Too Much Fruit Salad

How long before the urban legends start?

From MSN:

The hugely popular children’s group The Wiggles is expected this week to announce the departure of its lead singer because of a serious illness, media reports said Wednesday.

The Australian supergroup has reportedly scheduled a press conference for Thursday in the western city of Perth to make a “major announcement relating to members of the group,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Associated Press and the online edition of Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

The reports said the group was likely to announce the departure of the “Yellow Wiggle,” Greg Page, who has been frequently absent from touring since undergoing a double hernia operation in December.

The 34-year-old known for his bright yellow T-shirt has been undergoing medical treatment since June after experiencing fainting spells and lethargy, the reports said.

Comments

  1. What will the world do without all of the original Wiggles?

    And you’re right — I’m just waiting to see what will be said about him. This could get entertaining.

  2. Why wait to see how long it takes for an urban legend to start? Let’s create one ourselves…

  3. I read somewhere months ago that Capt Feathersword committed suicide. I’m actually a little sad to hear this news because Greg is my favorite (i.e. less creepy) of the 4. He has a few albums out that aren’t Wiggle related at all though it’s hard to not picture the others and Dorothy with him whilst he’s singing. Oh dear, I think I know waaaay more than I should about this group. I think I’ll go hang my head in shame over there in the corner until people start talking about his death. G’day.

  4. I’ll admit I also know way more than I should about the Wiggles, but compared to a lot of the crap out there, I could stand much of their music. And although they are now less important to her, they were Cordy’s first boy band, and I thank them for being the first thing ever to distract her long enough for me to get a shower.

    I find it so odd that he’s the one quitting due to health problems. After all, he’s the youngest! Jeff is in his 50’s, and the other two are in their mid-40’s.

    I guess we’re just lucky we got to see him in concert a month before he quit the tour.

  5. It’s already tomorrow there.
    Here is what their site says……..not all that scandalous really…..
    30 November, 2006

    GREG PAGE LEAVES THE WIGGLES

    [Greg’s Video Message]
    (tip: click on the video file, which will open in a new window, to commence download before reading the article due to video file size being 14MB)

    Thursday November 30

    The Wiggles have sadly announced today that Greg Page, also known as the Yellow Wiggle, is unable to continue performing with The Wiggles due to a chronic condition and has reached the decision to leave the group.

    Greg has been suffering symptoms for many months, affecting his ability to perform. The condition is related to blood pressure and while in no way life threatening it affects his balance, breathing and coordination at unpredictable times and with varying severity. Greg has discovered he is genetically predisposed to this condition and that he now needs to focus on managing his health.

    Greg is a founding member of The Wiggles and has devoted 15 years to the group. The whole band, crew, and all Wiggles staff, have expressed their sadness and their wishes for Greg to overcome his health problems.

    The Wiggles this year have continued their worldwide success, just completing a tour of the US, and have announced Greg’s replacement with his understudy Sam Moran to ensure the continued future of one of Australia’s most successful entertainment troupes.

    “This emotional decision was one which was very difficult, as I have dedicated almost half my life to the Wiggles, and with a question mark over my health, I feel that this is the right decision. I will miss The Wiggles and the other guys very much, as well as seeing all the children in the audiences that we perform in front of. I wish the guys continued success, and welcome Sam Moran with open arms to the Yellow Skivvy – I know he is a great performer, and is well equipped to be the Yellow Wiggle,� Greg said.

    Sam has been performing with The Wiggles for the past nine years and as understudy has performed over 150 shows as the Yellow Wiggle. Educated at the Conservatorium of Music, Sam has been a Wiggly dancer, Wiggly band member and will be a wonderful addition to the group.

    Murray Cook (Red Wiggle) said, “I know I speak for all The Wiggles and our staff in expressing our sadness at Greg’s leaving. The four of us started from humble beginnings 15 years ago and we’ve been through many adventures together. We will miss Greg as a superb singer, performer and songwriter but mostly we’ll miss him on the road as a friend and ally. We wish him well in dealing with his illness and in future.�

    “We welcome Sam in his place in the Wiggles. We know first hand that he is an extremely talented performer and is already well-loved by our Wiggly audience�.

    The Wiggles will continue to tour the world, record and film new DVDs with Sam Moran as the new Yellow Wiggle.
    For further information, please contact:
    Dianna O’Neill Publicity
    Phone 02 9337 2288
    Mobile 0418 468 148
    Email dioneill@ozemail.com.au

    MEDICAL CONDITION BACKGROUND

    Greg Page is afflicted with a condition known as orthostatic intolerance. Put simply, it means that when Greg stands up, his heart does not compensate for the change in posture by pumping more blood around his body for it to function properly. A similar problem occurs when there is a change in the environment such as a warm room or hot weather.

    This condition is causing problems with his walking, balance, speech and coordination. It relates to the proper functioning of the autonomic nervous system, which is the way the human body regulates things we don’t consciously have to think about such as heart beat and temperature regulation.

    As many as 30,000 people in Australia suffer orthostatic intolerance at varying levels of severity. The condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Greg is currently suffering a severe and chronic case but episodes, specialists now believe, date back some 12 years. At that time, testing was inconclusive, because the symptoms were mild to moderate, sporadic, and could have been attributed to a number of causes. All major organs in his body were functioning properly, so there was no further testing done. It is possible that his most recent bouts of illness with two hernias (prior to Oct 05) brought on the orthostatic intolerance with increased severity.

    There is no diagnosis of the cause for this condition in Greg’s case yet. It is clear, from extensive testing, that his heart is perfect and functioning normally, however his brain is not communicating properly with his heart and, from time to time, in unpredictable circumstances, results in the onset of symptoms.

    Greg is still seeking further prognosis and advice on how to manage his condition from specialists. Although it is not life threatening, it is also not likely to be cured so will require careful management to keep it under control. Stepping back from the very strenuous live performance demands of being part of the Wiggles is now his only option.

    “Although orthostatic intolerance is not uncommon in the world population, its symptoms can be mild enough to remain undetected or extremely difficult to diagnose, or it can be dormant for a long time and brought on spontaneously by a trigger, sometimes something seemingly trivial, as it seems likely could be in Greg’s case, or it could be the two hernias that he had last year.�

    “Then the symptoms can become chronic and incapacitate normally healthy active people to an enormous, and highly unpredictable, degree. Greg is fortunate he is not at the fully disabled extreme of the condition, but he is currently suffering a level of the condition that requires considerable further assessment and development of a plan to manage the condition, as it is not likely to be cured, but we expect we can minimise the impact on his life in the future,� said Associate Professor John Watson, Neurologist.

    Orthostatic intolerance
    The symptoms for this condition may include the following:
    • Excessive Fatigue
    • Exercise Intolerance
    • Nausea
    • Tachycardia
    • Palpitations
    • Tremulousness
    • Weakness – most noticeable in the legs
    • Chest Discomfort
    • Shortness of Breath
    • Migraines and Other Headaches
    • Gastrointestinal Problems

    Back to news headlines

  6. I can’t believe I’ve never seen the wiggles. I need to get cable.

  7. I don’t actually know anything more about the Wiggles outside of what I’ve memorized from Bunny’s Wiggles guitar. I LOVE that guitar. I’m sorry to learn about his illness.

  8. Oh no not Greg, my son LOVES Greg. Why can’t he perform in a wheelchair? It would make the Wiggles totally pc. Who is this Sam person anyway? Can he sing Big Red Car??? Toot Toot!

  9. Has he been eating pop rocks with soda?

  10. My daughter LOVES the Wiggles, as a matter of fact we saw them LIVE in our area in August right arounf the time that all his symptoms started. In her eyes this is worse than the break up of the Beatles… but at least it’s not Jeff (purple Wiggle). She talks to Jeff every day (yup, just like he’s standing right next to her even though he’s not). He’s her real, yet imaginary friend.

  11. Ahhhh who cares about the Wiggles? I’m into real rock n roll, like Menudo! (ha!)

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