History
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). 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.
"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, Channel V, and ABC's rage. It was featured on the front page of MySpace and YouTube. Operator Please has since been labelled as "our favorite new band" and "the next big thing" 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. 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 No. 15, and topped out at No. 12. The single is nominated for two ARIA Awards in 2007: Best Pop Release and Breakthrough Artist – Single, 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, which was released on 10 November. It charted at number 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart on the week beginning 19 November. A track titled "Zero! Zero!" was heard on the Top Shelf program of Australian radio station Triple J on 2 October. The band also opened for Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs on their Australian tours and then went on tour in the UK, Europe, and Asia. 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 an update video of their progress on album number 2 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.
Read more about this topic: Operator Please
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“He wrote in prison, not a History of the World, like Raleigh, but an American book which I think will live longer than that. I do not know of such words, uttered under such circumstances, and so copiously withal, in Roman or English or any history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“When the history of guilt is written, parents who refuse their children money will be right up there in the Top Ten.”
—Erma Brombeck (20th century)
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)