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Mama's Boys

October 17, 2023

For the reality television series, see Momma's Boys.

Mama's Boys were a 1980s hard rock/heavy metal group from County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The band includes the three McManus brothers Pat, a.k.a. "The Professor", (guitar, fiddle), John (bass, vocals), and Tommy (drums).[1] Later in their career they became a four-piece, adding Rick Chase on vocals in 1986, who in turn was replaced by Keith Murrell in 1987 due to Rick's ill-health. Keith was later replaced with Connor McKeon in 1989 who was subsequently replaced with Mike Wilson in 1990.

Mama's Boys
OriginCounty Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
GenresTraditional Irish music (early)
Hard rock/heavy metal/Melodic Rock (later)
Years active1978–1993
LabelsJive
Past membersPat McManus
John McManus
Tommy McManus
Rick Chase
Keith Murrell
Mike Wilson
Alan Williams
Jimmy DeGrasso
WebsitePat McManus' Homepage

Biography Edit

The McManus brothers grew up on a farm near the village of Derrylin, County Fermanagh, and started their musical career as award-winning traditional Irish musicians but were inspired by the Irish celtic rock band, Horslips, as well as younger brother Tommy's passion for the drums to form a rock band.[1] In the late 1970s, the brothers had become fans of Horslips and attended their gigs at every possible opportunity. They eventually got to know and became friends with the band members. It was around that time that they started their own band which was originally called Pulse before they changed it to Mama's Boys. Barry Devlin of Horslips heard about their band and went to see them rehearse at their home. He was suitably impressed and offered them a support slot for Horslips' 1979 tour.

Although their heroes Horslips mixed traditional music with hard rock and the McManus brothers were top notch traditional musicians, Mama's Boys did not really go for the Celtic fusion sound, apart from the occasional fiddle solo by Pat, but went for a harder edged more heavy metal sound.[1]

They recorded their first self-funded album Official Album (re-released in 1981 as Official Bootleg)[1] in 1980 in only four hours. In 1981 they were invited to support Hawkwind on their UK tour. They recorded and self-financed their second album, entitled Plug It In in 1982,[1] and achieved a hit single in Ireland with the most pop-oriented song on the album, "Needle in the Groove".

The third album Turn It Up was released in 1983.[1] The same year they toured with Thin Lizzy on that band's farewell tour, played at the Reading Rock Festival and signed a worldwide record deal with Jive Records.[1] The first album released on Jive contained some songs previously released on early albums but completely re-recorded with a few new songs. One of the new songs, a cover of Slade's "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" was released as a single and reached number 54 in the American charts. The video for the song got a lot of airplay on MTV and helped the band to become known in the US which they toured in 1984. Coincidentally, the American heavy metal band Quiet Riot also released their cover version of the song at the same time as Mama's Boys, but Quiet Riot's version gained more airplay.

1985's Power and Passion album broke into the Billboard top 100 in the US and the band toured in the US, Europe and Japan. During the European leg of the tour Tommy had a relapse of leukemia which he had been treated for as a child and a replacement drummer Jimmy DeGrasso was brought in to complete the tour. The recovering Tommy re-joined the tour in Ireland but had to be rushed back to hospital after another relapse.

In 1987, former Airrace vocalist Keith Murrell was brought in after Rick Chase started having trouble with his vocal cords and they recorded the album Growing Up The Hard Way.[1] Murrell left in 1988 to join Cliff Richard as a backing singer. Connor McKeon replaced Keith on 1989, but this was short lived and he was replaced by Mike Wilson.

In 1990, with a new vocalist, Mike Wilson, and under new management they moved their base to the UK. The live album Live Tonite was released in 1991[1] and the band toured extensively in Europe. They released the album Relativity in 1992.[1] While on tour in Italy in 1993, Tommy became ill again and the tour had to be cancelled. The following year Tommy underwent a bone marrow transplant but he did not survive.[1] His brothers were devastated and Mama's Boys did not continue. On the first anniversary of Tommy's death, John composed a traditional lament on the low whistle for his brother and this led to himself and Pat revisiting their traditional Irish music roots and forming a Celtic/new age group called Celtus.[2]

In 2003, Pat McManus joined with Irish rock band 'Indian' for two albums and live shows. After this he joined the Painkillers for a short while, and then formed "Pat McManus and High Voltage" which in 2007 became the Pat McManus Band with (Marty McDermott on bass and Paul Faloon on drums).[2]

The Pat McManus Band released Tattooed in Blue in 2018, and an acoustic guitar based album called Rewind in 2019, alongside a European tour.[3]

Band members Edit

Former members Edit

  • Patrick Francis 'Pat' McManus – lead guitar, fiddle, backing vocals (1978–1993)
  • John McManus – bass, lead vocals, backing vocals, low whistle, tin whistle, uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes) (1978–1993)
  • Thomas 'Tommy' McManus – drums, bodhran (Irish drum), backing vocals (1978–1993) (25 March 1966 – 16 November 1994, aged 28)
  • Rick Chase - lead vocals (1986)
  • Keith Murrell – lead vocals (1987–1989)
  • Connor McKeon – lead vocals (1989)
  • Mike Wilson – lead vocals (1990–1993)
  • Alan Williams – keyboards (1989–1993)
  • Dillon Tonkin – keyboards (1991)
  • Jimmy DeGrasso – drums (1985)

Discography Edit

Albums Edit

  • "Official Bootleg" (1980)
  • "Plug It In" (1982)
  • "Turn It Up" (1983)
  • "Mama's Boys" (Compilation Album) (1984)
  • "Power and Passion" (1985)
  • "Growing Up the Hard Way" (1987)
  • "Live Tonite" (1991)
  • "Relativity" (1992)

Singles Edit

  • "Rollin' On" (1980)
  • "High Energy Weekend" (1980)
  • "Silence is out of Fashion" (1981)
  • "Belfast City Blues" / "Reach for the Top" (1982)
  • "In the Heat of the Night" (1982)
  • "Needle in the Groove" (1982)
  • "Telephone Teaser" (1983)
  • "Loose Living" (1983)
  • "Too Little of You to Love" (1983)
  • "Midnight Promises" (1984)
  • "Face to Face" (1984)
  • "Mama We're All Crazee Now" (1984)
  • "Runaway Dreams" (1985)
  • "If the Kids are United" (1984)
  • "Needle in the Groove" (1985)
  • "Hard 'N' Loud" (1985)
  • "Lettin' Go" (1985)
  • "Waiting for a Miracle" (1987)
  • "Higher Ground" (1987)
  • "Spirit of America" (1987)
  • "The Flight Tonight" (1991)
  • "Laugh About It" (1992)

DVDs Edit

  • "Mama We're All Crazee Now" (2006)

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 214. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
  2. ^ a b "Pat McManus History". patmcmanus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Discography Pat McManus". patmcmanus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2023.

External links Edit

  • Mama's Boys at AllMusic
  • Mama's Boys Tribute page on Myspace
  • Mama's Boys - A novel rock story that was all too real

October 17, 2023
mama, boys, reality, television, series, momma, boys, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, written, from, point, view, rather, than, neutral, . For the reality television series see Momma s Boys This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may be written from a fan s point of view rather than a neutral point of view Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality and to make it neutral in tone November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Mama s Boys news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mama s Boys were a 1980s hard rock heavy metal group from County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland The band includes the three McManus brothers Pat a k a The Professor guitar fiddle John bass vocals and Tommy drums 1 Later in their career they became a four piece adding Rick Chase on vocals in 1986 who in turn was replaced by Keith Murrell in 1987 due to Rick s ill health Keith was later replaced with Connor McKeon in 1989 who was subsequently replaced with Mike Wilson in 1990 Mama s BoysOriginCounty Fermanagh Northern IrelandGenresTraditional Irish music early Hard rock heavy metal Melodic Rock later Years active1978 1993LabelsJivePast membersPat McManusJohn McManusTommy McManusRick ChaseKeith MurrellMike WilsonAlan WilliamsJimmy DeGrassoWebsitePat McManus Homepage Contents 1 Biography 2 Band members 2 1 Former members 3 Discography 3 1 Albums 3 2 Singles 3 3 DVDs 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditThe McManus brothers grew up on a farm near the village of Derrylin County Fermanagh and started their musical career as award winning traditional Irish musicians but were inspired by the Irish celtic rock band Horslips as well as younger brother Tommy s passion for the drums to form a rock band 1 In the late 1970s the brothers had become fans of Horslips and attended their gigs at every possible opportunity They eventually got to know and became friends with the band members It was around that time that they started their own band which was originally called Pulse before they changed it to Mama s Boys Barry Devlin of Horslips heard about their band and went to see them rehearse at their home He was suitably impressed and offered them a support slot for Horslips 1979 tour Although their heroes Horslips mixed traditional music with hard rock and the McManus brothers were top notch traditional musicians Mama s Boys did not really go for the Celtic fusion sound apart from the occasional fiddle solo by Pat but went for a harder edged more heavy metal sound 1 They recorded their first self funded album Official Album re released in 1981 as Official Bootleg 1 in 1980 in only four hours In 1981 they were invited to support Hawkwind on their UK tour They recorded and self financed their second album entitled Plug It In in 1982 1 and achieved a hit single in Ireland with the most pop oriented song on the album Needle in the Groove The third album Turn It Up was released in 1983 1 The same year they toured with Thin Lizzy on that band s farewell tour played at the Reading Rock Festival and signed a worldwide record deal with Jive Records 1 The first album released on Jive contained some songs previously released on early albums but completely re recorded with a few new songs One of the new songs a cover of Slade s Mama Weer All Crazee Now was released as a single and reached number 54 in the American charts The video for the song got a lot of airplay on MTV and helped the band to become known in the US which they toured in 1984 Coincidentally the American heavy metal band Quiet Riot also released their cover version of the song at the same time as Mama s Boys but Quiet Riot s version gained more airplay 1985 s Power and Passion album broke into the Billboard top 100 in the US and the band toured in the US Europe and Japan During the European leg of the tour Tommy had a relapse of leukemia which he had been treated for as a child and a replacement drummer Jimmy DeGrasso was brought in to complete the tour The recovering Tommy re joined the tour in Ireland but had to be rushed back to hospital after another relapse In 1987 former Airrace vocalist Keith Murrell was brought in after Rick Chase started having trouble with his vocal cords and they recorded the album Growing Up The Hard Way 1 Murrell left in 1988 to join Cliff Richard as a backing singer Connor McKeon replaced Keith on 1989 but this was short lived and he was replaced by Mike Wilson In 1990 with a new vocalist Mike Wilson and under new management they moved their base to the UK The live album Live Tonite was released in 1991 1 and the band toured extensively in Europe They released the album Relativity in 1992 1 While on tour in Italy in 1993 Tommy became ill again and the tour had to be cancelled The following year Tommy underwent a bone marrow transplant but he did not survive 1 His brothers were devastated and Mama s Boys did not continue On the first anniversary of Tommy s death John composed a traditional lament on the low whistle for his brother and this led to himself and Pat revisiting their traditional Irish music roots and forming a Celtic new age group called Celtus 2 In 2003 Pat McManus joined with Irish rock band Indian for two albums and live shows After this he joined the Painkillers for a short while and then formed Pat McManus and High Voltage which in 2007 became the Pat McManus Band with Marty McDermott on bass and Paul Faloon on drums 2 The Pat McManus Band released Tattooed in Blue in 2018 and an acoustic guitar based album called Rewind in 2019 alongside a European tour 3 Band members EditFormer members Edit Patrick Francis Pat McManus lead guitar fiddle backing vocals 1978 1993 John McManus bass lead vocals backing vocals low whistle tin whistle uilleann pipes Irish bagpipes 1978 1993 Thomas Tommy McManus drums bodhran Irish drum backing vocals 1978 1993 25 March 1966 16 November 1994 aged 28 Rick Chase lead vocals 1986 Keith Murrell lead vocals 1987 1989 Connor McKeon lead vocals 1989 Mike Wilson lead vocals 1990 1993 Alan Williams keyboards 1989 1993 Dillon Tonkin keyboards 1991 Jimmy DeGrasso drums 1985 Discography EditAlbums Edit Official Bootleg 1980 Plug It In 1982 Turn It Up 1983 Mama s Boys Compilation Album 1984 Power and Passion 1985 Growing Up the Hard Way 1987 Live Tonite 1991 Relativity 1992 Singles Edit Rollin On 1980 High Energy Weekend 1980 Silence is out of Fashion 1981 Belfast City Blues Reach for the Top 1982 In the Heat of the Night 1982 Needle in the Groove 1982 Telephone Teaser 1983 Loose Living 1983 Too Little of You to Love 1983 Midnight Promises 1984 Face to Face 1984 Mama We re All Crazee Now 1984 Runaway Dreams 1985 If the Kids are United 1984 Needle in the Groove 1985 Hard N Loud 1985 Lettin Go 1985 Waiting for a Miracle 1987 Higher Ground 1987 Spirit of America 1987 The Flight Tonight 1991 Laugh About It 1992 DVDs Edit Mama We re All Crazee Now 2006 See also EditList of new wave of British heavy metal bandsReferences Edit a b c d e f g h i j k Colin Larkin ed 1995 The Guinness Who s Who of Heavy Metal Second ed Guinness Publishing p 214 ISBN 0 85112 656 1 a b Pat McManus History patmcmanus co uk Retrieved 3 June 2023 Discography Pat McManus patmcmanus co uk Retrieved 3 June 2023 External links EditMama s Boys at AllMusic History of Mama s Boys on Celtus website Mama s Boys on IrishRockers com Mama s Boys Tribute page on Myspace Pat McManus Official Homepage John McManus Official Homepage Mama s Boys A novel rock story that was all too real Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mama 27s Boys amp oldid 1180494367, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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