The Aussie Fab Four Minus One

No, Greg isn't dead. But he is leaving the Wiggles.

Apparently, Mr. Yellow Shirt had missed a whole raft of shows this year due to an circulatory illness called orthostatic intolerance. He's now announced that he's quiting performing altogether.

Of course, I hope all the best for Greg. And I think this is a huge shame - The Wiggles really were a great thing, especially in their earlier days. When you consider all the other alternatives onto which the kiddies might latch, you could do far worse than memorizing the lyrics to "Big Red Car", "Mashed Potatoes" and "Do The Monkey".

I understand that an understudy had been filling in for Greg on tour and that now the Wiggles are planning to elevate him to a permanent position. The jocks on the radio were musing about this move this morning, wondering if the Wiggles could survive, or if the kiddies would even notice the substitution.

I can answer the second question, at any rate: Above the age of, say, three, you bet they will.

As to the first? Difficult to say. Sure, the franchise has been built up to institutional proportions, but in the end it really seems to me to be dependent on these four guys and especially Greg. Will the fans remain loyal, now that the recognized leader of the group is gone?

It's a wiggly, wiggly conundrum!