FAQ v3.01 (updated 28 August 2011)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
just click on the question to find the answer
1. WHITEHOUSE
i. What kind
of music do they play?
ii. Who are the current members
and what instruments do they play?
iii. When was the group formed?
iv. What is the origin of
the name?
v. What is their full discography?
vi. What about live
performances?
vii. What are their
future plans?
viii. Does Whitehouse
have any political stance or moral viewpoint?
ix. Why have the albums
Psychopathia Sexualis and Right To Kill not been reissued on CD?
x. Are all the albums now available on vinyl?
xi. Have there been
any bootlegs released?
xii. What is the true story about the abortive United Dairies
CD reissue of the 150 Murderous Passions album on Come Organisation?
xiii. Are Whitehouse 'misogynist'?
2. CUT HANDS
3. SUSAN LAWLY
i.
What is Susan Lawly?
ii. When and where
did Susan Lawly begin?
iii. What were the first releases?
iv. How many CDs are
pressed and sold of each title?
v. Where do
Susan Lawly releases sell the most?
4. COME ORGANISATION
i.
What was the Come Organisation?
ii. When and why did
it cease to exist?
5. COME
i.
Who are Come?
ii. Who played with
them?
iii. When was the
group formed?
iv. What is their discography?
v. Any live performances?
6.
OTHER RELEASES
i.
What other groups have been released by Susan Lawly?
ii. Sutcliffe Jugend?
iii. Extreme Music
From Japan?
iv. Extreme Music From Africa?
v. Extreme Music From Women?
vi. Extreme Music From Russia?
vii. Extreme Music From Israel ?
7.
MISCELLANEOUS
i.
Who is Trevor Brown?
ii. Who is Vinyl
Experience?
iii. Who were People
Who Can't?
iv. Who are World
Serpent Distrubution?
v. Who is Alan Gifford
/ Atholl Drummond?
vi. Who is Denis
Blackham?
vii. Who is George
Peckham?
viii. Who is Akiko Hada?
ix. Who is Judith
Howard?
ix. Who is Stefan Danielsson?
1. WHITEHOUSE
i. What kind of music do they play?
Whitehouse specialise primarily in extreme electronic music, a genre they pioneered
in 1980, which in the late 80s greatly influenced, if not spawned, a wave of
(in particular Japanese) 'noise' groups in addition to many other musicians
in different fields. Early trademark sounds were layers of white and pink noise, subsonic
bass sounds and ferocious electronic effects, with or without vocals. Since then they have also experimented with analogue and digital synthesis, and more recently, unconventional acoustic rhythmic elements.
ii. What is the current line-up and what instruments have they played?
William Bennett - animal response technician: founding
member in 1980 at 18 and pioneer of extreme electronic music
instruments they have used include : computers, tone generators, synthesisers, samplers, homemade sound devices, djembes, doundouns, ksings, effects units, microphones, DAT recorders
iii. When was the group formed?
The group was formed in early 1980 by William Bennett. The following is
an extract from the liner notes to the 2LP/CD Cream Of The Second Coming:
"While I was playing guitar up onstage with Essential Logic as an 18-year-old
back in 1978, I often fantasised about creating a sound that could bludgeon
an audience into submission. At that time Essential Logic toured with The Normal
(Daniel Miller) and Robert Rental with whom I became friends. Daniel inspired
me and helped me to do it while Robert sold me an uncontrollably vicious beast
of a synthesiser which subsequently became the heart of the Whitehouse sound."
iv. What is the origin of the name?
The name is a play on words: Whitehouse is both the name of a British sex
magazine and the surname of Mary, an English activist, now deceased, on a constant
crusade against the alleged proliferation of 'filth' on TV and other media.
v. What is their official discography?
Also visit complete studio recordings dossier.
vi. What about live performances?
Whitehouse began performing live actions in 1982 - visit complete
live actions dossier.
vii. What are their future plans?
Llive concerts in 2009 have so far only included Portugal although others are planned. Latest album Racket was released on May 31st 2007. New studio recordings are currently in development.
viii. Does Whitehouse have any
political stance or viewpoint?
Whitehouse have never had any agenda in this regard. No
crusades, no mission. William Bennett: "There are people who,
for needs of self-affirmation of their own prejudices, demand that certain things
be demonised in contrast to their own image or belief system. Exposing this
is, for me, one of the most interesting, even gratifying, phenomena coming out
of producing this music."
ix. Why have the albums Psychopathia Sexualis
and Right To Kill not been reissued on CD?
The original master tapes of Psychopathia Sexualis are missing presumed
lost, and the only alternative would be to master the CD from a copy of the
original vinyl. It was felt that although, with the right technology and with
'normal' recorded music, this process can be relatively successful, the experimental
nature of the contents would produce poor results. The hi-tech software used
to remove the sounds of crackles and scratches may also remove parts of the
music.
Right To Kill was originally released in a very limited number (approx. 300 copies) as it was of a particularly clandestine nature. The label feels that to preserve its original intent is of great importance, despite an obvious desire to be able to widen its availability in the new digital format.
x. Are all the albums now available on vinyl?
All the studio albums with the exception of the above two cases are part of a limited special vinyl reissue series which commenced with the Cruise (2LP) in April 2007 - since then there is now also the Total Sex 2LP, Birthdeath Experience, Erector and Asceticists 2006 LPs and will be followed by Bird Seed 2LP in September 2008.
xi. Have there been any bootlegs released?
The problem with bootlegs and pirate recordings was at its worst in the
years intervening the cessation of Come Organisation and the beginning of Susan
Lawly (one of the motives for starting the new label).
Most of the pirate recordings originated in Germany at the hands of Achim Flamm and Christoph Heemann. Sound-wise they were of extremely poor quality as they all had been crudely recorded from copies of the vinyl LPs. The packaging was made in such a way that people would think they had an original copy.
Other than knowing the details and exact appearance of the originals, the way to check is to look for the correct catalogue number etched on the inside groove often with messages in English like 'Porky Prime Cut'. We are happy to help people identify the authenticity of their records, if they are not sure. The above-mentioned Flamm and Heemann were also responsible for the 'Concrete Records' 7" single of Right To Kill and several bootleg live albums eg. 'The Sounds of Sadism', in addition to the unauthorised pirate release of the Ohrenschrauben LP on 2CD. They were originally licensed by all the groups to press 150 copies of the LP and expressly forbidden from further releases. Both of them are being monitored in the event of legal action being brought.
Most other bootleg releases originate from Japan and were often, but not always, pressed onto acetates in small numbers from between 30-100 copies. Most of the Japanese bootlegs were of live action recordings. One of the more extraordinary items was the metal box containing 6 gold acetates 7" singles, a T-shirt and several small posters and leaflets. This package apparently retailed at $500.
In recent times the problem seems to have abated especially since Susan Lawly commenced the series of high quality CD reissues, and now with the addition of 2007's commencement of the vinyl series. We have had no reports of significant new bootlegs in the last few years from any source.
xii. What is the true story about the abortive
United Dairies CD reissue of the 150 Murderous Passions
album on Come Organisation?
William Bennett: "This is strictly speaking neither a Whitehouse
nor a NWW album but was a special project. Steve Stapleton produced the 'long'
track and I produced the 'short' track with assistance from each other and Peter
McKay on the other's tracks. It was Alan Trench's PWC (in all but name - subsequently
to be named World Serpent) and Stapleton who decided to market the album as
WH/NWW for commercial reasons (to make a quick buck - like with so many of their
and Current 93's releases) - it was released by them without my consultation
or permission (although they later paid the money owing from it). The proof
of the greed is that they could have asked me for the tapes which I would gladly
have provided - but their haste proved too great. The master tapes were, and
always have been, in my possession - when PWC ('UD') went ahead with the CD
and LP release they simply mastered it from a vinyl copy of the album. That's
why the 'mix' sounds so different (and so disappointingly poor, in my opinion)
because, to disguise its origins, lots of reverb and other effects were (rather
clumsily) added to it. Susan Lawly decided to include my track on Cream of The
Second Coming so that at least it was available for people to hear in its proper
form. If you have access to the Come Organisation original you will hear the
enormous difference." NB. These recordings are available in original
digitally remastered format on the release Anthology
1 double CD (SLCD019).
xiii. Are Whitehouse 'misogynist'?
The lyrics of certain songs have led certain people to the view that the group is misogynist. Judging
by the high percentages of women at recent Whitehouse live actions it
might seem odd to reach this assumption. William Bennett: "I don't consider
myself a misogynist in any way whatsoever, although I can understand why people
might question that. There are a set of much more complex emotional
functions involved with these songs and I've never felt that simple hatred was
one of them, and in this light I don't doubt most women's
capacity to perfectly understand that."
2. CUT HANDS
i. Who is Cut Hands?
3. SUSAN LAWLY
i. What is Susan Lawly?
Susan Lawly is a record label of extreme electronic music which mostly specialises
in releases for the group Whitehouse.
ii. When and where did Susan Lawly begin?
The label was founded in Chicago in 1988 during the Thank Your Lucky
Stars sessions at Steve Albini's studio.
iii. What were the first releases?
The first release was the 7" single Thank Your Lucky Stars b/w
Sadist by Whitehouse after which came the double compilation LP and CD
Cream Of The Second Coming.
iv. How many CDs are pressed and sold of each
title?
Figures aren't published of individual titles but sales of items have varied
between 1,000 - 3,500 depending on the title.
v. Where do Susan Lawly releases
sell the most?
Susan Lawly releases tend to sell most in the UK, North America, Japan and
Europe. They also sell in diverse places such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,
Egypt, Israel, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Republic of South Africa, New Zealand,
Australia and many others.
4. COME ORGANISATION
i. What was the Come Organisation?
The Come Organisation was a record label founded in London in 1979, initially
as a vehicle for the group Come, and later to specialise in extreme electronic
music, in particular for the group Whitehouse.
ii. When and why did it cease to exist?
The label ceased to exist in 1985, after the release of the classic Whitehouse
LP Great White Death - owing to several factors, the principal
being the temporary dissolution of Whitehouse and several key people leaving
London as a place of residence.
5. COME
i. Who are Come?
Come was William Bennett's original group on the Come Organisation
record label.
ii. Who played with them?
The original contributors, in addition to William Bennett, also featured Daniel
Miller and Peter McKay. The group acted as a sort of bridge between mainstream
music and for when WB later (in 1979/1980) went on to form Whitehouse.
iii. When was the group formed?
The group was formed in 1979, and although there was the 1981 release of
the offbeat I'm Jack LP (with Jim Thirlwell aka Foetus) the group really ceased to exist when Whitehouse
was formed in 1980.
iv. What is their discography?
NB. Several of the early tracks are included on Anthology 1 2CD (SLCD019) and the entire album I'm Jack is included on Anthology 2 CD (SLCD021).
v. Any live performances?
Come never performed live.
6. OTHER RELEASES
i. What other groups have been released by
Susan Lawly?
Susan Lawly have released, in addition to Whitehouse, material by other
groups and artists. There have been three compilations in a series of extreme
music and a fourth one scheduled for release later in 2003. In addition, the
label has so far released two volumes of archive material entitled Anthology
1 and Anthology 2.
ii. Sutcliffe Jugend?
Sutcliffe Jugend was founded by Kevin Tomkins in 1982 and released of the 10-hour box set We Spit On Their Graves by
the Come Organisation - this was subsequently bootlegged onto a 10xLP box set.
Sutcliffe Jugend was disbanded when Kevin Tomkins joined Whitehouse in 1983, appeared on the album Right To KIll, remaining until January 1985 when he left London to get married and raise a family
- much to the surprise of many.
iii. Extreme
Music From Japan?
This CD was a result of nearly two years of invitations and extensive audition
reports conducted in collaboration with Shunya Suzuki in Japan to compile the
best of the established Japanese groups together with the most exciting new
groups in the field.
iv. Extreme
Music From Africa?
As a follow-up to the Japan CD, this was compiled and co-ordinated after
extensive research through Jonathan Azande in Zimbabwe and William Bennett (mostly
discovered through postings and investigation on the World Wide Web) from countries
like Morocco, Republic of South Africa and even Uganda.
v. Extreme
Music From Women?
The third in the Extreme Music series - full information is available from the
official site.
vi. Extreme
Music From Russia?
The most recent release in the Extreme Music series features music from Russia and other
former Soviet Union countries.
vii. Extreme
Music From Israel?
The latest in the Extreme Music series focuses on music from Israel, with the collaboration of Avi Pitchon - due for release in November 2007.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
i. Who is Trevor Brown?
Trevor Brown is an English artist, now based in Tokyo, Japan whose work
has featured extensively with Whitehouse releases.
ii. Who is Vinyl Experience?
Vinyl Experience is a record shop and memorabilia company in Hanway Street,
London that initially expressed an interest in the exclusive distribution and
marketing of Susan Lawly releases in 1990. At the time releases by Nurse With
Wound and Current 93 were also distributed by Vinyl Experience.
iii. Who were People Who Can't?
People Who Can't (PWC) was the subsequent name given to this department
of Vinyl Experience's business and run by Alan Trench under the auspices of
Vinyl Experience main man Mark Hayward. There was a later a big falling-out
between the two (which led to major court action) which affected all the acts
then distributed by PWC. At this stage, Susan Lawly decided to become totally
independent and split from PWC.
iv. Who are World Serpent Distrubution?
People Who Can't, after the court action, went under the name World Serpent
Distribution and continued with most of the groups on their roster, such as
Death In June, Sol Invictus, NWW and C93, up until the present day.
v. Who is Alan Gifford / Atholl Drummond?
Alan Gifford is a contemporary graphics designer from Edinburgh and now
based in Glasgow. He's worked with all the Susan Lawly releases since the reissue
of Extreme Music From Japan. Atholl Drummond was the name of his original design
studio.
vi. Who is Denis Blackham?
Denis Blackham has mastered all the Susan Lawly releases, imparting his
highly-rated expertise to the digital remastering of the reissues, in addition
to the new material. He now has his own mastering studio, Skye Mastering, after
many years heading the digital mastering department at Porky's.
vii. Who is George Peckham?
George Peckham was responsible for all the mastering and cuts of all releases
by the Come Organisation at Polydor and who later set up his own mastering studios,
Porky's. His trademark signature A Porky Prime Cut can be found on
many of the inner grooves of those releases. He famously originally worked for
the Beatles' label Apple and cut many of their vinyl releases.
viii. Who is Akiko Hada?
Akiko Hada is a Japanese experimental video artist and photographer based
in Berlin, Germany. Her superb photos of Whitehouse featured in the Quality
Time. CD release amongst others.
ix. Who is Judith Howard?
Judith Howard is an associate for the Susan Lawly record label who wrote
the descriptive texts for Extreme Music From Women and Extreme
Music From Russia in addition to extensive and revealing interviews
with William Bennett.
x. Who is Stefan Danielsson ?
Stefan Danielsson is a Swedish artist who specialises in drawings and collages with Africa and Haitian influence and whose work featured on the cover of Racket. We hope to continue the collaboration for other projects.
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