Where are they now: Children’s singer Peter Combe

THE man behind such classics as Newspaper Mama and Toffee Apple has opened up about his adult only shows and what he really thinks of The Wiggles.

PETER Combe — the man behind such classic hits as Newspaper Mama and Wash Your Face in Orange Juice — has revealed where his wacky lyrics come from.

The answer? Nowhere.

“I cannot tell you how I get the ideas and that’s part of the mystery of songwriting,” Combe told news.com.au.

“Often you don’t know where an idea comes from. Other times you know exactly what made you write a song. In a way, songwriting falls into those two categories.

“The ones that come out of nowhere are the much more unusual ones in the sense that you’re pleased that it happened but you don’t know why.”

Peter Combe has been writing and performing his “unusual ones” for more than 30 years.

Most Aussie kids who grew up in the 80s and 90s were at one stage obsessed with some of his songs. Now they’re in their 20s and 30s, and they’re rediscovering their love of Combe’s tunes all over again.

“I performed about eight or nine years ago at Schützenfest in Adelaide,” the 67-year-old said.

“That particular audience were drunk and they actually stormed the stage because they were so excited to hear the songs again.”

That gave Combe an idea, and a few years later he started playing “Big Kids Night Out” shows around the country.

“They’re at 10 o’clock at night on a Friday or Saturday night and there’s no children allowed,” he said.

“It’s full of people who grew up on all of my songs and they’re incredibly fun shows.”

The crowd know the words to all of Combe’s major songs, but some are more popular than others.

“The top song of the evening is probably always Juicy Juicy Green Grass, followed very closely by Newspaper Mama and Wash Your Face With Orange Juice.”

In addition to his “Big Kids Night Out” shows and regular performances for kids, Combe sings at some intimate gatherings for his most loyal fans.

“I play at a few wedding receptions these days,” he said.

“It’s quite strange at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night seeing some very confused grandparents as I sing Toffee Apple, Newspaper Mama, Spaghetti Bolognaise and Wash Your face With Orange Juice.”

Despite being an Aussie icon, Combe hasn’t been able to crack the lucrative international market during his career, but he insists that he’s “not bothered”.

So how does he feel about The Wiggles, who started releasing children’s music almost 10 years after he did and have enjoyed incredible success overseas?

“It’s often just a question of luck really,” Combe said.

“They’ve got that strange gimmick where they wear those different coloured shirts. The Wiggles have a lot of gimmicks. I don’t really have any gimmicks. My only gimmick is that I pride myself on writing really good songs and I have great pride in the quality of my performances.

“I’m all about doing things at a very high level, musically. In all fairness, I don’t think that’s The Wiggles biggest priority. They’re a huge group who are extraordinarily famous, and not that they don’t do things well, but I don’t think it’s their first priority, but for me it’s the only thing that counts, which is how good is it.”

Check out the dates Peter Combe’s upcoming shows at his website.

Originally published as Where are they now: Children’s singer Peter Combe