Operator Please Interview

For a band currently on their 6th tour of the UK since forming in 2005 off the back of a reconnaissance mission by vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, for a battle of the bands competition, it seems amazing that their average age is a mere 20.  They won the competition incidentally and since then, age aside, this is a band that have achieved international success through their debut album ‘yes, yes vindictive’, a heavy touring schedule and a little help from the Internet generation they belong too.  Oh yeah and Zane Lowe likes them too!

Currently Operator Please are supporting Lightspeed Champion on their UK tour, and the night we caught up with Amandah they had played, along with Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man to an enthusiastic crowd at the Exeter Phoenix. 

“It was good tonight, there was a strange ambiance to begin with because there were really high ceilings and we were so far away from each other on stage to vibe off each other but the crowd really seemed to enjoy it”.

Enjoy it they did and the venue was packed with animated revellers singing and dancing, some of which had come specifically just to see them play.  In fact so enthusiastic was the crowd that I was on the receiving end of a flailing hand in the face by a fan who was singing and dancing to “song about ping pong” with such vivacity that they were lost in their own private gig.
The five piece were asked to join Lightspeed Champion on tour apparently at the personal request of Dev Hynes who they had played with previously and who they had been fans of since his days with the Test Icicles.

 “Being asked by Dev to support Lightspeed Champion was just the best thing and we were lucky because it coincided with us being available to tour”.

Luck might not have anything to do with it and the band have notched up a number of serious support gigs and tours, from playing on the Gonzo tour in 2007 with bands such as Babyshambles and The Cribs, to supporting The Arctic Monkeys at home in Australia and Foals in France. 

“We still get so intimidated by all the amazing bands that we support.  It’s like going to a party and not speaking to anyone at first until you have had a few drinks, because they are the cooler people there.  But we have been so lucky with the bands we have had the chance to play with”. 

“We supported Foals and were so nervous beforehand.  We had heard so much about them and they were the “next best thing” in the industry, but they are the nicest guys ever. Then with The Arctic Monkeys we were like right lets just be quiet and unnoticed, we don’t want to fuck off the biggest band in the world right now.  But then Alex waved during the sound check and we chilled out”. 

When asked whether their age is ever an issue for anyone despite their obvious talent and song writing skills, Amandah’s answer is succinct “We appreciate that not a lot of people our age get the chance to have these experiences.  But we don’t think about age, its irrelevant – we play, we make music and that’s all there is to it.  If other people have a problem with it then its their problem not ours, we work hard”.

That is certainly true and after touring with Lightspeed they then have a hefty “festival season” schedule in front of them including performances at Glastonbury on the Park Stage and Redfest to name a couple.  Just last month they were involved in the infamous Camden Crawl for the second year in a row, this time headlining the Barfly.  “Camden Crawl was awesome, we had bigger crowds this year, plus the Barfly is such a cool venue.  They must be sick of us by now as we play there all the time”.

You could be forgiven for thinking that playing in a band made up from a group of people who were not exactly friends to start with must have made it hard on tour, but Amandah is resolute in the fact that this is not the case.  However just before embarking on this tour, keyboardist Sarah Gardiner announced that she was leaving the group and explaining her decision to leave via Facebook. 

“It’s been hard, but it was a mutual decision at the end of the day.  Being on tour is not for everyone and when one person starts to crack it’s hard on everyone else.  I don’t think people realise how physically and mentally draining touring can be.  Right now it’s a different dynamic in the band and we will work it out eventually”.

The band were signed to Virgin/EMI Records for Australia and New Zealand after their independently funded EP caused “industry types” to take notice, followed by the independent label Brille in the UK.  And now in the current musical climate it would seem that other antipodean artists are making an even bigger impact over here than ever before, particularly with the re-birth of electro.   

“I love The Presets, it’s a harder electro and they have amazing structure in their songs.  Ladyhawke is cool, from New Zealand and Cut Off Your Hands, Van She – anything that’s coming from Modular at the moment.  They are all about the electro” 
Amandah and the rest of the band are wholeheartedly passionate about other music, past and present so it is clear that her opinion on the Australian music industry is similarly as passionate.

“In some ways we are very behind in Australia. The UK industry is so different; here the alternative or indie scene is so important whereas it’s not like that in Australia.  For example a lot of the indie bands that get a number one album or single or get played all the time, will only get played on the independent radio in oz.  They would never make it onto commercial radio.  It’s really unfortunate because so many indie bands don’t or wont get the chance to showcase their music.  “

“In Australia the charts are almost blueprinted off of America’s charts.  A lot of the time you will find that anything in the top 10 in America is in the top 10 in Australia.  Girls Aloud or the Sugababes get played more than any indie music over there and it really needs to change”.
“So many bands have almost ab

andoned Australia because they can’t get heard, bands like TheDeathSet or The Scare – some people don’t know they actually come from back home”

Operator Please haven’t abandoned ship though and home remains most definitely Australia, more specifically the Gold Coast.  The exception being when they are touring and the majority of their nights are spent in Travel Lodges up and down the country and their days in their tour bus.

“We have a van with tinted windows that we travel in and when it gets boring we entertain ourselves.  Like when we stop at a red traffic light we just smash on the window and watch the people outside scream.  Or give them the finger, which is funnier because they can’t see that you are doing it because of the windows, so it’s just entertaining for us.  Its worse though when someone does it to us and we can see them but they cant see us doing it back so they get the last laugh.  Its simple but effective at getting a laugh!”

As to their musical influences the list is endless according to a spirited Amandah, “I’m a major music lover, the whole band is first and foremost, and we all love different stuff.  For example Timmy likes stuff like Tubular bells and jazz but then I like everything from the 80’s, the Eurythmics, Dusty Springfield.  She was such a hot lesbian wasn’t she?  Weezer, and Pavement.  My favourite band is Flamingo Crash.  I got a fake id to go and see them support the Bravery at home, they kind of made me want to make music in the beginning”

“When I was growing up I used to get dogged for my taste in music because most people at home just listened to rap and the indie scene was so uncool.  Now its like “oh yeah I really like this band Foals”.  Its typical there is so much separation in Australia, its like the indie versus the mainstream and that is almost like the cool versus the sell outs, it shouldn’t be like that.”

With that and a bit of banter about Jeremy Kyle “such an idiot”, strawberry cider, “love it, had it in Hoxton once” and a bit about how much “tits and ass” the band saw in Birmingham we went back inside to see Dev and the band play.  Age is merely a number for this five piece who it feels are here for the long run. 

Interview by Francesca Strange

Photography by Gabriella Strange and Lucy Knapp

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