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Operator Please

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Operator Please

Operator Please are a baroque pop 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 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]

History

File:Operator Please MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007.jpg
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 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 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[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 November 10. It charted at number 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart on the week beginning November 19.[15] A track titled "Zero! Zero!" was heard on the Top Shelf program of Australian radio station Triple J on October 2[16]. The band also recently opened for Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs on their Australian tours[17] and are now on tour in the UK, Europe, and Asia.[18] [19]. 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.

Discography

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
2008 "Two for My Seconds" #93 - - -

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[20]. 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 #5 on iTunes[21], at #55 on the New Zealand iTunes chart, #49 on the UK iTunes chart and #9 on the UK Indie Album Chart.

Departed members

On the 18th of April, 2008, it was announced through several media sources that Gardiner had quit the band [22]. The first to report the story were nme.com, who found the information through an unofficial blog post Gardiner had made on facebook.com [23]. 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).

Sarah-Jane Gardiner (born 7 November 1989) was the band's keyboard player. Gardiner had written songs for Operator Please such as “One Yellow Button", and the B-side from the first single (‘Just a Song About Ping Pong’), “In Motion”. She also co-wrote “Emo Erotica” and “Two For My Seconds”.

Gardiner was classically trained on piano by her Grandmother from the age of six. She started playing modern pop music at the age of fifteen which coincided with Wilkinson forming a band to enter their high school's Battle of the Bands competition. This band was the foundation for Operator Please.[24]

Operator Please have recruited Chris Holland as Gardiner's replacement for their upcoming European tour.

Performances

Festivals

Operator Please Performing at Valley Fiesta, Brisbane, Australia.

Television

Awards and nominations

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
2008 Breakthrough Artist - Album "Yes Yes Vindictive" Nominated
Best Pop Release "Yes Yes Vindictive" Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Operator Please". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  2. ^ Braithwaite, Alyssa (October 8, 2007). "Ping Pong proves a winner for indie band Operator Please". News Limited. Retrieved 2007-11-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "A&R Worldwide Reports" (PDF). Radio & Records. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  4. ^ "Give us more Operator Please". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  5. ^ "The NME Chart". MTV UK. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  6. ^ "Top 50 Most Requested Songs". Channel [V]. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ "Playlist Saturday, 18 August 2007". ABC. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  8. ^ "Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  9. ^ "Listen To This: Our New Obsession". Perez Hilton. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  10. ^ "Listen To This: The New Wave!". Perez Hilton. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  11. ^ "Operator Please UK Tour Dates". Music-News Unsigned. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  12. ^ a b c "Singles Charts". Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  13. ^ "ARIA Nominees Announced". SameSame.com.au. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  14. ^ "Believing the hype". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  15. ^ Australian Top 50 ARIA Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on November 18, 2007.
  16. ^ "Zero Zero (Operator Please)". JPlay. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  17. ^ "Kaiser Chiefs / Wolf And Cub / Operator Please". Rave Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  18. ^ "All Shows for Operator Please". MySpace. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  19. ^ The Ones to Watch?, stv.tv blog, September 07
  20. ^ "Uk Indie Singles Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  21. ^ "iTunes Charts". Apple, Inc. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  22. ^ "top forty news". top forty.com. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  23. ^ "nme.com news". nme.com. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  24. ^ "Fully Noted Interviews". Fully Noted Interviews. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  25. ^ "Operator Please Play Valley Fiesta". B5Media. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
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