[1] Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big Country, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Simple Minds, Ultravox, the Psychedelic Furs, Beady Eye, Toyah, David Byrne, Talking Heads and Kirsty MacColl, as well as U2, the Rolling Stones, the Pogues, Blue October, Steel Pulse, the La's, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey, the Killers, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Guster, Counting Crows and Joan Armatrading.

In 1979, he scored two hits for Virgin Records with The Members: the Surrey anthem "Sound of the Suburbs" and protest reggae classic "Offshore Banking Business".

Lillywhite along with engineer Hugh Padgham began working with the band XTC in June and July 1979 at Townhouse Studios in London for Virgin Records.

[2][3] During the recording of the album, he pioneered (with Gabriel and engineer Hugh Padgham) the gated reverb drum sound which became a hallmark of Phil Collins' solo career.

He moved on to produce work by Bruce Foxton (of The Jam), Big Country, XTC, The Chameleons, Toyah, Talking Heads, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Morrissey, The Rolling Stones and the Shine album by the former ABBA vocalist Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

Lillywhite was also hired by Rush to produce their 1984 album, Grace Under Pressure but, much to their frustration, withdrew from the project to work with Simple Minds.

During the 1990s, Lillywhite produced the multi platinum albums Under the Table and Dreaming, Crash, and Before These Crowded Streets by the Dave Matthews Band.

In 1991, he continued to produce Morrissey and co-produced songs from U2's Achtung Baby, working alongside Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Flood.

That same year he returned to Dublin to produce Engine Alley's debut album entitled A Sonic Holiday, and Kirsty MacColl again provided additional vocals, this time for the single "Song for Someone".

Lillywhite signed singer-songwriter Darius Danesh and served as executive producer for his debut album Dive In, which spawned three Top 10 hits, and Mercury Records' first number one in eighteen years.

In February 2007, Lillywhite began work with Crowded House on tracks for Time on Earth, the band's first studio album in fourteen years.

Lillywhite's next project was working with Matchbox Twenty on an EP that comprised a portion of Exile on Mainstream, a two-disc album that entered the US charts at No.

[9] On 25 May 2010, the official Oasis website announced that Lillywhite was working with Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock on material for their new band Beady Eye.

[15] Lillywhite reunited with Thirty Seconds to Mars in 2012, co-producing the band's fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, alongside Jared Leto.

In April 2017, musician and writer Jon Regen wrote an article for The New York Times profiling Lillywhite and his work bundling recorded CDs with fried chicken in Indonesian KFC restaurants.

In interviews about the album, the producer has stated that he is semi-retired living in Jakarta for the past five years and now only works with select artists.