Posted on: October 23, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

“Operator Please are the next big thing….if you like Beth Ditto and The Gossip you will love them.
Operator Please fucking rules!” (Perez Hilton)

“Imagine being stuck in a lift with a plugged-in B52’s, Bow Wow Wow, Haysi Fantazyzee and Yeah Yeah Yeahs:
crashy, trashy, thrashy and gloriously good fun.” (The Sunday Times) “The. Song. Of. The. Summer. Operator Please are about to wrestle the crown of World’s Best Party Band from the shiny arms of CSS.” (NME)

Introducing OPERATOR PLEASE with Two Exclusive shows on both coasts

Tuesday Oct 23 Mercury Lounge, New York 9pm
Wednesday Oct 24 The Knitting Factory Hollywood 7:30-8:15pm

Australian pop saviours Operator Please first came to prominence with their shining debut 7” ‘Just A Song About Ping Pong’, an infectious disco pop punk nugget which became an instant underground smash, and subsequently earned the band their first Top 20 Australian single with over one million hits on Youtube. Take a listen here:

What’s most astonishing is what they’ve accomplished just in their teenage years.

Their story is somewhat of a teenage fairy tale. It all started when the five band members all met in high school. After a reconnaissance mission by vocalist/guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, who decided to bring together a bunch of fellow teens for a band competition. Instead of your generic hum drum gathering of musicians, she wanted a collective of musical non conformers with quirks and innovation enough to stand out from the masses, her goal was achieved and they all somehow made the incongruous concoction work in a very short space of time.

Those people were Tim Commandeur on drums, Sarah Gardiner on keyboards, Ashley McConnell on bass and
Taylor Henderson on violin. “After ten years, classical training gets super boring,” she asserts. Ready to take on the challenge, Operator Please won the band comp (first prize – a box of doughnuts which they never even collected – “Someone stole our frickin’ card that we needed to pick them up!” explodes Amandah)

“After winning their high school battle of the bands, Operator Please decided world domination would be
the next obvious step.” (The Guardian)

Rather than waiting until studies and exams were out of the way, Operator Please saw a golden opportunity for
good times and made the most of it. An independent EP was recorded on their own, and after a run of shows and
some hardcore DIY promotion, people started taking notice. Not only the cool kids on MySpace either, but the
stuffy suits who generally need to be clubbed like seals before noticing fresh talent. End result? A trip to New York to showcase to the right people, a recording contract with Virgin/EMI for Australia and New Zealand, and a deal with the influential Brille label in the UK.

So far 2007 has been extraordinary ride for this Australian quintet. Having first visited the UK in April, to critical
acclaim Operator Please returned to Australia to go on tour supporting Arctic Monkeys and Maximo Park.
The band then zipped back to the UK to play storming sets at Reading and Leeds Festivals, before heading
out on their first UK headline tour as part of Levi’s One To Watch tour.

Next up Operator Please appear on the NME Freshers Tour 2007 alongside Go! Team, before becoming only the
second band to play every date on the MTV2 Gonzo Tour, which last year catapulted The View to stardom. Could 2007 be the year Operator Please do the same?

Back in Australia, the band have been nominated in two categories at the Australian Music Awards, the ARIAs.
They are up for Best Pop Release and Best Breakthrough Artist – Single for their debut ‘Just A Song About
Ping Pong’. The winners are announced on 28th October. And in the UK they’re about to unleash their new single
‘Leave It Alone” a rolling, swirling indie anthem which demonstrates the sheer depth of talent of Operator Please.

In the meantime, they’re taking a break from putting the final touches on their debut full length sure to be one of the pop highlights of 2008, to play two special shows and give us Americans a bit of their 411.

Dont miss Operator Please:

Tuesday Oct 23
Mercury Lounge, New York
www.mercuryloungenyc.com 217 E Houston
Lineup:
11pm Film School
10pm Land of Talk
9pm Operator please
8pm TBA
Ticket $12 and available at: Mercury Lounge Box Office & Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com)

Wednesday Oct 24
Knitting Factory, Los Angeles
doors at 7pm,
On Stage: 7:30-8:15pm
$5 ticket –

“Spanking the ass of rock heritage Operator Please hurl a huge firecracker into the shallow pool of rockness and
come out covered in sparkling, multi coloured hundreds and thousands. Fuck rock and let Operator Please re-
write the book.” (NME)

“Operator Please’s shouty disco punk made Camden Crawl explode with amazement last month”. (NME)

“Giddy teen-pop from Australia’s Gold Coast.” (NME Stereo)

“‘Just A Song About Ping Pong’ is a rollicking train wreck of exhilaration and delight.” (Artrocker)

“OP’s first visit to the UK last week affirmed their bright future.” (Music Week)

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