After
The Cockroaches disbanded in the early 1990s,
Anthony Field asked Fatt, who was renovating his house at the time, to help them record The Wiggles' first album in 1991. Fatt reported, "I got this call from Anthony: 'Hello, Anthony. Go away, go away. I'm not interested', you know. He's always got these ideas for things. He said, 'I've got this idea, come down to the studio'". Fatt's response to Field's request was, "Sure but how long will it take?" Field reported that as Fatt had done for the Cockroaches, he was "a musical backbone for the Wiggles".
Wake Up, Jeff! Fatt's
schtick was
sleeping at odd times, which led to a Wiggles catchphrase and the title of one of their songs, "Wake Up, Jeff!" Fatt was the oldest Wiggle and was well known for his "laid-back personality", As
Sam Moran has said, when referring to the development of the Wiggles' shticks, "Jeff really does fall asleep", and Fatt reported, "The irony is I'm a very light sleeper in the nighttime. I will invariably have a snooze before the show". Fatt was the only member of the Wiggles without a background in early childhood education; he stated that was the reason falling asleep was chosen as his schtick, "because it was a way of getting me involved in the shows without actually having to do anything". Field claimed Fatt's schtick endeared Fatt to their audiences and called it "a simple audience participation and interaction gag we've done since the start of the group". and Paul Field reported that children in the Wiggles' audience felt "great excitement" and were disappointed if not given the opportunity to help Jeff in this way. Anthony Field reported that although in the early days of the group, they took turns falling asleep, it became Fatt's schtick because "it was a perfect fit".
Retirement On 17 May 2012, it was announced that Fatt along with
Greg Page and
Murray Cook, would be retiring at the end of the year. Wiggles cast member
Lachlan Gillespie replaced him as the purple Wiggle. Fatt and the others are expected to remain involved with the creative and production aspects of the group. He continues to perform in reunion shows. In July 2020, he appeared with the other classic Wiggles in The Soul Movers music video "Circles Baby". In September 2020, following the announcement of the birth of Gillespie's daughters, Lulu and Lottie, it was announced Gillespie would take some time away from the group in order to spend time with them. As a result, Fatt decided to temporarily replace Gillespie to film The Wiggly World Of Dance Classes, a four-part series. Fatt has made appearances in the newest Wiggles series, season 3 of Ready, Steady, Wiggle and has returned as the voice of Henry the Octopus. ==Personal life==