Age: to be continued

Status: live

I grew up in Crystal Palace, South London. Graduated in Fine Art at Middlesex where I made mixed-media installations, audio works and scratch videos, and experimented with computers and recording and editing techniques.

Exhibiting art installations, audio and video works in the New Contemporaries at the ICA and in Film festivals in London, Paris, Berlin and New York in 1983 and 1984 established an early reputation in multi-media. After working at the Tate Gallery, I spent many years writing and producing music and video, performing both onstage and in public spaces.

In 1994 I started Netmare, one of the first web production businesses in the UK. Netmare's excellent design sense and net savvy, combined with a philosophy of making the Net approachable and understandable to the non-specialist led to their establishment as one of the UK's most successful new Internet businesses. As the internet developed in leaps and bounds, so did we, and in places helped to develop it.

In March 1995 Netmare along with Southern.com and Good Technology was central to a pioneering internet simultanous broadcast including Orbital, Blur, the Beasty Boys, Belly, Black Dog, Zion Train, hosted by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1. In May Nick Glass's coverage for Channel 4 News of the international internet band, Res Rocket Surfer put our designs on 25 million TV screens across the world. In September, we were part of a BT-sponsored multi-national live internet jam at Olympia, London. In November, we produced the website for the MTV Europe Awards in Paris.

Netmare continued designing and producing interactive webmedia in a variety of formats until 1997 - Time and Space (sample CD catalogue), Vladivar Vodka's Supergrass Live at the Astoria (above) which was a combination of a live rock gig with a games site, the Health Education Authority drugs awareness campaign, Amber Music, McLaren Formula One, Tribal Gathering.

In 1998 I produced 'Just Right', for Amnesty International UK, an educational CD Rom which teaches children about human rights. The first product of it's kind in the UK it includes documentary footage, first hand testimony from street children, child soldiers, child prisoners, and victims of war.

I was consultant to NormDis AG in Switzerland and helped to build the TipTV Interactive TV Program Guide. I also developed early broadcasts for DJS.CH, raised production standards and implemented live streaming technology in the Basel Moltimoll studio.

In 1999 I produced Vince Clarke's ‘The Shed Show’ a millenium night event.This internet-only production hosted in both a real shed and a virtual one appeared on computer screens in a 12 different countries across the world, and made an appearance on North American network TV.

Between 2000 and 2002 I went on a journey of self-discovery across several continents, re-emerging from my quest with the gift of self-knowledge, peace of mind, and the secret of comedy.

From 2003 to 2007 I have been writing, recording, producing videos, live events, music albums, and more things than I can enumerate here, within the grand arena of Funk.

Creative Collaborators, Past and Present
(In chiropodist order) - Mark Crook, Andrew Lagowski, Dan Powell, Geno Washington, Maria Davis, Emma Whittle, Mick Martin, Vince Clarke, Sovra Wilson-Dickson, Mike Turtle, Guy "Oh So" Sigsworth, Kevin Goldsborough, Richard Woods, Andy Carroll, Nick Amour, Ashley Slater, Neil "eh?" Conti, Hugh B. Murphy.

Art, Music and Education
In 1998-9 I wrote and produced songs for a project called meTzo. I also recorded and produced 'The Road of the Bard' by 'Harmonica' Matt Griffiths, published by Pan Fried Publishing, and remixed tracks for Vince Clarke’s ‘Family Fantastic’ project.

In December 1999 I exhibited 2 electronic prints 'Turkey' and 'NSPCC Child' in a mixed exhibition 'Re.Production: the Art of the Edition'.

2000-1 helped out at Middlesex University Fine Art department.

In 2005 Funk produced Imagining St Mary Magdalene's an art festival in London, Islington, with Norwegian artists Motherboard.

In 2005-6 I co-wrote and produced Claire Smith's album and John Cleese's world cup football song.

In 2006 I helped to found the UK Podcasters Association.

Commercial clients Include:

BBC Radio 1, Levi Strauss Europe, McLaren Formula 1, MTV Europe, EMI Records, Sony Music UK, Polygram International, Time+Space, Amber Music, Health Education Authority, Momentary Fusion Aerial Theatre Company, PB Games Ltd., Stroud Valleys Artspace, Amnesty International UK, Norm Dis AG, Musical Moments (Europe) Ltd., Tiger Aspect, John Cleese.

Non-Profit & Other Saintly Behaviour:

My first band 'The Believers' first single in 1989 'Save the Planet' raised money for Greenpeace and the Women's Environmental Network. Which was a riot.

In 1993 I began working with Ditti Brook's Swiss fundraising project 'It's 5 to 12'. In 1995 we produced a CD 'Survival Game' which sold well in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 1996-7 'Survival Game' sold worldwide, distributed on Coconut by BMG, and eventually went platinum in various territories, raising over CHF150,000 for Africa. Which was nice.

In 1997 I helped to raise funds for Amnesty International UK by producing the Phoenix Festival live website. Which was hot.

Memberships

UK Podcasters Association, Musicians Union, PRS, MCPS and PAMRA.

Football Club

Crystal Palace FC

More information is at www.deanwhitbread.com

Funk Team Blog

Deans Blog

"The success of the Radio 1 Interactive Night broadcast on March 26th 1995 was in large part due to the creative team working on it. The website was created by Netmare, and received praise from listeners, surfers and internet professionals. Netmare were responsible for the overall graphic design and in particular two of the most innovative parts of it. One was the sample database which made available more than a hundred music samples from musicians like Yello, Coldcut and 808 State. Visitors to the site could download some or all of the samples and make their own music with them. They could also vote for their favourites. These samples were then used by the producer/mixer team Sure Is Pure who created a track from them, broadcast live on the show. Netmare also designed the virtual album "InteraCD", which contained 10 tracks unreleased in the UK by major artists like the Beastie Boys, Belly and The Orb. It was an innovative experiment, and more than 300 people downloaded the tracks. Netmare impressed me throughout the project with their creativity, hard work, their ability to solve problems and to deliver what they promised. I would highly recommend their work."

Nick Ware, Producer, BBC.

Featuring multiple choice and question and answer games, learning and awareness tasks, narrative by Tony Robinson and original music throughout, it comes with a teacher's pack and accompanying teaching materials for key stages 3 & 4 (11-16 years). Launched at the Bethnal Green museum of Childhood, it was presented at the NUT National Conference 2000.

Co-Produced: Paminder Parbha and Dean Whitbread
Designed & Co-written:
Derek Wheeler
Programmed: Chris Stevenson
Audio Design : Dean Whitbread
Narrated: Tony Robinson
Music: Bam! Starboard