Following in the footsteps of his idol Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders (born John Anthony Genzale, Jr.) lived the ultimate rock & roll life, spending most of his days wasted and churning out tough, sloppy three-chord rock & roll. He made his greatest impact as a member of the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early '70s. During the late '70s, he was a familiar figure on the New York punk scene, both with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist. Thunders kept performing and recording until his death in 1991, turning out a series of records that inadvertently documented his descent into heroin addiction.

Belfast Nights is a fairly typical and fairly mediocre live set from Johnny Thunders. The show was recorded in October of 1984 in a trio setting with Keith Yon on bass, and former Heartbreaker and Clash member Terry Chimes on drums. The sound is a bit muddy, and Thunders seems to have had some trouble locating the microphone at times. The performances themselves are not terrible, but lack the spark that makes records like Live at Max's Kansas City and D.T.K. such fun. The fact that "Chinese Rocks" is performed three times in one night and "Pipeline" twice gives the impression that Thunders was just going through the motions.