Biography
The origins of Operator Please might easily pass for the storyline of a coming-of-age film. A gifted outsider, frustrated that her high school’s annual battle of the bands kept being claimed by the in-crowd, gathered four other gifted outsiders spanning several ages. The group used lunch periods to rehearse and build bonds even though none had known one another beforehand. Shortly after the inevitable montage they experimented with and discarded the names Lego Head and A Rubix Cube before landing on Operator Please. In the climactic contest they captured first place, whose prize was a box of doughnuts, and in the improbable real-life coda they secured recording contracts, global tours, and widespread recognition.
The quintet—Amandah Wilkinson handling vocals, Ashley McConnell on bass, Sarah-Jane Gardiner on keyboards, Tim Commandeur on drums, and Taylor Henderson, who had taken over violin duties from founding member Stephanie Joske—did not receive that storybook resolution right away. Formed in 2005, they performed wherever possible along the Gold Coast, frequently required to exit venues at once because their ages violated liquor-licensing rules. To obtain further bookings they cut the On the Prowl EP in a studio owned by Commandeur’s father and sold copies through MySpace together with a post-office box. Their follow-up EP, Cement Cement, drew the interest of EMI, which extended a contract offer; Wilkinson initially disregarded the message, assuming it was a prank, so the label had to send it again.
The group’s first full-length release, Yes Yes Vindictive, appeared in 2007. Its buoyant single “It’s Just a Song About Ping-Pong” became the track most added to Australian radio playlists that year and earned two ARIA Award nominations, for Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist; it took the latter prize. The song also placed at number 27 in the annual JJJ Hottest 100 countdown. While the younger members completed secondary studies via correspondence, the band launched its debut world tour. A second album, Gloves, followed in 2010.
The quintet—Amandah Wilkinson handling vocals, Ashley McConnell on bass, Sarah-Jane Gardiner on keyboards, Tim Commandeur on drums, and Taylor Henderson, who had taken over violin duties from founding member Stephanie Joske—did not receive that storybook resolution right away. Formed in 2005, they performed wherever possible along the Gold Coast, frequently required to exit venues at once because their ages violated liquor-licensing rules. To obtain further bookings they cut the On the Prowl EP in a studio owned by Commandeur’s father and sold copies through MySpace together with a post-office box. Their follow-up EP, Cement Cement, drew the interest of EMI, which extended a contract offer; Wilkinson initially disregarded the message, assuming it was a prank, so the label had to send it again.
The group’s first full-length release, Yes Yes Vindictive, appeared in 2007. Its buoyant single “It’s Just a Song About Ping-Pong” became the track most added to Australian radio playlists that year and earned two ARIA Award nominations, for Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist; it took the latter prize. The song also placed at number 27 in the annual JJJ Hottest 100 countdown. While the younger members completed secondary studies via correspondence, the band launched its debut world tour. A second album, Gloves, followed in 2010.