The Big List: Q&A With: Unquiet Nights
This month we meet Unquiet Nights to hear about their comeback singles and much more.
Single – “Promise of You”
PROMISE OF YOU is on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify & Google Play from 16th February 2018. Thanks to Roddie Cleere’s Irish Music Show on KCLR 96fm for making it “Song of the Week”, to Hot Press for the review, and to Eclectic Music Lover for the review.
Eclectic Music Lover (Review) – “Promise of You”
“…PROMISE OF YOU is the first single, and it’s a hard-rockin’ beauty! It starts off with a drawn-out electric guitar note, then an explosion of gritty guitars and fuzzy bass rain down, propelled by a crushing drumbeat that really gets the blood pumping. The track grows more intense as dramatic synths and layers of jangly and shredded guitars are added, building to a pulse-pounding crescendo. The instrumentals are phenomenal…”
Hot Press – “Promise of You” (Single)
“…Inspired by the sweat-drenched clubs that offer a platform to rising bands, the NI/Italy-bred bunch’s comeback track is a robust rocker, which announces their return to action in fine fashion. Driven by pounding dums and a massive chorus, “Promise of You” is an absolutely electric listen….”
RIP Tom Petty (1950-2017)
Tom Petty is one of my biggest influences. I started searching out his cassettes when I was about 6. I remember finding “Into The Great Wide Open” not long after it had come out in the Caroline Music in Portadown, and ended up getting all of his and The Heartbreaker’s albums. Eventually I got to see them front row in Italy in 2012, and met some of his people that day. Mike Campbell gave us his wristband, and burnt his mouth on our liquorice chewing gum during “Don’t Come Around Here No More”. I ended up getting guitar picks from Tom and Scott Thurston, which I used to record in particular the second Unquiet Nights album “Postcards In Real Time”. Even more Heartbreaker-ish about that album is that Tom’s drummer Steve Ferrone is on two tracks on it. I didn’t know that would happen at the time of the Lucca gig, although I was telling Steve’s drum tech Gary from Arizona that day that Steve was also in the band of a friend of mine, which is how he ended up playing on two of our tracks. Also at that gig Mike Campbell was super nice when I chucked him an Unquiet Nights badge which rolled away towards his amp. He tracked it down and thanked me for it anyway, who else would have done that? So yeah, massive Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fan, and Tom’s departure is a tough one for me. I’ve made my personal top ten of his songs underneath.
England – June 2017 Dates
A couple of solo gigs coming up in England in June. First The Acoustic Couch, Bracknell on Friday June 16th, and then three sets at the Daventry Weekender on Saturday June 17th.
VIDEO – “Don’t Wanna Kill For Religion”
Our video for “Don’t Wanna Kill For Religion” is out today. We recorded it on the roof of The Europa Hotel in Belfast in August 2014. Thanks to Maverick Renegade, Help Musicians UK, Michael Hanvey and The Europa for helping us get it done. The second album “Postcards In Real Time” is here.
Roadie TV – Live Session
The live series for Roadie TV is finished now, so you can see the three songs from their channel below. It was a pleasure to record these with them.
Beyond the Realms of Death (Les Binks)
The second album “Postcards in Real Time”, which is coming out tomorrow, includes the track “George Best City”. Watching its video here is the legendary Judas Priest “Stained Class” era drummer Les Binks. For years metal forums have been pondering where he can be found.
KCLR 96fm – Roddie Cleere’s Irish Music Show (Featured Album)
Tonight’s episode of Roddie Cleere’s Irish Music Show has “Postcards In Real Time” as the Featured Album for Sunday, 29th December 2015. We love Roddie, and thank him very much.
Hot Press – “Love Leave Your Mark on Me”
“…Born in Belfast but bred in Italy, Unquiet Nights take a huge step forward with their new single. Sounding assured and stately, the song is swathed in atmospheric synths as singer/guitarist Luke Mathers delivers one of his most impassioned performances to date. Conjuring up a sound that’s like the Gin Blossoms jamming with the Jesus and Mary Chain, it’s an anthemic offering from the three-piece…”
The Big List – “Love Leave Your Mark On Me”
This month we meet Luke Mathers from Northern Ireland born and now Italy-based rockers Unquiet Nights to hear about his band’s just released new single “Love Leave Your Mark On Me”, their impending second album, his experiences being a TV star on the continent and much more.
Calciomercato – Sky Sport 1 HD (21.07.2015)
Tomorrow night on SKY SPORT 1 HD (ITALIA) @ 23:00 we’re going to be on Calciomercato w/ Alessandro Bonan e Gianluca Di Marzio. The Federico Buffa Racconta: George Best documentary has been broadcast about 145 times on different SKY channels since February 7th, featuring the Unquiet Nights song “George Best City” in the last scene & credits. The response has been amazing towards us since the episode began airing, and we’re very grateful to SKY for giving us the opportunity to go on and explain ourselves now.
Roxy Bar, Bologna. (3rd May, 2015)
Roxy Bar w/ Red Ronnie
Centro Gross, Bologna, Italy
Sunday 3rd May, 2015
Apr 2015 – Blackstar Amps, Manor Park Studios, Der ungezähmte Fußballer…
April was another busy month, to go with 2015 in general. There were some recording sessions in Northern Ireland, then back to Italy. An amp endorsement, German literature, new interviews and some upcoming things that’ll happen during May. So, to recap in roughly chronological order….
George Best: Der ungezähmte Fußballer
There is a book that’s just been published called “George Best: Der ungezähmte Fußballer”, or “The Untamed Footballer”. It’s by the German Sportsbook of the Year winning author Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling, published by Verlag Die Werkstatt.
Because of events that happened around the release of our “George Best City” song, Dietrich interviewed me while researching the book.
Mike Rutherford (Sarah Champion)
Loved the interview Mike Rutherford did with Sarah Champion on Absolute about his new autobiography The Living Years. Mike is hugely underrated for his contribution to music, and Sarah did a great job on this interview.
Feb 2015 – SKY Italia Buffa Racconta George Best, Irish Literary Times & more…
One of the wildest months since starting the band four and a half years ago for sure. February 2015 gave us a few things that have allowed us up the ladder a bit further now and vindicated a lot of hard work. Hopefully I can recap in something like chronological order. Starting with… » SINGLE: “CONSTELLATIONS … Continue reading
BBC NORTHERN IRELAND – LOCAL VOICES w/ Ralph McLean
BBC NORTHERN IRELAND – LOCAL VOICES w/ Ralph McLean (25/02/2015) Special thanks to Ralph McLean on BBC Radio Ulster (Northern Ireland) for giving us our debut on his Local Voices show. He played GEORGE BEST CITY gave our appearance on the Sky Italia documentary Buffa Racconta Storie di Campioni George Best a good plug. Here’s … Continue reading
SKY ITALIA – Buffa Racconta: George Best
SKY ITALIA – Buffa Racconta: George Best
The documentary on the life of George Best by Sky Italia called “Federico Buffa Racconta Storie di Campioni” includes our song “GEORGE BEST CITY” over the final scene. Forza Andiamo!
It’s repeated about 40 times during February on various SKY channels. Full listing below…
SKY SPORTS 1 Italia – Storie di Campioni: George Best.
Last night there was a documentary on SKY SPORTS 1 Italia about George Best by the journalist Federico Buffa called Storie di Campioni George Best. You’ll find the Unquiet Nights song “George Best City” (released last week) as the music over the last scene.
I…. didn’t expect this to happen, but no doubt I have the official George Best page to thank for sharing the song last week. I’m guessing a lot of people probably saw this…?
Lurgan Mail – Band’s George Best singe goes global
“…A B-side from local “Italian” band Unquiet Nights has been getting plenty of publicity due to it’s reference to a Northern Irish icon…”
Lisa Fischer
Fun twitter exchange about screaming goats with the mighty Lisa Fischer of The Rolling Stones. Her vocal solo on the No Security live album has been maybe my favourite of all time since I was learning to play off that album as a teenager. Screenshotted for posterity.
BBC Northern Ireland – The Late Show “George Best City” 21.01.2015
BBC Northern Ireland – The Late Show (21.01.2015) “GEORGE BEST CITY” is the first new material we’ve put out since “21st Century Redemption Songs“. It was heard for the first time on BBC Northern Ireland’s Late Show w/ Cherrie McIlwaine on 21st Jan 2015. You can hear it from the BBC Playlister for another 25 days, or above. … Continue reading
George Best Facebook Official Page
Thanks to the official George Best facebook page for sharing our song “George Best City”. It’s the B-Side to our new single and was played by Cherrie McIlwaine on the BBC Late Show this past Wednesday 21st Jan.
Full link: facebook.com/GeorgeBest/posts/10152609122406497
Thanks to Steve P for making this happen, and to Cherrie for giving “George Best City” first play.
Toronto Indie Week 2014
Thanks to Alicia Atout for mentioning our appearance @ The Rivoli for Indie Week Toronto this past Saturday, 18th October. We also played at The Hideout the night before as well.
Jan 2014 | Irish Public, thoughts on songwriting.
An uncharacteristically quick report this time about a few things that happened throughout January. We at UN headquarters are doing a lot of behind the scenes work which isn’t ready to report or unveil, including a new website which is coming before the next single and will hopefully be a better experience for you all. … Continue reading
Dec 2013 | Klangstation, Amorous for Analog, Plans for 2014…
So, 2013 is over – time for the capsule review? We spent most of the year promoting the first album “21st Century Redemption Songs”, giving a few of the tracks a single release along the way and making significant strides in radio play. We did a bunch of Italian summer festivals in July/August then went … Continue reading
Nov 2013 | Amazing Radio, Parlour Tricks, Early Mixing
November has been busy recording wise, and writing towards the next album. “Don’t Wanna Kill For Religion” is away for mixing this weekend. Anyone who’s seen us live during the summer will know it, and there should be a hail of other songs getting mixed over the next months as we take a break from … Continue reading
Oct 2013 | “US BOUND”, Live Recording (Munich), MilanInter & more…
So this month we got back to the lab again after last month’s tour and have been furiously recording take after take on the next album, looking for that magic sound that’ll push us further on radio than ever before. A pile of interesting things have happened though, radio, write ups and also there are … Continue reading
Sep 2013 | European Tour (Austria, Germany, Slovakia) & Radio.
September for us was mostly consumed by planning a “European Tour” of sorts, as well as actually being on it from September 19th until the 29th, so I’ll try and give a day by day account and focus on anything important that happened to us during the tour. I was told by some people that … Continue reading
Lurgan Mail – Band on European tour
“…Unquiet Nights will embark on a European tour at the end of this month including some of the best clubs in Bratislava, Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck…”
Aug 2013 | Marmore Rock, Parco Fluviale, Experience Due & more.
August was a brutally hot month in Italy, such that olive coloured Italians were constantly saying the equivalent of “Bloody hell, it’s hot now” (Mama mia.. e tanto caldo!). But it didn’t stop UN from getting a lot done. I’ll recap some of the main things that happened and then get on to the European … Continue reading
Jul 2013 | Summer Festival dates, 50 Sounds of Summer & More..
July was a month of much, much recording & editing. Mostly bass tracks for the second album on songs like “Destiny Does The Splitstep”, “Don’t Wanna Kill For Religion” & “Jefferson Was Right”, plus some others I haven’t named yet. But we’ve played those live a lot anyway so it’s not a secret. Anyway we’ve … Continue reading
Jun 2013 | Queen’s Speakeasy & Youbloom Dublin.
During June apart from continuing work on recordings that’ll make up the second album, I took a trip to Ireland to do solo gigs in Belfast & Dublin and meet a few different people over there. We’ve also been rehearsing the rest of the time back in Italy for some shows that are coming up … Continue reading
May 2013 | UK Rock Radio Sampler & Summer Festivals.
During May we’ve been rehearsing hard for the live appearances that’ll come this summer, of which there’s another couple added in time for this blog (details below), continuing recording work on the next release, and picking up new radio play. Here’s all that plus a few other things from this month… » UK Rock Radio | … Continue reading
Apr 2013 | And then there were (a different) three, plus recording news.
This month we’ve been working hard on recordings for the second album, re-jigging the lineup again and rehearsing for some festivals this summer. Also some photos from a couple of trips I made to Rome and Bologna, and video of an Unquiet Nights “rarity” in rehearsal. So, starting with…. » BOLOGNA | John Grant @ Antoniano … Continue reading
Mar 2013 | RTE 2XM & Dublin City FM Interviews, Fresh Faves & more news.
So we’ve got the RTÉ 2XM and Dublin City FM interviews from last month’s Irish tour for you to hear now, as well as further recognition from Tom Robinson over on 6 Music. Also, keep reading and you’ll find out a bit more about the forthcoming second album, some other written interviews and other things that … Continue reading
Feb 2013 | Irish Tour 2013, Dublin City FM, RTE 2XM
In February we brought our distinctive brand of electrified, guitar based Rock & Roll music with strong Americana, British Invasion & Soul leanings back to the island of birth for some gigs & radio things in Dublin and Belfast. I phrase it like that because in the course of 5 or 6 interviews this month … Continue reading
Jan 2013 | Paperlate 750, Irish Tour & 2013 plans.
Here’s the January blog, a recap of what’s been happening during the month, and some plans/thoughts on the next year or so. I’ve been bearing down heavily on material for the next releases (singles during 2013, then the next album in early 2014, hopefully). I’ll start with some new year thoughts, and then get … Continue reading
Lurgan Mail – Irish Tour 2013
“…UNQUIET Nights return to their native land for the first time in a year for two gigs in The Mercantile in Dublin on Wednesday, February 13 and The Stiff Kitten in Belfast on Friday February 15th…”
Dec 2012 | Panama, 99.4fm, Salto 1 TV & 2013 plans.
So December, and 2012 are over. A lot of hard work saw it go well for us all considered, huge improvements in our position since this time last year. In terms of the types of gigs & tours we’re offered and some of the radio stations we wanted to get on last year, and have … Continue reading
Nov 2012 | Radio 2XS, O’Neill Surfboards, Tourdates & More.
November was definitely one of the more unusual months in UN history so far, because up until the 14th I was still in Italy and not expecting to be in Ireland again until the tour in February. But things changed and we’ve added a couple more tour dates, as well as more sports sound-tracking action and a … Continue reading
Oct 2012 | BBC 6 Music, WRIR & Other New Radio.
I wanted to tell you about some of the things that happened to us in October, because although September was good, I did make the promise that this month would match it. Amongst other things we finally gave “‘We Were The Ones” a release this month, so as always there is some new radio to … Continue reading
Hot Press – “21st Century…”
“…Those generous souls Unquiet Nights have decided to treat you all by making four tracks from their ace album “21st Century Redemption Songs” free to download via unquietnights.com. So, if you haven’t had a chance to check out this promising rock ‘n’ roll band, now’s your chance. The trio, who are based in N.I. and Italy, have been receiving a bit of airplay from RTE 2fm, and if you’re a fan of The Charlatans, Tom Petty and rock songs with classic choruses then you should have a listen…”
Sep 2012 | Radio Popolare, U105 & Nos Gusta la Música
It’s time for the September update, and you’ll remember that in the last blog I promised another radio breakthrough, this time of the Italian variety. We’ve got that, as well as another of the main Northern Irish stations. Also our first known appearance on a Spanish language website and a few more things. Let’s get … Continue reading
Aug 2012 | The Big List, Hotpress & more.
Hello all. Here’s a recap of what happened during August. I know I said in the last blog that I’d have another big radio network play to report. It didn’t fall in time for this month’s deadline, but check our facebook at the end of next week and it’ll be there – promise. We had lots … Continue reading
Jul 2012 | 2nd Album Rumours, Tom Petty & more RTÉ 2fm
It’s that time again to let you know about the things that happened involving UN during July. There’s some more RTÉ 2FM play, a twitter question about plans for the next album, a reverse question from me & some stuff about Tom Petty. » RTÉ 2FM – More UN on Jenny Huston Show Last month’s blog included the RTÉ 2fm play of Burning The Tracks from June 20th. Here’s another from June 26th, which I didn’t have time to post … Continue reading
Jun 2012 | RTÉ 2fm, Louder Than War & Beatwolf
What an Italian-Irish month June has been. I say so because as I was watching Rep. Ireland v. Italy in Euro 2012 last week here in my adopted country, and listening to the intense screaming as they beat us this time, it was only a couple of days later that I heard the altogether more glorious sound of RTÉ playing Unquiet Nights for the first time. … Continue reading
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