Although they had existed in a different incarnation since the very early 1990s, the band's classic line-up consisted of Andrew Caldwell (vocals), Paul Carroll (bass), Eric Lindsay (guitar) and Stuart Smith (drums).

Whiteout achieved minor success during the Britpop era in the UK, co-headlining a tour with Oasis[1] and supported The Charlatans and Pulp.

They opened both the Glasgow Sound City event and the Phoenix festival in 1994 before releasing their second single, "Starrclub" (which included the line, "Look at me, i'm on TV").

Andrew Caldwell left the group in 1996, after Bite It (replaced briefly by Warren McIntyre) and by the time the (now three piece of Carroll, Lindsay & McDermott) band reemerged with their second album Big Wow in 1998 (The last track of which included the refrain "We'll all go down in history") it was to a largely dismissive reception from the music media.

Original drummer Mark Fairhurst ('Fudge') had replaced McDermott on drums in 1997, appearing on two of Big Wow's tracks, but Whiteout split soon after, around 1999, shortly after becoming a four-piece again with Eric Russell on keys.