This podcast is only temporary – Details, episodes & analysis

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 himself living in Dun Laoghaire with fun flatmates and a situation about to change in a big way. Track one on the record is 'Street Scenes From My Heart' and the album starts on a street corner in Moscow.

The video Andy refers to is on his YouTube channel here and contains contemporary footage shot by Robert Monaghan, a performance at Homestead Studios, as well as the car driving from Belfast to Dublin.

If you've listened to Series 1–4, welcome back. If you are a newcomer to the podcast, do check out previous episodes in which Andy goes track by track through his most recently released albums, telling stories about the songs and playing unreleased studio mixes that you will only find here. 

Please share and subscribe wherever you find your podcasts – and see you next week!

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 of the friends and family who were there reflect on the experience and Sebastian, Andy's son, goes into detail about the photography and design of the album cover. No guitars are mentioned. OK. Maybe the cases.

There is an excerpt from an unreleased track not on the album. The entire album is on Bandcamp and andywhite.com to listen to, download, or order a CD or LP. There are video clips from the Abbey Road session on our YouTube channel.

Welcome back, if you have been here before. If not, be sure to check out the first three series, which tell the story of the making of 'This garden is only temporary', the 'AT' album, and 'Good Luck I Hope You Make It'. Share and subscribe, and see you next time.

In this episode, words and music by Andy White.

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 discovered after watching U2 singing in a Kyiv Metro Station.

So much to write about! Thanks for listening and please share and subscribe wherever you find your podcasts. If this is your first time, there are two other series to catch up on! 

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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, Andy plays excerpts from the master tapes and there is an early demo of the song you won't have heard before. He also reads out a list of references in the song you may not have caught in the lyrics. I could list them here if you are interested—you can text us using the link above. 

Thanks for supporting the show by sharing and subscribing. Do catch up on series one and two if this is your first time. Good luck I hope we make it and see you next week!

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 ever, Andy plays excerpts from the studio master tapes and includes an early version of a song you won't hear anywhere else. This series is about writing from context - telling your story from where you've been and where you are now. 

We hope you'll come along for the ride and share and subscribe to this series wherever you find your podcasts. Do catch up on series one and two if this is your first time. See you next week!

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 about. It's not A Day in the Life, but that's what the structure ended up resembling. As ever, the episode plays out with the last version of the song before the guys sent it to John Leckie to mix. 

Thanks for your support for This podcast is only temporary, Andy says he had the best fun time for ages making this second series. He's off to tour his brand new release 'Good Luck I Hope You Make It' and perhaps that's where the next series will start. Until then, catch up with any episodes you may have missed, and do take care.

Best Fun Time for Ages by Finn/White
Played and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and Auckland
Strings by Jonathan Dreyfus
Drums by Sebastian White

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 about Kate Bush. Because everyone is always thinking about Kate Bush. As always, you'll hear a mix that no one has heard before, and the isolated string section is a treat.

As Andy mentions at the start of the podcast, in November 2023, minds are on the humanitarian disaster playing out in Gaza. He has just released a new song The Time Has Come For Love. Do listen, and if you download it, proceeds go to Médecins Sans Frontières.

In the meantime, please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next time.

It's Family by Finn/White
Played and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and Auckland
Strings by Jonathan Dreyfus

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 is also about co-writing songs with A and B sections—and writing things down immediately, when they happen. As always, there are versions and mixes of the songs you haven't heard before. 

Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!

Warrior of Love by Finn/White
Played and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and Auckland
Drums by Sebastian White

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

"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 mentions is In Our Time.  The other Shakespeare plays are The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. We have no links for Andy's bass playing digression or his lack of interest in The Who. At least he sounds like he is having fun!

As ever, this episode contains a version of My Regeneration you won't have heard before. Changing your life is hard. There's only so much affliction you can choose to ignore. Hesitation and then … regeneration. 

Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!

My Regeneration by Finn/White
Played and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and Auckland
Drums by Sebastian White

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White

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 double bass. You can listen to her on I Will Wait and One in a Million. Poetry fans will be all over pathetic fallacy.

As always, you will hear early demo versions of the song as a work-in progress and one of the final rough mixes before it was sent to John Leckie to mix. 

Please share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you next week!

Save me a Weekend by Finn/White
Played and recorded by Andy and Tim in Melbourne and Auckland

Andy's albums are available on Bandcamp or www.andywhite.com

Podcast artwork: Sebi White