Operator Please

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Operator Please
From left to right: Henderson, McConnell, Wilkinson, Commandeur, Gardiner.
From left to right: Henderson, McConnell, Wilkinson, Commandeur, Gardiner.
Background information
Origin Flag of Australia Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Genre(s) Pop, Rock, Post-Grunge, punk rock, alternative rock
Years active 2005 – present
Label(s) Virgin/EMI
Brille
Website operatorpleaseband.com
Members
Amandah Wilkinson
Tim Commandeur
Ashley McConnell
Taylor Henderson
Chris Holland
Former members
Sarah Gardiner
Stephanie Joske
Kieran Richards
Carmelo Aragone

Operator Please are a pop rock band from the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. The band formed in 2005, and their current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, bassist Ashley McConnell 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 "Crash Tragic", and in November 2007; 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, which included "Best Pop Release".[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Operator Please attending the MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007.
Operator Please attending the MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007.

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 their independently produced EP On the Prowl, Though the on the prowl album failed and was not well received by record companies. Through word of mouth and exposure of their second EP Cement Cement on Australian youth radio network Triple J—which had their first single "Crash Tragic", taken from this EP, on high rotation for quite some time—they generated a buzz in the music industry - both locally and internationally.[3] Within months, and with the help of a record label sponsored showcase in NYC, they had inked a deal with Virgin/EMI Records for Australia, and for the UK with indie label Brille Records.[4]

"Just a Song About Ping Pong", their most popular song, 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 questionably labelled the "coolest band ever" by TV Hits[9], as well as "our favorite new band"[10] and "the next big thing"[11] by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.

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[12]. The single "Just a Song About Ping Pong", released in Australia on July 28, has been 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 August 6 at #15, and topped out at #12[13]. The single is nominated for two ARIA Awards in 2007: Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist - Single[14], 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[15], which was released on November 10. It charted at number 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart on the week beginning November 19.[16] A track titled "Zero! Zero!" was heard on the Top Shelf program of Australian radio station Triple J on October 2[17]. The band also recently opened for Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs on their Australian tours[18] and are now on tour in the UK, Europe, and Asia.[19] [20]. The band finally released Yes Yes Vindictive in the UK on the 17th of March 2008. During the summer the band will be support touring The Futureheads and Lightspeed Champion. They have been playing many festivals across Europe including Glastonbury Festival.

[edit] Discography

Studio albums Singles
Extended plays

[edit] Charts and certifications

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

Operator Please's First single "Just a Song About Ping Pong" has reached its peak of #12 on the ARIA Singles Chart (as of 27 August 2007)[13] 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.[13] Their Australian album release "Yes Yes Vindictive", has so far charted at #5 on iTunes[22] , at #55 on the New Zealand iTunes chart, #49 on the UK iTunes chart and #9 on the UK Indie Album Chart

[edit] Departed members

On the 18th of April, 2008, it was announced through several media sources that Gardiner had quit the band [23]. The first to report the story were nme.com, who found the information through an unofficial blog post Gardiner had made on facebook.com [24]. The band have been quoted saying the decision to split was mutual, following Gardiner's two-month break from touring in early January. Sarah is the third official member of Operator Please to leave the band (following Keiran Richards and Stephanie Joske). Operator Please have recruited Chris Holland as her replacement for their upcoming European tour.

[edit] Performances

[edit] Festivals

[edit] Support Tours

[edit] Television

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] ARIA Awards

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Operator Please. Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  2. ^ Braithwaite, Alyssa (October 8, 2007). Ping Pong proves a winner for indie band Operator Please. News Limited. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  3. ^ A&R Worldwide Reports. Radio & Records. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  4. ^ Give us more Operator Please. The Courier Mail. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  5. ^ The NME Chart. MTV UK. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  6. ^ Top 50 Most Requested Songs. Channel [V]. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ Playlist Saturday, 18 August 2007. ABC. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  8. ^ Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong. YouTube. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
  9. ^ Operator Please - Coolest Band Ever?. TV Hits. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
  10. ^ Listen To This: Our New Obsession. Perez Hilton. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  11. ^ Listen To This: The New Wave!. Perez Hilton. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  12. ^ Operator Please UK Tour Dates. Music-News Unsigned. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  13. ^ a b c Singles Charts. Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  14. ^ ARIA Nominees Announced. SameSame.com.au. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  15. ^ Believing the hype.. The Courier Mail. Retrieved on 2007-02-08.
  16. ^ Australian Top 50 ARIA Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on November 18, 2007.
  17. ^ Zero Zero (Operator Please). JPlay. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
  18. ^ Kaiser Chiefs / Wolf And Cub / Operator Please. Rave Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
  19. ^ All Shows for Operator Please. MySpace. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  20. ^ The Ones to Watch?, stv.tv blog, September 07
  21. ^ Uk Indie Singles Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
  22. ^ iTunes Charts. Apple, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  23. ^ "top forty news", top forty.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  24. ^ "nme.com news", nme.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Operator Please
Amandah Wilkinson • Tim Commandeur • Ashley McConnell • Taylor Henderson • Chris Holland
Sarah Gardiner • Stephanie Joske  • Kieran Richards
Studio albums
Singles
Languages