The story of the live album begins with the friendship between Andy and producer John Leckie. The two met during one of Peter Gabriel’s recording weeks at Real World Studios and immediately hit it off, with John mixing and producing many of Andy’s recordings (including the recent AT album with Tim Finn). After one of Andy’s concerts, John told him he wanted to buy an album of what he had just heard. A solo album recorded live. No band. No overdubs. “Where are we going to record it?” “The best-sounding room in the world – Studio Two at Abbey Road.”

On July 14, 2023, Andy and John met at Abbey Road. John got his first job there in 1970. The day of his interview the Beatles were wearing suits, getting ready to cross the road. Andy had listened to albums recorded there and looked at photos taken there since Revolver played at school parties. Giles Martin was driving out as they drove in. Andy brought three guitars and an amp. John organised everything, and when he took Andy down the stairs into Studio Two, told him to stop and smell the room. Nothing had changed since those great records had been recorded. You could feel it in the equipment, the fabric, the floorboards.

John had asked Andy to write his best set list. In the afternoon they recorded the first half, in the evening a small group of friends and family arrived, and they recorded the second. You can see what it looked like on the album sleeve, you can hear the room on the record. Everyone went to the café afterwards and sat drinking and talking under the photos of Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren, Cilla and the Beatles. Andy said goodbye and walked across the crossing on the way to the hire car. It was done.

The double-CD set has both evening and afternoon sessions, one on each disc. The vinyl LP has the evening session. On tour, the live show will feature songs from throughout Andy’s songwriting career from ‘Religious Persuasion’ and ‘James Joyce’s Grave’ to ‘Italian Girls on Mopeds’ and ‘Good Luck I Hope You Make It’. Listen and order from our Bandcamp or  web store.

The tour is as follows, with more details and ticket links on our tour page:

8 May BELFAST Crescent Arts Centre
11 May DERRY Sandino’s
13 May DUBLIN Whelans Upstairs
17 May RETFORD St Saviour’s
18 May HIGH WYCOMBE Kingsmead
19 May BRIGHTON The Greys
27 May BIRMINGHAM Kitchen Garden Café
29 May LEEDS Northern Guitars
30 May COATBRIDGE Georgian Hotel
31 May GLASGOW Partickhill Bowling Club
1 June EDINBURGH Leith Depot
5 June LONDON Half Moon Putney

L’artista nordirlandese Andy White si riallaccia alle sue origini letterarie di poeta performativo. Fin dagli esordi, ha infatti tratto ispirazione tanto da Bob Dylan e dai Clash quanto dalla poesia beat e dall’hip hop. Così in questi nuovi brani spoken word, breakbeat, basso e hip hop si fondono con parti cantate e chitarra acustica. Il nuovo album Good Luck I Hope You Make It è disponibile tramite IRD e ai concerti di Andy.

White, che negli anni ha scritto con Peter Gabriel, Allison Russell e Liam Ó Maonlaí, è stato prodotto da John Leckie e ha registrato con Billy Bragg e Sinéad O’Connor, aveva iniziato a lavorare sul disco a Melbourne prima del Covid, riflettendo sulla colonizzazione di Irlanda e Australia. Il lockdown ha poi portato temi quali la Brexit e le questioni personali e sociali legate alla pandemia e alla lontananza di famiglia e amici, filtrati attraverso un caleidoscopio di influenze culturali che spaziano da “Sulla strada” di Kerouac e “Urlo” di Ginsberg fino a Gil Scott-Heron e al pensiero di Patti Smith.

Registrato a Melbourne, mixato a Calgary e masterizzato a Los Angeles, l’album è stato elogiato dalla stampa britannica come “arguto, funky e ipnotico… un disco tagliente e imprevedibile, ma anche enormemente piacevole” e l’Irish Times ne ha definito i contenuti come “riflessioni poetiche su un mondo ormai impazzito”.

Feb 20 CORREGGIO (RE) La Galera*
Feb 21 RIMINI Hobo’s
Feb 22 MARENO DI PIAVE (TV) Corner Live*
Feb 23 MODENA Cotton Club
Feb 27 COMO Nerolidio
Feb 28 FIRENZE Circolo Progresso*
Mar 1 FERRARA Ego Lounge*

Andy will be bringing his new Good Luck T-shirts to the show. Available in XL and L they are available  in our webstore here.

Writing with Peter Gabriel, Allison Russell, Christine Anu and Liam Ó Maonlaí, Andy has been produced by John Leckie and Donal Lunny, and recorded with Billy Bragg and Sinéad O’Connor. Famous friends, but the essence of what he does is in concert with his acoustic guitar, a bunch of pedals, a Fender amp, and a fabulous word count. From ‘Religious Persuasion’ to ‘Another Sunny Day’ and ‘The Revolution’ we do hope you can make it to the first show of 2025.

Fri 13 BELFAST Crescent Arts Centre
Sat 15 PORTSTEWART Cromore Halt
Fri 24 LONDON Dingwalls 2

More details on our tour page

Andy has written with Peter Gabriel, Allison Russell, Christine Anu and Liam Ó Maonlaí. He has been produced by John Leckie and Donal Lunny, and recorded with Billy Bragg and Sinéad O’Connor. Famous friends, but the essence of what Andy does is in concert with his acoustic guitar, a bunch of pedals, a Fender amp, and a fabulous word count. From ‘Religious Persuasion’ to ‘Another Sunny Day’. Good luck, I hope you make it to one of the shows!

“In lockdown I went back to reading poems and playing bass, going crazy about the things being uncovered in the Covid Inquiry and walking every day freestyling in my head. Before ‘Rave on’ I read poems with a drum machine and that’s where this album started.”

All CDs and LPs will be posted either from London or (after Jan 27) Melbourne. LPs are posted with tracking, CDs without tracking (if you would like tracking please email rose@andywhite.com).

‘The Revolution‘ is the first single from the album and the last track Andy recorded for the album. Dave Grohl is not involved. The original cast of Friends is sadly no longer available. The revolution is YOU.

News of the album is coming soon, with one track, Bass Priority, up on Andy’s Bandcamp now, where you can listen and download.

Andy has written with Peter Gabriel, Allison Russell, Christine Anu and Liam Ó Maonlaí. He has been produced by John Leckie and Donal Lunny, and recorded with Billy Bragg and Sinéad O’Connor. Famous friends, but the essence of what Andy does is in concert with his acoustic guitar, a bunch of pedals, a Fender amp, and a fabulous word count. From ‘Religious Persuasion’ to ‘Another Sunny Day’. Good luck, I hope you make it.

You can listen on the ALT Bandcamp and order from there (with an immediate download), from your local record store, or Floating World Records in London.

There’s a video for second single The Happiness Index (the first was My Regeneration) and Andy and Tim have been interviewed online here.

You’ll find more info on the ALT/AT Facebook page plus some fun promo clips and pics.

Andy writes, “It was emotional, fun, musical and harmonious getting back together with Tim. We started off with a quote from Liam and soon ducked down the alleyway just the two of us, writing and recording in Melbourne and Auckland. Swapping ideas and stories, things just flowed. Our old friend John Leckie mixed the album in Oxfordshire and we mastered it in Abbey Road. There are sheep, cars, friends and family in the songs. Beautiful melodies from Tim and I got to stretch out in the studio. Have a listen. It’s where it’s AT!”

https://youtu.be/rh1NCzLoPpE

The live album is on release, contains a bonus track, and is available exclusively through Bandcamp:

https://andywhiteireland.bandcamp.com/album/rave-on-andy-white-live

The original LP version of the album, reissued on white vinyl in 2018, is also available through Bandcamp or our webstore. The CD is part of the box set collection ‘Studio Albums 1986–2016′, which you can only find in our webstore.

“I’ve hardly ever played the album all the way through, in order. It was an emotional, leaving me ragged and thankful. It was good to feel that the songs speak to any time, any place. This performance is dedicated to all the people I’ve met through the album, and everyone whom it has touched. In particular to Brendan McGarrity who drummed on the original recordings and Mudd Wallace who engineered, who are no longer with us. And Janice Long, without whom you probably would never have heard it. Rest in Peace. Hope you enjoy it. We did.”

Rave on!

Jan 8 BELFAST Black Box (CQAF Festival)
Jan 12 DUBLIN Little Whelans
Jan 16 BRIGHTON The Greys
Jan 17 BIRMINGHAM Kitchen Garden Café
Jan 18 LEYTONSTONE What’s Cookin’
Jan 19 BERWICK Radio Rooms
Jan 20 COATBRIDGE Georgian Hotel
Jan 21 EDINBURGH Leith Depot
Jan 22 GLASGOW The Glad Cafe (Celtic Connections)
Jan 25 LEEDS Irish Centre
Jan 27 LONDON The Fiddler

Click the venues for ticket links. More details on our tour page.

See you there!

Rose :)