BIOGRAPHY

“So catchy. Pure Rock & Roll.” (1)
– Phil Taggart, BBC Radio 1.

Unquiet Nights were born of humble beginnings in a rehearsal space above Belfast’s Limelight club in 2010, where guitarist Luke Mathers and drummer Rodger Firmin were recording the basis of first album “21st Century Redemption Songs”. Luke had been releasing songs under this name online in a less formal way for years previous, but recruited Firmin with the intention of getting something permanent out there. The two had played together in a previous band during their teenage years, managing to get their nose inside the door of most Radio and TV stations, as well as the live music venues in their native Belfast.

Early singles “Shoulda Said Something” and “Burning The Tracks” earned them the backing of BBC Radio 1 and Absolute Radio, with Radio 1’s Phil Taggart calling their offering “Pure Rock & Roll”.(1) Songs from the “21st…” album kept being released over the coming months, including “Someone’s Love on Drugs”, which lead to BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson hailing “21st…” as a “fine debut album”. Much touring followed over the next few years, taking the band to nine countries with their own gigs in cities like Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Munich, Bratislava, Toronto, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Rome as well as supports for the likes of Bloc Party. Unquiet Nights were based permanently in Italy during their first six years of existence, adding Umbria native Francesco Piciucchi on bass and keys.

Touring continued towards the release of second album “Postcards In Real Time” in 2016, including national appearances on the Sky Sports 1 show “Calciomercato” in Milan, and Roxy Bar with Red Ronnie in Bologna. Their song “George Best City” had become a calling card of sorts for the band, with Sky Italia using it to soundtrack the often repeated documentary series “Buffa Racconta: Storie di Campioni”. This cemented the growing relationship with their Italian fanbase.

Next would come the release of a trio of singles starting with “Promise of You” in 2018, which would be legendary DJ Roddie Cleere’s “Track of the Week” on KCLR 96fm. “Young Believers” followed, being compared favourably by Stuart Bailie of the BBC to Pearl Jam. Last of the three was “Four Winds”, itself described by Ireland’s Hot Press as “a seductive, stadium-ready number that stakes a claim as the soundtrack to the summer”.

By this time Unquiet Nights were based near Belfast again, and had built and entrenched themselves in their own studio known as Credential Sound, with “Four Winds” having been the first release they recorded entirely there. The ten year anniversary of their debut album and everything in between was celebrated with the “First Ten: 2012-2022” collection, including new single “In Spite of It All”. During the period that followed, Luke and Rodger worked solidly on what would become their third LP “Seasons In Exile”. Initially putting out “Diamond and the Missing Son” as a single after much cajolling from German superfan “Indie Kid”, who had seen the title get accidentally populated on a fan site, the initial success of “Diamond…” made the band decide to flesh out the story over a full-blown album. Lifelong fan of Progressive bands like Genesis that Luke was, this seemed like a challenge that had been waiting to happen all along.

“Seasons In Exile” was released on 19th January, 2024 and helped break Unquiet Nights with new audiences, and received the praise of The Belfast Telegraph, Hot Press, Pure M, Record World International, The Sunday Life and many others. The deeper exploration into Progressive rock was noted by many journalists and fans alike, with 103,000 listeners on the Spotify platform in the following year. Second single from the album “This Is My Oxygen would gain the band airplay on important stations like Kerrang! Radio and TotalRock for the first time.

As of the current moment, plans are underway for a run of singles starting with the next drop on 30th October, 2026.

Press:

“…So catchy…pure rock ‘n’ roll….” – Phil Taggart, BBC Radio One.

“…..”Four Winds” is an anthemic offering from the three-piece.” – Edwin McFee, Hot Press.

“…Unquiet Nights are a great band with tons of energy and swagger that will excite fans of groups like The Strypes, The Vines, Nirvana, and Bloc Party. Have a listen!”
– Greg Richling, The Wallflowers.

“…”Diamond And The Missing Son” is a gem of a tune that sees the acclaimed act shine brighter than ever. A 24 carat banger…” – Sunday Life

“…Third album “Seasons In Exile” we can confirm is brimming with belters…”
– The Belfast Telegraph.

“…From their humble beginnings above Belfast’s Limelight club to international acclaim, Unquiet Nights have remained true to their roots while pushing musical boundaries…”
– Tristan Moore, Pure M

“…Chugs and roars along at a fair old pace, with aequal amounts of attitude and swagger.”
– Pete Donaldson, Absolute Radio.

“…Music of the highest, cloud-reaching calibre. Actually quite beautiful.”
– Aaron Phillips, Amazing Radio.

“…A great rock track. Moody, but not one that revels in it – there’s a sense of urgency in there. Bit of a journey, all told.”
– Pete Donaldson, Absolute Radio.

“…What makes the track so quintessentially Unquiet Nights is that they’re a group everybody claims to get but nobody can seem to pin down.…”
– Record World International

“Unquiet Nights are from Belfast. I got their album “Seasons In Exile” and it’s quite smooth and reminded me of Ghost, Blue Öyster Cult, Feeder….all sorts of things.”
– Johnny Doom, Kerrang! Radio

“…”Someone’s Love on Drugs” comes from their fine debut album 21st Century Redemption Songs – for which recording started in their native Belfast and was completed in their adopted home in Italy…” – Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

See all press quotes.