birth_place imagesize training nationality field birth_date works image article_title name
belfast , northern ireland 143px cambridge university , uk northern irish music 28 may 1962 rave on andy white , 1986 andywhite.jpg andy white -lrb- singer-songwriter -rrb-
 andy white
andy white -lrb- singer-songwriter -rrb-

andy white -lrb- born 28 may 1962 -rrb- is a northern irish singer/songwriter , poet and author , born in belfast .
he started writing poetry and music early , penning a poem called `` riots '' aged nine .
he attended methodist college belfast .
he studied english literature at robinson college , cambridge university , graduating in 1984 .
he released his first ep `` religious persuasion '' in 1985 on stiff records , and his first album `` rave on andy white '' in 1986 .
since then he has released eleven solo albums plus numerous compilations and live albums , and collaborated with many other artists including peter gabriel , sinéad o'connor and english producer john leckie .
white won ireland 's hot press songwriter of the year award in 1993 .
in 1995 he released an album -lrb- `` altitude '' -rrb- with tim finn -lrb- of split enz -rrb- and liam Ó maonlaí -lrb- of hothouse flowers -rrb- ; the trio recorded as alt .
his most recent studio albums are `` how things are '' -lrb- 2014 -rrb- and a double cd collection `` 21st century troubadour '' -lrb- 2012 -rrb- , based around the book of the same name .
in 1999 a book of lyrics and poems -lrb- `` the music of what happens '' -rrb- was published by belfast-based lagan press .
in 2009 his first work of prose -lrb- `` 21st century troubadour '' -rrb- was published , also by lagan , with a second volume of poetry -lrb- `` stolen moments '' -rrb- -lrb- another lost shark press , brisbane -rrb- following in 2011 .
after his first two albums with decca/mca , a long relationship with roots label cooking vinyl , and a live performance album for real world records/womad , white currently records for alt recordings licensed through uk label floating world in europe , and independently elsewhere .
white tours often .
he has performed live at glastonbury festival and many international rock festivals including womad uk -lrb- where he hosted the gala finale in 2005 -rrb- , performing at and mcing the main stage at the fleadh in london , womad festivals in south africa , usa , italy , cacares , madrid , singapore and womadelaide , international folk festivals including cambridge -lrb- uk -rrb- ; calgary , winnipeg , vancouver -lrb- canada -rrb- ; port fairy and woodford -lrb- australia -rrb- .
white is best known for songs -lrb- such as `` religious persuasion '' , `` james joyce 's grave '' , `` street scenes from my heart '' , `` italian girls on mopeds '' -rrb- , and noted for the political and literary content of his work .
in 2011 , as a result of a continued friendship with the canada-based songwriter stephen fearing , the two recorded a collaborative album , `` fearing & white '' , part of a collection of songs written at infrequent intervals over the course of a decade .
the duo released their second album `` tea and confidences '' in march , 2014 .
white currently lives in melbourne , australia with his son , sebastian .
