Operator Please | |
|---|---|
 Operator Please in 2008 Left to right: Taylor Henderson, Ashley McConnell, Amandah Wilkinson, Tim Commandeur and Sarah Gardiner | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Indie rock,indie pop,pop rock,new wave,dance-punk,teen pop |
| Years active | 2005–2011 |
| Labels | Virgin EMI Music Australia |
| Past members | Amandah Wilkinson Taylor Henderson Tim Commandeur Chris Holland Ashley McConnell Sarah Gardiner Stephanie Joske Kieran Richards Blake Ross |
Operator Please were an Australianpop band, originating in theGold Coast, Queensland, in 2005. Their final line-up consisted of vocalist and guitaristAmandah Wilkinson, drummerTim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, bassist Ashley McConnell and violinist Taylor Henderson. They are best known for their 2007 single "Just a Song About Ping Pong", which won anARIA Music Award at the2007 ceremony.[1]
Operator Please formed in early 2005 bylead singer and guitaristAmandah Wilkinson and students ofElanora State High School in an attempt to compete in the high school's annual "Battle of the Bands" competition, which they went on to win.[2]
After winning the contest, the five members, aged 17 to 19, recorded and self-released theEPOn the Prowl in 2006, limited to 300 handmade copies. The EP included an early version of the song "Just a Song About Ping Pong". The band released a second EP,Cement Cement, in 2006, which generated interest both locally and internationally from a combination of word of mouth and exposure on the Australian youth radio networkTriple J, and the band were signed to Virgin Records.[3] The band opened forArctic Monkeys andKaiser Chiefs on their 2007 Australian tours.[4]
In July 2007, the band released a re-recorded version of "Just a Song About Ping Pong" as their debut single. The song peaked at number 12 on the ARIA Charts and at theARIA Music Awards of 2007; the song won theARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single.[5] Celebrity bloggerPerez Hilton labelled Operator Please as "our favourite new band" and "the next big thing".[6][7]
In October 2007, the band released "Get What You Want", which peaked at number 27 on the ARIA Charts.[8] This was followed by the band's debut studio album,Yes Yes Vindictive, in November 2007, which peaked at number 28 on the ARIA album chart.[8]
In 2008, the band toured throughoutEurope andAsia[9] and releasedYes Yes Vindictive in the UK on 17 March 2008.
Operator Please spent 2009 composing their second album. On 8 February 2010, the band released the album's lead single, "Logic". The band's second album,Gloves, was released on 23 April 2010 in Australia and 31 May 2010 in the rest of the world. The album peaked at number 20 on the ARIA album chart.[8]
In June 2010, the band completed their first headlining tour since late 2008; they were supported by Perth bandTim & Jean and Sydney bandChaingang. Shortly afterwards, they would play a variety of festivals, includingSplendour in the Grass andCanberra festival Stonefest. They also played the Australian leg of the 2011Big Day Out festival. March and April 2011 saw the band tour Australia, this time as the main support for Sydney musicianSparkadia. "Catapult" was released in January 2011 as the fifth and final single fromGloves.
Although the band have not officially split,[10] they have been inactive since 2011, and the band members are currently part of other projects. Wilkinson has adopted the monikerBossy Love, collaborated with John Baillie Jnr ofDananananaykroyd, and released her debut EPMe + You in October 2013;[11] Holland and Commandeur formed the duoColour Coding and released their debut EPProof in March 2012, later announcing a hiatus for that project in November 2013.[12]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [8] | UK [13] | ||
| Yes Yes Vindictive | 28 | 157 | |
| Gloves | 20 | — | |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| On the Prowl |
|
| Cement Cement |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [8] | UK [13] | |||
| "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | 2007 | 12 | — | Yes Yes Vindictive |
| "Get What You Want" | 27 | 121 | ||
| "Leave It Alone" | 62 | 133 | ||
| "Two for My Seconds" | 2008 | 93 | — | |
| "Logic" | 2010 | 47 | — | Gloves |
| "Back and Forth" | 84 | — | ||
| "Like Magic" | — | — | ||
| "Volcanic" | — | — | ||
| "Catapult" | 2011 | — | — | |
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music.
| Year | Award | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Breakthrough Artist – Single | "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | Won | [14] |
| Best Pop Release | "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | Nominated | ||
| Best Pop Release | Magoo for "Just a Song About Ping Pong" | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Breakthrough Artist – Album | Yes Yes Vindictive | Nominated | [15] |
| Best Pop Release | Yes Yes Vindictive | Nominated |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
