Picnic at the Whitehouse is a German-English synthpop duo consisting of singer Edwin "Eddie" Hind, born in 1963 in Liverpool, and keyboardist Eckart "Illfo" Debusmann, born in 1963 in Munich. The band's name was derived from a quote by John F. Kennedy and the group was signed to the Munich record label 'ON RECORDS' under KP Schleinitz, who also managed artists like Terence Trent D’Arby and Kevin Coyne. Initially, KP Schleinitz used Terence Trent D’Arby for the original recordings of their debut single "We Need Protection". Upon returning from additional productions in Jamaica, KP Schleinitz played the title to Colin Barlow, an A&R representative at CBS in London, who insisted on using Eddie Hind as the vocalist. This led to the formation of P.A.R.C. Music and a move to London, where they set up a 24-track studio in a garage at Camden Square. The duo's first single "We Need Protection" was released in 1985 and charted in Germany (number 36) and Italy (number 6), marking their breakthrough moment. Their subsequent singles "East River" and "Success" did not achieve the same level of success, and shortly before the release of their album The Doors Are Open in 1987, Debusmann and Hind parted ways.
