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Adorned in red, yellow, blue and purple shirts, they sing catchy tunes, most of which are accompanied by a simple dance move. With 16 albums in 13 years, they have been a prolific group by any standard. Some hit songs include "Monkey Dance," "Hot Potato" and "Fruit Salad." Selling out shows throughout Australia, Canada and the United States, The Wiggles are, more or less, The Beatles of the preschool set.

The Wiggles, a kids' entertainment sensation from Australia, play two shows today at Mellon Arena.

"When we first started, we used what we knew about music and childhood education," says Murray Cook, former preschool teacher and red-shirted singer and guitar player for The Wiggles. "We never really set out to make a career of it."

The Wiggles began as a college project. Murray Cook, Anthony Field and Greg Page -- three men studying early childhood education in Australia -- began writing children's songs that combined the group's knowledge of music and education techniques. Jeff Fatt, a bandmate of Field's in a popular '80s Australian rock band, joined the group to become the fourth Wiggle. The group completed a demo tape, took it to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and by 1991, The Wiggles had released their first album.

The Wiggles' memorable songs and energetic approach to childhood entertainment made them a fast favorite among Aussies. Live shows, parents' word-of-mouth and numerous CD and video releases spread the Wiggle phenomenon across the Australian continent like wildfire.

New lighting, sets and cartoons made each subsequent Wiggle video more sophisticated. In addition to Cook, Fatt, Field and Page -- the red, purple, blue and yellow-shirted Wiggles, respectively -- new characters were added to The Wiggles' sing-alongs. Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Wags the Dog and Captain Feathersword appear in all of the new Wiggles' videos, merrily singing and dancing with the rest of the group.

"Dorothy actually came about when I was teaching," Cook says. "Kids love dinosaurs, and I just couldn't find any songs about dinosaurs, so I wrote one."

The Wiggles first crossed over into American entertainment in 1999. Wiggle-mania blazed across the United States with incredible speed. Their "Yummy Yummy" album recently became the first Wiggle album to go gold within the United States. The group also has 12 gold, seven platinum and three double-platinum albums in Australia.

After making children's music for 13 years, The Wiggles continue to create new and innovative material. As long as there still is an audience out there, the group intends to keep on doing what it has been doing so successfully for over a decade.

"I think to really physically connect with children, you have to put yourself in their place," Cook says. "The great thing about the early childhood field is that everything is new to young children."

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