Gregory John Page (born January 16, 1972 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian musician and actor. He is best known as the original lead vocalist and founding member of the children's band The Wiggles. Page has also recorded several solo albums.[1]
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Career
Page met Anthony Field and Murray Cook when they were Early Childhood Education students at Macquarie University, and combined their music backgrounds and teaching skills to form The Wiggles.[2] When performing with the Wiggles, Page wore a yellow shirt. Like the other Wiggles, Page also had a schtick, which was doing magic tricks. Influenced by his bandmate Anthony Field, Page is a fan of Elvis Presley. His 2005 solo album, "Taking Care of Country" reflected Page's interest in Presley's music. This album was recorded with the TCB Band, Elvis's back-up band. In spring 2003, Page performed in Las Vegas with the TCB Band. In 2002, Page sang back-up with Australian Elvis impersonator Mick Gerace.[2] Page has also accumulated an extensive collection of Elvis memorabilia, including the last Cadillac owned by Elvis, his personal and movie clothing, and original TCB Band necklaces.[3] Page lives in a suburb of Sydney and has two children.
Illness and Retirement
On November 30, 2006, it was announced that Greg Page would retire from The Wiggles due to poor health.[4] Page had been experiencing health difficulties since December 2005, when he underwent a double hernia operation and withdrew from his group's U.S. tour after suffering repeated fainting spells and bouts of lethargy.[5] Sam Moran, who had performed and understudied for The Wiggles for nine years, stood in for Page in his absence. Although he was missing for virtually all of the late 2006 tour, audiences were only informed of Page's absence at concerts moments before the curtain went up.[6] Page was diagnosed with a non-life-threatening, and difficult to diagnose chronic illness called orthostatic intolerance, which causes symptoms such as fatigue and loss of balance when sufferers stand up. Specialists believed that Page had mild episodes of the illness going back twelve years, but symptoms worsened after his hernias. It was decided that Page would step back from performing with The Wiggles to better manage his health.[4] Page was succeeded by Moran as a full member of the group.[4]
Solo Discography
Greg Page (1998)
I Believe in Music (2002)
Greg Page Live in Concert (2003)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (2004)
Taking Care of Country (2005)
References
- ^ Mullen, Amy (2006-10-30). A Wiggles concert with a missing Wiggle. Associated Content. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ a b Troedson, David (2002-05-27). Interview - Greg Page of The Wiggles. Elvis Australia. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ My obsession - Greg Page. Collectors. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ a b c Greg Page leaves The Wiggles. The Wiggles Homepage (2006-11-30). Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Associated Press. "The Wiggles’ lead vocalist to stop performing", MSNBC, 2006-11-30. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ Crooks, Michael. "Illness forces Greg Page out of the Wiggles", Who.com, 2006-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
