Red Wiggle Simon Pryce has spoken out about the Hot Potato furore that engulfed the City of Bunbury after it used the famous Wiggles song to deter homeless people from congregating at one of its parks.
Pryce, 51, shared the group’s disappointment over the row as they head to WA on tour this weekend but said they were happy the city had decided to stop playing the song on a loop.
His comments come after the city’s chief executive Malcolm Osborne apologised to the group for using their song near the city’s Graham Bricknell Music Shell area as a tactic to keep homeless people away.
Responding to the apology, Pryce told The West: “It’s been resolved and we are happy about that.”
The singer said the group only became aware of the controversy after it was revealed in The West.
“We kind of heard about it when the news broke and we were a little disappointed that our music is being used in that way,” the star told The West.
“We try and bring joy and happiness and bring people together. It was a little bit disappointing for us.”
His comments come after Mr Osborne personally apologised to the group after the approach was deemed “inhumane” by residents.
“The intention was good at the time — upon reflection we got it wrong and it’s probably something that we should not have initiated in the first place,” Mr Osborne said.
“I have also written to The Wiggles and made an apology, and I don’t say that lightly.”
The Wiggles have turned their attention to the Wiggly Big Day Out shows at RAC Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve got eight Wiggles of course, who are all incredible talents, we’ve got all our characters there,” Pryce said. “Big bubble machines, with bubbles coming from the ceiling to the audience, we’ve got a great new song, bouncing balls, beach balls to throw around the crowd.
“A Wiggles show is incredibly engaging. We have a set list but it is very fluid that can change at any second with our audience.”
He said the colourful gang love coming our way, dubbing Perth a “beautiful place”.
The Masked Singer star revealed the group’s biggest fan is his two-year-old son.
“He is three in January. I am certainly not the favourite Wiggle with him. Lucia is his favourite, he loves Lucia, the blue Wiggle,” said the proud dad, whose boy certainly has bragging rights in daycare.
“At the age of six weeks he was on his first tour of New Zealand, so he has been around them. Now he’s like ‘ah, The Wiggles, I know that’.”
Pryce added: “He goes to daycare a couple of days a week and he said to me last night, that he has a little friend called Chloe and asked Chloe ‘Will you come to Wiggles with me?’ He asked Chloe out on a date. It was very sweet.”