If you’ve ever wondered who the most recent musician to join The Wiggles is, let us introduce you to Nikos Filippatos.
Nikos is a musician who was born and raised in Kefalonia, Greece, and teamed up with The Wiggles in November 2022.
Although he is mostly known as being an all-rounder musician, he specialises in playing the bouzouki and is also a singer, songwriter, and scientist (who is in the middle of completing his master’s in medical science at the University of Adelaide, South Australia).
“I’ve been passionate about music for as long as I can remember,” Nikos told The Greek Herald.
“Ever since I was 12, I began playing various instruments and the bouzouki was the one that landed me the gig with The Wiggles. Now I play the bouzouki, the accordion, keyboard, guitar, and drums for them.
“After playing music and singing for many years, I became a professional musician and performed in many places around Greece and abroad, including hotels, nightclubs and restaurants.”
The now-38-year-old musician also creates videos on his own YouTube channel ‘Bouzouki Land,’ of him playing bouzouki and guitar.
Nikos said pursuing music had always been his dream.
“The dream of my life was actually to play music for kids, and now here I am, collaborating with The Wiggles,” he said.
But this dream wasn’t always so easy to make possible.
“Unfortunately, when I was in Greece, it [playing music for kids] was a very tough market to get into, and although we have kids, you don’t have the opportunity to do what you love,” Nikos said.
“So I said okay, I’m old enough, I won’t play music and then I decided to focus on my studies.
“It was when I decided to shift my focus that Anthony, the blue Wiggle, sent me a message on Instagram after discovering my YouTube channel and proposed to me the idea of playing a song with The Wiggles during one of their Melbourne shows.”
Nikos said Anthony had initially asked him for some advice about the bouzouki as his wife is Greek and loves Greek music, and he was learning bouzouki. He was also looking to bring something new to The Wiggles stage.
“I officially started working with The Wiggles on the 4th of November 2022, where we did a big show at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne,” he said.
“We didn’t have any rehearsals prior either because I was living in Adelaide, so I just did some video calls with Anthony to begin with, and then that’s how we started.”
The Greek musician said prior to the collaboration with The Wiggles, he had no idea who they were.
“When I first came to Australia in 2020, it was for my honeymoon with my wife. Then COVID-19 happened, and we got stuck here, so we decided to migrate to Australia,” Nikos said.
“Then two years later, when I received the message from Anthony, I had no idea know who the guy was. I thought he was a scammer at first, which was quite funny.
“He was wearing a bright blue skivvy and had so many followers. I then began asking around who he was, and everybody was amazed that I didn’t know who he was and then when I learnt, I felt so honoured to be acknowledged by him.”
Nikos said after working with The Wiggles for over a year, and having such a positive experience with them, they felt “like family” to him.
“They treat me with respect, they really appreciate my abilities and my knowledge, and they make me feel special,” he said.
“Although I’m not a Wiggle, and am just collaborating with them, they are so polite and nice and appreciative of me and what I do, which I love.
“Playing on stage with them is also just such a rewarding feeling for me. It’s not about the money, it’s about seeing the kids’ beautiful smiley faces, making music, and having fun in the process.”
Nikos Filippatos is now currently touring nationally with The Wiggles, as part of their Wiggly Big Day Out tour. It will continue until Saturday, December 23. To get tickets or find out more, visit www.thewiggles.com.
