According to 100 Warm Tunas – an aggregator of predictions for triple j’s annual Hottest 100, with a famously high rate of accuracy – The Wiggles are on track to score big in this year’s countdown, currently tipped to take out the Number One spot.
The legendary children’s band are eligible this year with their cover of Tame Impala’s ‘Elephant’, which they performed for triple j’s Like A Version segment last March. The original version of the track – initially released on Tame Impala’s second album, ‘Lonerism’ – came in at Number Seven on the Hottest 100 of 2012.
If The Wiggles’ cover does in fact top this year’s countdown, it’ll be the first time a cover ever has. Reacting to the prospect, Anthony Field (the Blue Wiggle) told The Sydney Morning Herald: “It’s an absolute spin-out. It’s not something we ever thought would happen. But we really did do the song out of love.”
Lachlan Gillespie, the Purple Wiggle, was similarly blown away by the response he’s had to their ‘Elephant’ cover. He told the paper: “It’s bizarre, it’s just been this amazingly popular thing. In the end, it’s been a special experience for all of us.”
Gillespie went on to note that he wasn’t a fan of Tame Impala prior to the cover, having been introduced to ‘Elephant’ – along with a series of other potential candidates for their Like A Version appearance, including Rihanna‘s ‘Umbrella’ – ABC Music manager Nick Webb.
“As soon as we heard ‘Elephant’, it seemed a good fit,” he continued. “The lyrics were semi-Wigglish; we have a few songs about elephants, too.”
Notable in The Wiggles’ cover of ‘Elephant’ is the interpolation of lyrics from their own smash-hit, ‘Fruit Salad’. Field explained that the band decided to mash the two songs up when an early iteration of the cover sounded too close to the original. “Sounds like a cover band,” he reportedly quipped to his bandmates. “What’s Wiggly about it?”
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In the end, he said, it was his children that gave Field and co. the green light. “We played it for my daughters and they gave it the thumbs up, which is not always a given. I was like, ‘Okay, this is good’ – we’re celebrating a great piece of Australian writing with another great piece of Australian writing, if I do say so myself!”
The Wiggles’ cover of ‘Elephant’ is featured on the group’s forthcoming covers album, ‘ReWiggled’, which is due out on March 11 via ABC Music. Other highlights include the aforementioned ‘Umbrella’ cover, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen, ‘Shipping Up To Boston’ by the Dropkick Murphys and ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC.
A separate disc of ‘ReWiggled’ will comprise new takes on The Wiggles’ own songs by acts like DZ Deathrays, San Cisco, Luca Brasi, Polish Club, Stella Donnelly, Donny Benet and Emily Wurramara.
The album will land amid The Wiggles’ first full-scale tour of Australia for 18+ audiences. The seven-date run will see the group’s “OG” lineup – comprising Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt and Greg Page – play arenas alongside several of the bands featured on ‘ReWiggled’.
“All of those children who loved The Wiggles in the ‘90s are now adults who love the nostalgia and fun from that time in their lives,” Fatt said upon the tour’s announcement. “This night is for the grown-ups and is a chance to bring back some of that genuine, high-spirited liveliness again. We can’t wait to relive those childhood memories and dance the night away to some of the favourite old-school tunes.”