Editing Whitehouse (band) (section)

==History and personnel==
The name Whitehouse was chosen both in mock tribute to the British morality campaigner [[Mary Whitehouse]], and in reference to a British [[pornographic magazine]] of the same name.

The group's founding member and sole constant was William Bennett. He began as a guitarist for [[Essential Logic]]. He wrote of those early years, "I often fantasised about creating a sound that could bludgeon an audience into submission."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.susanlawly.freeuk.com/faq/faq.html|title=Susan Lawly latest FAQ|website=Susanlawly.freeuk.com|access-date=26 November 2020}}</ref> Bennett later recorded as [[Come (UK band)|Come]] (featuring contributions from the likes of [[Daniel Miller (music producer)|Daniel Miller]] and [[J. G. Thirlwell]]) before forming Whitehouse in 1980. Bennett's first release as Whitehouse was ''Birthdeath Experience'', released on his own [[Come Organisation]] label, which was immediately followed by the album ''Total Sex''.<ref name="ap-5-30-1990">{{cite journal |author=Scorpio |title=Whitehouse: The Second Coming |journal=Alternative Press |date=1990 |volume=5 |issue=30 |pages=42–43 |publisher=Alternative Press International Publications |location=Cleveland, OH}}</ref>

In 1981, Bennett released ''Erector'', which was pressed on red vinyl and packaged in a shiny black sleeve with a photocopied picture of a penis. ''Erector'' deviated from the first two releases in experimenting with subsonic frequencies and contrasting low synth drones overlain with high-pitched screeches.<ref name="ap-5-30-1990" />

The group began performing live in 1982, with members Andrew McKenzie (The Hafler Trio) and Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound). In 2009, Bennett claimed that his pre-eminent inspiration was [[Yoko Ono]]: "Yoko's amazing music was by far the biggest influence on me, and Whitehouse, in the formative years (despite what some would have you believe)."<ref>William Bennett, "The Inner Sleeve", ''The Wire'' 309, November 2009, p. 71.</ref>
[[File:Peter Sotos.jpg|left|thumb|173x173px|Former member [[Peter Sotos]] in 1985]]
[[Philip Best]] joined the group in 1982 at the age of 16, after running away from home. He was a member on and off ever since.

The group was inactive for the second half of the 1980s. A "special biographical note" on the Susan Lawly website states, "All members of Whitehouse went to live outside London for varying reasons and pursued separate lives. There was a feeling in the group that all that could be achieved had been realised."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.susanlawly.freeuk.com/textfiles/ladossier4.html|title=Live Actions Dossier part 4|website=Susanlawly.freeuk.com|access-date=26 November 2020}}</ref>

Eventually, Whitehouse re-emerged with a series of [[album]]s, recorded by the [[United States|American]] [[audio engineer]], [[Steve Albini]], beginning with 1990's ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (Whitehouse album)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]''. Albini worked with the band until 1998, when Bennett took over all production duties.

Through the 1990s the most stable line-up was Bennett, Best, and the writer [[Peter Sotos]]. Sotos left in 2002, leaving the band as a two-piece.

The band had numerous other members in the 1980s including Kevin Tomkins, [[Steven Stapleton]], Glenn Michael Wallis, [[John Murphy (musician)|John Murphy]], Stefan Jaworzyn, Jim Goodall and [[Hafler Trio|Andrew McKenzie]], though many of these participated only at live performances, not on recordings.

Bennett terminated Whitehouse in 2008 to concentrate on his newly founded [[Cut Hands]] project. He also has found success as an Italo disco DJ under the name "DJ Benetti".<ref>"[http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/william-bennett-cut-hands-interviewed Interview with William Bennett]". ''Decibel'', 8 July 2014.</ref>