Amandah Wilkinson (born ), is a New Zealand-Australian pop musician from the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

. She was the founding mainstay lead singer and guitarist of

Operator Please Operator Please were an Australian pop band, originating in the Gold Coast, Queensland, in 2005. Their final line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, bassist Ashley McC ...

from 2005 to 2011, which released two studio albums before splitting. Wilkinson went solo as Bossy Love in 2011 and used the same name when forming a duo in 2013 with John Baillie Jnr, ex-lead vocalist and drummer of Scottish pop-rock group

Dananananaykroyd Dananananaykroyd was a Scottish six-piece, self-dubbed 'Fight Pop' band formed in 2006 in Glasgow, Scotland. Their name is a play on the name of Canadian-American actor Dan Aykroyd. They announced via Facebook and Twitter on 29 September 2011 ...

(2006–2011). As from 2016 they are based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and released their debut album, ''Me + U'', in October 2019 via Double-A Side Records.

Biography

Amandah Wilkinson was born in Australia to an Indonesian mother and an English father. She was raised in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

with an older sibling, whom she describes as "a huge influence, musically and artistically." In 1997 the family moved to Australia and settled on the

. After seeing American musical comedy film, ''

Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...

'' (2001), and listening to its related

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

, Wilkinson decide to pursue a career in pop music. OperatorPleasePRphotoByDanielBoud

While a secondary student at Elanora State High School in 2005 she canvassed fellow students to form a teen pop group,

. Alongside Wilkinson on lead vocals and guitar were Tim Commandeur on drums, Sarah-Jane Gardiner on keyboards, Stephanie Joske on violin and Ashley McConnell on bass guitar, who were all aged from 17 to 19. They entered and won a local Battle of the Bands competition, soon after Joske was replaced by Taylor Henderson on violin. As a member of Operator Please, Wilkinson co-wrote most of their tracks for both studio albums, '' Yes Yes Vindictive'' (2007) and ''

Gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...

'' (2010), and the associated singles and extended plays. She also co-produced ''Gloves'' with Justin Tresidder. While Operator Please were supporting English band

the Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums). ...

in 2008 in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Wilkinson met the lead vocalist and drummer John Baillie Jnr of fellow support act,

. When her group had ended in 2011 Wilkinson started performing as Bossy Love and issued a single, "Fight This Off", which featured rapping by Kween G (Giladesi Namokoyi) in December. Wilkinson moved to London in 2012 to continue writing material. She sent one of her tracks to Baillie in Glasgow and he produced a recording for her. The pair continued collaborating and Bossy Love became a duo in 2013. While living in London Wilkinson also worked for the railways, on weekends she would travel to Glasgow to perform and co-write with Baillie. Their debut

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, ''Hollidates'', appeared in November 2014. After Bossy Love achieved a residency at the Bongo Club,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Wilkinson relocated to Glasgow. The duo released a single, "Want Some", in March 2016. In August 2017 they performed at the

Belladrum Festival The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival is a music and arts festival, held on the Belladrum Estate in Kiltarlity near Inverness, in Scotland. It is normally held at the start of August. Founded in 2004, the festival has rapidly grown in popularit ...

. Bossy Love issued their debut album, ''Me + U'', on 31 October 2019 via Double-A Side Records. Max Sefton of ''The Skinny'' observed, " t'sthe work of a talented duo but it's surely a record that will win them many more friends and admirers." ''Me + U'' was short-listed for the 2020

Scottish Album of the Year Award The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is an award given annually for an outstanding album produced by a Scottish artist. The award was launched in 2012 by thScottish Music Industry Association(SMIA) in partnership with Creative Scotland Cre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Amandah 1980s births Living people Australian rock musicians Australian songwriters Australian guitarists New Zealand emigrants to Australia Musicians from Gold Coast, Queensland