' He was replaced by understudy Sam Moran who had been part of The Wiggles gang since 1998. Moran was Page's understudy for 200 shows before he took over the yellow skivvy. Next month the group celebrates its 20th anniversary with a tour that brings The Wiggles and their entourage of singing and dancing characters back to Hong Kong for three shows on September 10 and 11 at the Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre. 'Our first concerts in Hong Kong last year were the highlight of our tour schedule for 2010,' Field says. 'We love coming back. There's always a good turnout and vibe.' Returning to Hong Kong is particularly enjoyable for Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt, whose family comes from the city and speak Cantonese. 'Hong Kong will be a 20th birthday show, so there'll be lots of birthday cake, cream pies in the face jokes and I'm the one that cops it all the time. All the characters will be there - Wags, Dorothy, Henry and Captain Feathersword. It's going to be a lot of fun.' One person who will be missing from the line-up will be Field's wife Miki, a Wiggle dancer, who is staying at home to look after their children Antonio, four, Maria, five, and Lucia, seven. Leaving them all behind is one aspect of the job Field does not relish. At times it caused him bouts of depression, from which he recovered with the help of his family. But what about the future? Does Field see a day when preschoolers no longer take a shine to The Wiggles, when the Hot Potato gets dropped, the Fruit Salad goes limp, the Big Red Car fails its MOT or musical differences force the four Wiggles apart. 'Like any people who have lived together for 20 years, we have our moments and disagreement but we always patch them up and we never let them show on stage,' says Field. 'But we don't argue about who should drive the red car or who sits in the back seat, and we don't have musical differences. If we do fall out it's usually from being on a long tour and being away for two months and it is something crazy like cleaning the coffee machine. 'I think we could go on for another 20 years,' he says with a laugh. 'Yeah, why not? There may be a line-up change and perhaps I'll hand over the blue skivvy or Jeff or Murray will hand over theirs, but I think The Wiggles have a future. 'As long as we keep the music good, we keep connecting with children and we have Dorothy the Dinosaur and all the other guys, I think we'll still have something to keep children entertained.' Get your Wiggle on The Wiggles are offering one parent the chance to follow in the footsteps of Kylie Minogue. The lucky parent selected will join them as the fifth Wiggle in performing one song, Fruit Salad, and receive four tickets to one of The Wiggles Live In Concert performances on September 10 and 11. To enter, please send a photo of your family (as a 2MB jpeg file) to info@propublicity.com before September 1, along with your name and contact phone number. The winner will be informed by e-mail by September 5.