Wilbur Wilde

Wilbur Wilde is one of Australia’s most recognisable and enduring entertainers — a powerhouse saxophonist, vocalist, television personality and live performer whose career has spanned more than five decades. Wilbur first came to national prominence in the 1970s with legendary Australian rock ’n’ roll band Ol’ 55, before joining Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons and establishing himself as one of the country’s most distinctive and sought-after musicians. Across an extraordinary career, Wilbur has performed, toured and recorded alongside some of the biggest names in Australian and international music, including Skyhooks, Cold Chisel, Split Enz, Jimmy Barnes, Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Dire Straits, Dragon and James Reyne. To millions of Australians, however, Wilbur will forever be remembered as a much-loved member of Hey Hey It’s Saturday. From 1984 to 1999, he was part of the show’s house band alongside Red Symons, combining brilliant musicianship with the humour and spontaneity that made Hey Hey an Australian television institution. His career has also taken him across radio, film and theatre, including appearances in The Flying Doctors, Spicks and Specks, The Paul Hogan Show, Mad Max, Dead End Drive-In and The Coolangatta Gold. He also spent seven years touring nationally with The New Rocky Horror Show, appearing in more than 750 performances. Today, Wilbur continues to do what he does best — entertain audiences. Whether performing with Wilbur Wilde & The Troublemakers, appearing on stage, sharing stories from an extraordinary life in Australian show business, or wielding that unmistakable saxophone, Wilbur brings warmth, humour, musicianship and infectious energy to every performance. An ARIA Hall of Fame inductee and a genuine Australian entertainment icon, Wilbur Wilde remains every bit as entertaining, unpredictable and unmistakably Wilbur as ever.