Fused - Archive - operator please

Someone get me the Operator, Please!

Youngsters are not really youngsters nowadays are they? Armed with mobile phones, clad with make-up and with a barrage of under tens exclaiming, “mummy I’m too fat” it’s often too much to take in. Nevertheless in music terms there has been a swift emergence of “underage talent” sweeping our shores with the likes of ‘Tiny Masters of Today’, and of course the subject of this very nifty article – Operator Please at the forefront.

With their infectious and uber-cool debut song ‘Just a Song About Ping Pong’ crashing just about every indie disco, and being blasted out of MTV2 on a constant loop, it hasn’t been easy to avoid Ping Pong fever. The song was so good that even Kissy Sell Out did a remix of the track whilst media vultures were latching onto these fresh-faced poppets like wild fire with cheers of “this is the song of the summer” being profusely blasted around. This band is hot with a capital H.

So with an array of praise from the media and a bucket-load of support slots with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Go-Team and tonight’s headline act Funeral for a Friend Operator Please seem to be in a great place at present, “It really is a mind Fuck still, I mean we are playing with some of the biggest bands in the world. It’s crazy,” lead singer Amandah beams.

Holding your own in such a power crazy industry full of big wigs and fat cats takes a certain super breed of teenager to work though the cloudiness of fakes, wannabees and superficialdum to emerge triumphant. Fused were lucky enough to be in the presence of one fifth of the group in the shape of outspoken singer Amandah on their recent string of UK dates on MTV’s Gonzo tour.

After winning a Battle of the Bands competition in their native land (Oz) for a box of doughnuts the band signed to record label Brille after an extremely long thought process, “It’s really hard for a young band to maintain creative control,” Amandah explains. “We researched an awful lot to ensure that we didn’t get fucked around.
We are one of the only indie bands on our label so I don’t think our label would have touched us three years ago,“ Amandah continues. “We have a great partnership with them and it’s not a dictatorship at all.”

Once quoted as saying “you have to work hard to get what you want” it is evident even from the off that this little lady is a beaming beacon of ambition. Teenagers on the whole are notably renowned for being a bunch of slackers by their “elders”; we guessed that Amandah would successfully debate this point for the teenagers across the land. “I suppose this debate is split right down the middle,” she bemuses. “However the 21st century perception of teenagers is not good at all. Right now older people need to prepare themselves for the takeover!”

So with an influx of teenage talent in the form of writers, artists, musicians and designers Amandah may actually be onto something. Being such a young band in the spotlight causes jealousy to occasionally rear its ugly head, “other bands often try and probe us for information which is stupid because we worked our asses off,” she comments. “Our parents aren’t well connected [within the industry] so its just stupid.”

This hard working ethic extends throughout the ‘Wilkinson’ family with Amandah’s sister playing a huge part in the fortunes of Operator Please. Designing all of the bands artwork and even creating the overall concept for the band’s partly animated video to the single ‘Get What You Want’, she has also kindly done the illustration for this feature. This honorary band member is very much appreciated, “Three years ago it was so different I mean I couldn’t drive and my sister drove us everywhere, she’s also my best friend,” Amandah gushes.

Opinionated, honest, polite, and ambitious without pretence, Amandah is the epitome of what many young girls should perhaps be striving to aspire to rather than the elusive size zero that glistens the pages of glossy magazines and tabloids. The power of the media is obviously something that Amandah feels strongly about, “I feel bad for people like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, the tabloids are ruining peoples lives. Human beings are really narrow-minded and they need to realise that they shouldn’t be so naïve to believe everything they read.”

With an acute sense of style and an air of confidence radiating from every pore Amandah doesn’t feel the pressure to be a people pleaser, “Too many people are superficial about looks, I’m not a stick figure. I’m in a band right now but if I wanted to model I would strive for that wouldn’t I?”

“I would rather be who I am and have people hate me, than put the emphasis on the superficial.”

Well said.

www.operatorpleaseband.com
Words: Kimberley Owen
Illustration: Elvira Wilkinson www.xy-1.com