This podcast is only temporary

This is the season finale. Or is it? Something of a cliffhanger from Andy as he wraps up the story of the writing and recording of his 1994 classic album 'Destination Beautiful' by taking us through Learning to Cry, I Couldn't Leave You and – yes – The Government of Love. Side Two of the album is a very personal story and ends up with a roll call and a celebration.  Andy also lets u...

In Episode 7 Andy starts off by talking about connections between his poems and songs and how (and why) the lyrics of some songs start off as poems, or lines or sections from poems. His first book of poetry The Music of What Happens was published in 1999, and in it you can find poems directly linked to songs on Destination Beautiful. Looking for Friends is one, and he goes on to talk about Ciao Ba...

Episode 6 of the new series of This podcast is only temporary and Andy finally gets round to keeping his promise to describe the writing and recording of more than one song from his 1994 album Destination Beautiful, recently release on vinyl for the first time by Glasgow company LNFG . The first LP edition of Destination Beautiful is a bright explosion of positivity and comes in blue or yellow vin...

Episode 5 of the new series of This podcast is only temporary and Andy has reached the writing and recording of Punks Outside the Secret Police. It is just after the fall of the Wall, and involves adventures in Berlin and Czechoslovakia. The video Andy talks about, shot in Prague, is for Palaceful of Noise .  Palaceful of Noise was the first single from Andy's previous album Out There and the...

In Episode 4 of the new series of This podcast is only temporary Andy tells us the story of the writing and recording of Many's the Time from Destination Beautiful, his classic 1994 album.  It all starts with a knock on the door in Dún Laoghaire. Liam Ó Maonlaí has invited Tim Finn to stay. Andy answers and Tim and he kick off their friendship listening to a track and then ordering pints in a...

It's the third episode of the new series of This podcast is only temporary and Andy tries again to take us through the writing and recording of more than one song from Destination Beautiful, his classic 1994 album. However, The Beatles and a sociological theory for why the 60s were such a creative time in the UK threaten to get in the way.  If you don't know the album, guess which John t...

In the second episode of the new series of This podcast is only temporary Andy sets out with the best of intentions and then goes down a few meandering paths talking about the second track of Destination Beautiful, his classic 1994 album. The Celtic Tiger, recording backwards, crystal sets and Walk on the Wild Side are just a few of the topics up for discussion.    Originally released on CD and ca...

Andy's back with a new series of This podcast is only temporary. This time he's telling the story of Destination Beautiful, his classic 1994 album. Originally released on CD and cassette, Glasgow company LNFG have pressed up the first  LP edition and it's on release from March 2026.  The album is a bright blue and yellow explosion of positivity and in this first episode Andy finds h...

The fourth series of Belfast songwriter Andy White's podcast 'This podcast is only temporary' tells the story of the recording of the live album recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two and released as The night is approaching though some would say it was morning in 2025. Episode four takes us through from the end of the evening session through the café/bar and into the outside world. Some...

The fourth series of Belfast songwriter Andy White's podcast 'This podcast is only temporary' tells the story of the recording of the live album recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two and released as The night is approaching though some would say it was morning in 2025. Episode three takes us through the decisions and set list of the evening session. We discover themes connecting the son...

The fourth series of Belfast songwriter Andy White's podcast 'This podcast is only temporary' tells the story of the recording of the live album recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two and released as The night is approaching though some would say it was morning in 2025. Episode two starts with a set list that's too long and a plan for the evening that helps calm the afternoon. We di...

The fourth series of Belfast songwriter Andy White's occasional podcast 'This podcast is only temporary' tells the story of the recording of the live album recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two and released as The night is approaching though some would say it was morning in 2025. Episode one starts at a gig in Camden with an invitation from BBC DJ Janice Long and a suggestion from produ...

In the final episode of the current series, Belfast songwriter Andy White concludes the story of writing and recording Good Luck I Hope You Make It  by following the inscrutable logic of the series and looking at opening track The Revolution. Written a month after Best of Times, the pandemic is deepening its hold, lockdown in Melbourne is strict, in the UK people are clapping the NHS in the street...

Belfast songwriter Andy White tells the story of writing and recording Best of Times from his latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It . The pandemic is underway, lockdown has happened, and Andy starts writing this track after recording a song for a club in Italy and reading the opening passage of A Tale of Two Cities. Andy dives into the original recording session to play you some of the layers...

Belfast songwriter Andy White tells the story of writing and recording Talk Don't Touch from his latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It . This song became the album's closing track, although it was written and recorded about halfway through the sessions. On March 16 the Victorian government announced a State of Emergency. Airports closed and the lockdown started. Restrictions were sev...

In which Belfast songwriter Andy White tells the story of writing Self-isolation, opening track from Side 2 of his latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It .  The story so far? It's a few days before St Patrick's Day 2020. Things are locking down in Ireland and Italy. Not so much in Australia, where huge sporting events are taking place, and the UK, where the government is talking about...

There is a lot going on in this week's episode of Irish songwriter Andy White's journey through the writing and recording of his latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It . Andy starts out by telling the story of the mystery missing track, Every Day is Like Today, which includes a poetry slam (that's a competition at a poetry venue or bar where anyone who puts their name can get up...

Belfast songwriter Andy White is telling the story of the writing and recording of  latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It and in Episode 3 reaches the title track. This week he confronts the number one question asked of any songwriter and consults Michelle Obama, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Undertones for help and inspiration. There are sharp intakes of breath and a gurgling baby is discove...

In the second episode Andy wrestles with the dilemma of what to do with a good idea once you've written one song using it, and considers the philosophical question David Cassidy gifted to the human race, "How can I be sure?" This time it's the fourth track on Good Luck I Hope You Make It— The Day You Were Bomb, which started off being called Title Factory. As in every episode,...

In the first episode of series three, Andy tells the story of how the writing and recording of his latest album Good Luck I Hope You Make It began. On tour in the UK and Ireland at the end of 2019, returning to Australia in the New Year, Andy started writing one album and ended up writing another. One unfinished song was looking for a lyric - and that sparked ideas and a mode for the new album. As...

In the last episode of the second series, Andy looks at his favourite song on the 'AT' album he wrote with Tim Finn. 'Best Fun Time for Ages' started with a confidence, an unexpected party, a line from a sister—and ended up a record. You will hear Tim's original demo recording, Andy's exploration of the multitrack recording, and how the improvised end section came abo...

In the new episode Andy has reached 'It's Family', one of the most personal songs on the 'AT' album. A suggestion from Tim, experiencing a life-changing event, inspired a poem by Andy which Tim adapted into lyrics and added the melody. It's another way to co-write, and this one is a family affair. There are strings, Tim's daughter, and everyone's thinking ab...

In the latest episode of Andy's journey through the 'AT' album he wrote with Tim Finn, he goes off to Canada to play the Edmonton Folk Music Festival . Where folk is not, perhaps, what it seems. He encounters the Warrior backstage and a new song is born. Mostly, Andy waxes lyrical on Canadian folk festivals, their vibe, food, and hotels (always with thick thick walls). However, it i...

"Hotels." No, "old hotels". "Thick walls." No, "thick thick walls." Pericles, a caterpillar and dashboard lights. If you have only heard the single version of My Regeneration,  you will find the whole story here. Andy is halfway through his exploration of the 'AT' album he wrote with Tim Finn. The sleep-inducing yet fascinating BBC series Andy ment...

Sometimes everyone is too busy to talk. Or to meet. Andy has reached Save me a Weekend, the last track on side one of 'AT', the album co-written with Tim Finn. In Episode 5, the pals start off with one of them feeling grumpy and end up writing a wider lament. Thankfully, Andy has edited out the update on his tooth situation, but there are digressions on singing harmony and Harriet the do...