The Cockroaches

Did You Know?

• The Cockroaches played over 300 gigs a year and were described by The Daily Telegraph in 1988 as the 'Hardest Working Rock'n'Roll Band' in the country.
• In September 1988, while promoting their second album Fingertips, Paul's infant daughter died of SIDS.
• Australian musicologist Glenn A. Baker described their sound as 'rangy, loose-limbed, good-natured, energetic, self-effacing, intuitive, harmonic, melodic, enduring, soused and fiercely frantic'.

History

The Cockroaches, also called the Cockies, were founded in 1979 by the Field brothers—Paul, John, and Anthony—while they were students at St. Joseph's College, a Sydney boarding school. Paul Field said the brothers grew up in a large family of seven children, were taught music from a young age, and were involved in their local Catholic parish, playing music for services. Other founders were Tony Henry on drums and Joseph Hallion on saxophone; Bruce Hatfield joined on bass guitar by mid-1980.

The band took their name from an alias used by Keith Richards during the 1960s because, according to Anthony Field, "it sounded kind of punkish and that scene was blossoming in Sydney at the time". One of their first gigs was at their school, with proceeds donated to missions. Paul booked initial performances at local pubs, where despite some members being under-age, they were allowed to perform. Anthony later said their playing was rudimentary but their spirit made up for inadequacies.

Afterwards and The Wiggles

In early 1991, Anthony Field launched The Wiggles, a children's music group, alongside university peers Murray Cook and Greg Page, who had been a roadie for The Cockroaches, along with Phillip Wilcher and Cockroaches member Jeff Fatt. Their first album, The Wiggles, came out that July, was dedicated to Paul Field's daughter, and moved 70,000 copies. The group drew heavily on former Cockroaches for support: Paul, John, and Henry—who inspired the character Henry the Octopus—appeared on recordings, videos, and live shows, while John co-wrote many songs.

Early Wiggles tracks often repurposed Cockroaches material for a kid-friendly audience. After The Cockroaches stopped regular gigs, Paul spent three years working for Chief Judge James Roland Wood, a stint he felt gave Anthony space to develop The Wiggles without his brothers' involvement. By the mid-1990s, Paul had become the group's talent manager. John later formed the John Field Band, an eight-piece covers outfit, and wrote the musicals Evie and the Birdman and Who Loves Me.

Since 2006, Tony Henry has managed student services at the International College of Management, Sydney, while drumming on Wiggles recordings; he has also sessioned for Ross Wilson, Slim Dusty, Crowded House, and Mental As Anything.