Berkeley are a sonorous hybrid of their influences, Fugazi, Nirvana, Radiohead, Idlewild and Jeff Buckley. Their live show is a blast of full-on punk rock energy laced with soul-searching dynamics. Music is everything to Berkeley, no gimmicks, no manifesto and this has enabled them to play to very diverse crowds.

The dynamic 3-piece rock band formed in Donegal, Republic of Ireland in January 2001. Their first year was spent writing material for their debut album and playing throughout Ireland. An early decision to find someone who could capture their live sound without studio trickery was realised in November 2001 when the band travelled to Chicago to record their debut album 'Hope, Prayers and Bubblegum' with the legendary Steve Albini at the controls at his Electrical Audio Studio. 15 tracks were recorded and the first release from this session, 'New Star', saw its release on Monday 11th November 2002.

Upon returning from Chicago, they set about building a reputation for themselves as one of the best live bands in Ireland. They started 2002 well by supporting Jimmy Eat World at their debut sell out Dublin show. Since then they have supported a number of visiting International acts including Rival Schools, Sparta, Cave In and The Frames. Their impressive performance at the 2002 Witnness Festival T.V Tent (after almost missing out on playing at all after the Upstage was flooded out) was followed up with an Irish tour with the D4 and two UK tours at the end of that year.

'Hope, Prayers and Bubblegum' was released on the 24th of March 2003.