| Operator Please | |
|---|---|
Operator Please in 2008. L - R: Henderson, McConnell, Wilkinson, Commandeur, Gardiner |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Indie rock Indie pop Pop New Wave |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Virgin/EMI Brille |
| Website | operatorpleaseband.com |
| Members | |
| Amandah Wilkinson Taylor Henderson Tim Commandeur Chris Holland Ashley McConnell |
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| Past members | |
| Sarah Gardiner Stephanie Joske Kieran Richards |
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Operator Please are an Australian pop band, originating on the Gold Coast of Queensland, in 2005. Their current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, Ashley McConnell on bass guitar, and violinist Taylor Henderson.
The original members met and formed Operator Please as students of Elanora State High School in order to compete in the school's "Battle of the Bands" competition.[1] In 2007, Operator Please released the singles "Get What You Want", "Leave It Alone", "Just a Song About Ping Pong" and their debut studio album, Yes Yes Vindictive. "Just a Song About Ping Pong", their most successful single to date, was nominated for two ARIA Awards in 2007, winning one for Breakthrough Artist – Single.[2]
Contents |
Operator Please was formed in early 2005 by lead singer Amandah Wilkinson in an attempt to compete in her high school's annual "Battle of the Bands" competition. After winning the contest, the five members, aged 17 to 19, started working on getting their name out through an independently produced EP, On the Prowl. Their second EP, Cement Cement, generated interest both locally and internationally, from a combination of word of mouth and exposure on the Australian youth radio network Triple J (which featured their first single, "Crash Tragic", taken from the EP, on high rotation for quite some time).[3] Within months, and with the help of a record label sponsored showcase in NYC, they had agreed a deal with Virgin/EMI Records for Australia, and for the UK with indie label Brille Records.[4]
"Just a Song About Ping Pong" was one of the most added songs at Australian commercial radio with the Hot 30 and Nova radio stations nationally leading the charge. The music video for the song was played on music programmes around Australia, UK, and Europe including MTV,[5] Channel V,[6] and ABC's rage.[7] It was featured on the front page of MySpace and YouTube.[8] Operator Please has since been labelled as "our favorite new band" and "the next big thing" by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.[9][10]
Since the announcement that the band were to play the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK in August, Operator Please continued to play industry showcases in the UK.[11] The single "Just a Song About Ping Pong", released in Australia on 28 July 2007, was added to national UK radio station BBC Radio 1 and London station XFM, following an NME feature which named them one of EMI's buzz bands. The single debuted in the ARIA Singles Chart on 6 August 2007at #15, and topped out at #12.[12] The single is nominated for two ARIA Awards in 2007: Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist – Single,[13] and won the award for Breakthrough Artist – Single. Also, this was on the same night of their television performing debut performing that single.
The band recorded their debut studio album, titled Yes Yes Vindictive at The Groves, on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia,[14] which was released on 10 November. It charted at number 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart on the week beginning 19 November.[15] A track titled "Zero! Zero!" was heard on the Top Shelf program of Australian radio station Triple J on 2 October.[16] The band also opened for Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs on their Australian tours[17] and then went on tour in the UK, Europe, and Asia.[18][19] The band finally released Yes Yes Vindictive in the UK on 17 March 2008. The band toured as a support act for The Futureheads and Lightspeed Champion; and played many festivals across Europe including Glastonbury Festival. They have also covered two songs: "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa and "Whip It" by Devo; videos of these can be seen on YouTube.
Operator Please spent most of 2009 composing their second album. They confirmed that two songs, "Logic" and "Back and Forth" will be in the album. The band stated that the new album will have a more electronic feel than Yes Yes Vindictive. A demo version of "Back and Forth" was used on a update video of their progress on album number 2[20] which featured Wilkinson writing text onto paper and small slides of instruments, as well as shots of Commandeur and Wilkinson. On 15 January 2010, the band revealed their first single, "Logic", from the new album. "Logic" was released as a single on 8 February 2010. On the official website, Logic was available as a free download. Also on 8 February, the album title was revealed as Gloves, and fans could pre-order it signed. On 13 February, the video for "Logic" premiered on Video Hits.
Gloves was released on 23 April 2010 in Australia and 31 May 2010 in the rest of the world. Three more singles have been released from the album since its release: "Back and Forth", "Like Magic" and "Volcanic". All three have also had accompanying music videos. In June 2010, the band completed their first headlining tour since late 2008; supported by Perth band Tim & Jean and Sydney band Chaingang. Shortly afterwards, they would play a variety of festivals, including Splendour in the Grass and Canberra festival Stonefest. They also played the Australian leg of the 2011 Big Day Out festival. March and April 2011 will see the band tour Australia once again, this time as the main support for Sydney musician Sparkadia.
"Catapult" was recently announced as the fifth and final single from Gloves.
Studio albums
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Extended plays
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| Year | Song | ARIA Singles Chart | UK Indie Singles Chart | Triple J Hottest 100 | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | 12 | 10 | 27 | – | Yes Yes Vindictive |
| "Get What You Want" | 27 | 1 | 77 | 121 | ||
| "Leave It Alone" | 62 | 3 | – | 133 | ||
| 2008 | "Two for My Seconds" | 93 | – | – | – | |
| 2010 | "Logic" | 47 | – | – | – | Gloves |
| "Back and Forth" | 84 | – | – | – | ||
| "Like Magic" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Volcanic" | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2011 | "Catapult" | – | – | – | – |
Operator Please's first single "Just a Song About Ping Pong" reached its peak of #12 on the ARIA Singles Chart (as of 27 August 2007)[12] and has reached #10 on the UK Indie Chart.[21] The next single "Get What You Want" debuted at #40 on 5 November. It has thus far peaked at #27.[12] Their Australian album release Yes Yes Vindictive has so far charted at #9 on the UK Indie Album Chart.
There are three former official band members: Kieran Richards, Stephanie Jonske and Sarah Gardiner. Gardiner, an original member and co-writer on Yes Yes Vindictive, left the band in early 2008 after a two-month break from touring.[22][23]
| Year | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Breakthrough Artist - Single | "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | Won |
| Best Pop Release | "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Breakthrough Artist - Album | Yes Yes Vindictive | Nominated |
| Best Pop Release | Yes Yes Vindictive | Nominated |
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