| The Cockroaches | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales Australia |
| Genres | Pop rock, rock & roll |
| Years active | 1979–1991, 1994 |
| Labels | Regular Records |
| Past members | |
| Paul Field John Field Anthony "Tony" Field Jeff Fatt Phil Robinson Tony Henry |
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The Cockroaches was an Australian pop rock band which achieved reasonable success in the 1980s and 1990s. The band took its name from an obscure nom de plume favoured by The Rolling Stones during the 1960s.
The band is today best known as a precursor to the internationally successful children's musical group The Wiggles. Two of the Wiggles, Anthony Field and Jeff Fatt, were members of the Cockroaches (lead guitar and keyboards), Cockroaches' lead singer Paul Field is the Wiggles' manager and guitarist John Field is a frequent songwriter for the Wiggles. Cockroaches' drummer Tony Henry and bassist Paul Dunworth have also played on numerous Wiggles recordings.
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The Field brothers (Paul, John and Anthony) started the group in 1979 while still at boarding school, St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. The band regularly played at school dances and pubs. The Cockroaches began writing their own music and issued a string of singles on a variety of independent labels. In 1986 the band signed a deal with Regular Records.
The band's first single on Regular, 'Wait Up'/`Henry's Lizard' (September 1986), became a national Top 40 hit and #13 in Sydney. The band's debut album, The Cockroaches (March 1987) produced three further singles, 'She's the One'/'Can in the Hand' (January), 'Some Kind of Girl'/`Dr Richmond' (May) and 'Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)'/'Something Good' (August). The Cockroaches reached #9 on the national chart, on its way to selling over 100,000 copies and 'She's the One' became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at #7 during April 1987. 'Some Kind of Girl' and 'Double Shot (of My Baby's Love)' also made the Top 30. The Cockroaches' self-titled album received a platinum record award in 1988.[1]
Peter Mackie replaced Phil Robinson before the band recorded its second album, Fingertips. In early 1989, The Cockroaches undertook a national tour. The band's third album, Positive (June 1991), included a cover of Brenda Lee's "Here Comes the Feeling" (August), which also appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film The Crossing, starring Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer. By the end of the year, however, The Cockroaches as a band concept had run its course. To add to the stress, Paul Field's seven month-old daughter died from SIDS while touring.[2]
In the early 1990s, Anthony Field studied early childhood education at Macquarie University.[3] He eventually started The Wiggles with Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook (guitar) and Greg Page (vocals), which became extraordinarily successful in Australia, the USA and parts of Asia in children's entertainment and early learning. John Field joined The Honeymen with Sean Sennett. The pair released two singles "Felt Like A Kiss" and "Motorbike Of Love". John went on to write the musical 'Evie And The Birdman' and fronts The John Field Band.[4]
The original line-up of the band was:
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