Murray Cook

Last updated

Murray Cook
AM
Murray Cook110807 (cropped).jpg
Cook in 2007
Background information
Birth nameMurray James Cook
Born (1960-06-30) 30 June 1960 (age 63)
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • actor
  • Disc jockey
Instrument(s)
Years active1985–present
Labels ABC Music
Member ofThe Soul Movers
Formerly of

Murray James Cook, AM (born 30 June 1960) [1] is an Australian musician, actor, and DJ. Cook was one of the founding members of the children's band the Wiggles from 1991 to 2012. Cook provided guitar, vocals, and songwriting in the group, and remained involved with its creative and production aspects after his retirement. In 2013, Cook served as the Wiggles' tour manager. He also remains active in many music projects, including, writing and performing with the Sydney soul-rock band The Soul Movers. He is the father of wheelchair basketball player Georgia Munro-Cook. In 2015, he was one of the members of the Australian jury for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. [2]

Contents

The Wiggles

Cook (second from right/red shirt) with the rest of the original Wiggles, during a trip to NASA in 2004. 63423main wiggles wave.jpg
Cook (second from right/red shirt) with the rest of the original Wiggles, during a trip to NASA in 2004.

Cook returned to university and studied early childhood education at Macquarie University, where he met Anthony Field and Greg Page and formed the Wiggles in 1991. [3] Cook worked as a preschool teacher for two years before the success of the Wiggles forced him to quit. [4] According to Field, Cook would have been content to "continue teaching and perhaps move into an academic role in the field. He knows his stuff and is simply great with children". [5] As a member of the Wiggles, Cook wore a red skivvy and served as an instrumentalist and vocalist. He came up with the Wiggles' signature index finger-wagging move after watching professional ten pin bowlers do the move on television. [6] He was considered the intellectual and analytical member of the group (something referred to in several episodes of their TV show), so he acted as mediator for their group decisions. [7] When the Wiggles received honorary degrees from the Australian Catholic University in 2006, Cook gave the commencement speech to the graduates. On 17 May 2012, it was announced that Cook, along with Greg Page and Jeff Fatt, would be retiring from the Wiggles at the end of the year. He was replaced by Wiggles cast member Simon Pryce. Cook and the others expected to remain involved with the creative and production aspects of the group. [8] In 2013, Cook served as the group's tour manager. [9] Cook told the Newcastle Herald , about his music career after his retirement from the Wiggles, "I was kind of feeling my way for a few years, I guess". [10]

Other works

In addition to continuing to play with Bang Shang A Lang, [6] he performed lead guitar for the Proposition, a Sydney-based guitar pop band fronted by singer-songwriter Luke Russell on their 2015 album, Edge of the Dancefloor. Also in 2015, Cook was involved in the production of the play Sons of Sun, which was about American music producer Sam Phillips. [11] In October 2017, Cook played guitar for the tribute show "The Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood Experience" with Zoe Carides and Scott Holmes in Newcastle, New South Wales. [12]

While exploring other projects, Cook met Lizzie Mack, a member of the Sydney soul-rock band the Soul Movers, who along with Radio Birdman guitarist Deniz Tek and founder of The Soul Movers, were relaunching the group. [13] In 2015, Cook began writing songs with Mack and decided to focus on the band and use it as his "main creative outlet" [10] In 2017, the group recorded Testify, "an album of energetic blues, soul and rock". [10] The album was recorded at the Wiggles' studio in northwest Sydney and Jeff Fatt performed keyboards for the group. [10] In 2019, the group recorded Bona Fide, which the Sydney Morning Herald called "a stunning album". [14] The album, which as Cook stated, included "more roots-oriented songs to try to reflect a wide range of American music styles", [15] and was recorded in the U.S.' "premier soul studios" [14] such as Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He appeared with the group at the rock festival Splendour in the Grass in July 2018. [16]

Personal life

In 1986, Cook joined the Sydney-based band Bang Shang a Lang. Cook's major musical influences were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Eric Clapton. [17] He is married to Meg Munro and has two children, a son and a daughter, wheelchair basketball player Georgia Munro-Cook. On 30 November 2020, 11 months after fellow former bandmate Greg Page collapsed on stage and went into cardiac arrest, Cook opened up about a major health scare which forced him to undergo open heart surgery. [18]

Awards

Cook, along with the other three original members of the Wiggles, was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 "for service to the arts, particularly children's entertainment, and to the community as benefactors and supporters of a range of charities". [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wiggles</span> Australian childrens music group

The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Caterina Mete and Lucia Field. The Wiggles were founded in 1991 by Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Greg Page and Phillip Wilcher. Wilcher left the group after their first album. Page retired in 2006 due to ill health and was replaced by understudy Sam Moran, but returned in 2012, replacing Moran. At the end of 2012, Cook, Fatt and Page retired and were replaced by Gillespie, Pryce and Emma Watkins. Cook and Fatt retained their shareholding in the group and all three continued to have input into its creative and production aspects, while engaging in occasional reunion performances. Watkins departed the group in 2021, with Hawkins taking her place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Field</span> Australian musician and actor

Anthony Donald Joseph Field is an Australian musician, actor, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a leader of the children's group the Wiggles and a member of the 1980s and 1990s pop band the Cockroaches. While still a teenager, he helped found the Cockroaches with his brothers, Paul and John. The Cockroaches recorded two albums and enjoyed moderate success, interrupted by Field's service in the Army, until they disbanded in the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Page (musician)</span> Australian musician, singer and actor (born 1972)

Gregory John Page, is an Australian singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the original lead singer and a founding member of the children's band the Wiggles from 1991 to 2006 and then again in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Fatt</span> Australian musician and actor

Jeffrey Wayne Fatt is a Chinese Australian musician and actor. He was a member of the children's group The Wiggles from its founding in 1991 to 2012, and was also in the 1980s and 1990s pop band The Cockroaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Field (musician)</span> Musical artist

Paul James Field is an Australian musician, filmmaker and author. He is best known as one of the founding members of the Sydney pub rock band the Cockroaches and the Field Brothers and as Managing Director for the children's music group the Wiggles.

John William Michael Field is an Australian composer and songwriter. He was a founding mainstay member of the Sydney pub rock band the Cockroaches on rhythm guitar and sharing lead vocals. He has written tracks for the children's music group, the Wiggles, including "Hot Potato". His brothers, Paul Field and Anthony Field, were also bandmates in the Cockroaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cockroaches</span> Australian pub rock band

The Cockroaches were an Australian pub rock band primarily active throughout the 1980s. The band was founded in 1979 by the Field brothers—Paul, John, and Anthony —and Tony Henry on drums and Joseph Hallion on saxophone. They were joined in 1981 by Jeff Fatt on keyboards. In 1986 they signed with an independent label, Regular Records, which issued their first three albums, including The Cockroaches, which peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart; it sold 70,000 copies and was certified platinum by their label. The album spawned the single "She's the One", which became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at No. 7 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart in April 1987. In 1988, The Daily Telegraph described the Cockroaches, who played over 300 gigs a year, as the "Hardest Working Rock'n'Roll Band" in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Paddick</span> Australian singer and actor

Paul Andrew Paddick is an Australian singer and actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Captain Feathersword, "the friendly pirate", a character associated with the children's band the Wiggles, where he eventually came to be known as "the fifth Wiggle".

<i>The Wiggles</i> (album) 1991 studio album by the Wiggles

The Wiggles is the debut album by the Australian children's band the Wiggles, released in 1991 by ABC Music distributed by Phonogram. As a student music project at Macquarie University, the band assembled a group of songs reworked from the Cockroaches as well as arrangements of children's music. It was the only album that involved Phillip Wilcher as one of the group's members. The album sold 100,000 copies, and received Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) and Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) awards.

<i>Yummy Yummy</i> (album) 1994 studio album by The Wiggles

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<i>Wake Up Jeff!</i> 1996 studio album/video by The Wiggles

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<i>Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas</i> 1996 studio album / 1997 video by the Wiggles

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<i>Yule Be Wiggling</i> 2000 studio album / 2001 video by The Wiggles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Pryce</span> Australian musician

Simon James Pryce is an Australian children's entertainer, singer and actor. He is best known for his work as the Red Wiggle of The Wiggles since 2013, and also for the children's show The Kingdom of Paramithi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wiggles Pty Ltd</span> Australian entertainment company

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The Wiggles characters are a group of characters who perform with the Wiggles, the Australian children's music group. Aside from the eight Wiggles, four secondary characters, along with a troupe of singers, actors, and dancers, appear in their television series, videos, and live concerts. These characters were developed in the 1990s and were originally played by group members and by Anthony Field's brother Paul Field, the band's manager. Later in the group's history, the characters were played by hired actors dressed in the characters' costumes.

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<i>Live Hot Potatoes!</i> 2005 live album/video by The Wiggles

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References

  1. ↑ "Today in History, June 30". Australian Associated Press. 29 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Argyriou, Giannis (11 November 2015). "Australian broadcaster announced hosts and jury for Junior Eurovision". Eurovision.com. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. ↑ Field, pp. 27–28
  4. ↑ Iacuzio, Tom (15 November 2007). "What's up with The Wiggles?". Daytona Beach News-journal. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. ↑ Field, p. 45
  6. 1 2 Doherty, Megan (27 November 2012). "Wiggling it one last time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Blake, Elissa (2 September 2007). "Unusual suspects". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Quinn, Karl (19 May 2012). "Wiggle Room: The Brand Played On". The Age. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  9. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (26 August 2013). "The Wiggles dream of playing Glastonbury as they return to Aussie TV and arenas". News.com.au. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Leeson, Josh (14 April 2018). "Ex-red Wiggle Murray Cook has injected his creative energy into The Soul Movers". New Castle Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Shand, John (19 April 2015). "Sons of Sun review: Songs reveal the Sam Phillips drama for Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  12. ↑ Kellar, Jim (29 September 2017). "Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood Experience comes to town". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Move on over wigglers, it's soul time". 14 March 2019.
  14. 1 2 Roberts, Jo (14 March 2019). "Move on over wigglers, it's soul time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Davies, Hayden (January 2019). "From The Wiggles to DZ Deathrays, Murray Cook isn't going anywhere". Pilerats.com. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  16. ↑ Clun, Rachel (21 July 2018). "Red Wiggle Murray Cook joins DZ Deathrays on stage at Splendour in the Grass". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  17. ↑ Bourgeau, Michel. "Play your guitar with Murray". Guitar Player Magazine. Archived from the original (doc) on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  18. ↑ "Original Red Wiggle Murray Cook reveals serious health scare less than a year after former Yellow Wiggle collapses". 7 News. 22 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Wiggles 'floored' by Australia Day Honours". ABC News. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2019.

Bibliography

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