Year : 1980 (40th Anniversary Edition / Dyamond Roxx Series Edition 2020)
Style : Hard Rock , Classic Rock
Country : Ireland
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 123 mb
Bio:
Mama's Boys were a 1980s hard rock 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).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.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.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.They recorded their first self-funded album Official Album (re-released in 1981 as Official Bootleg) 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,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.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.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.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 and the band toured extensively in Europe. They released the album Relativity in 1992.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.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.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).The Pat McManus Band released Tattooed in Blue in 2018, and an acoustic guitar based album called Rewind in 2019, alongside a European tour.
Album:
There were many names that burst forth from the 1980s but one that was unfortunately ignored for the main part was the awesome MAMA’S BOYS. In their origins their sound was pretty similat to their country fellows Thin Lizzy, and that can be heard on their self-released 1980’s vinyl LP that was called “Official Bootleg”, a hard to find holy grail in years to come.As requested, as part of their ‘Dyamond Roxx Series’, here’s the ProgAOR Records remastered reissue of MAMA’S BOYS “Official Bootleg Album 1980 [40th Anniversary Edition]“, including a bonus tracks a rare 7” single the band released a few months later.”Official Bootleg Album 1980” is raw & rough but it captured the Rock N’ Roll magic. This album was recorded in four hours and despite its indie nature it got people noticing the band. Although the band honed themselves to another Irish band Horslips they didn’t go for the Celtic fusion and focused on a harder edge.Even at this young age the three brothers were incredible musicians which shone through on songs like “Belfast City Blues”, the Thin Lizzy steeped “Highland Rock”, “Record Machine” and a seriously trippy, jazzed up cover of “Summertime”.This was an album driven by guitars, sheer talent and about £3.50 worth of production but it put the boys on the map. ”Official Bootleg Album 1980” is pure, primal rock n’ roll.The trio formed by the McManus brothers was still called Pulse a few months before and this album, then called “Official Album”, that would take the title of “Official Bootleg” in 1981. But then, the band would later become a mythical formation in the hard rock scene.So of course, we have to be honest and admit that the interest of this release is essentially historical, especially since, despite the remastering done by Janne Stark (Grand Design, Overdrive, Constancia…), we are dealing here with a raw production.The sound is rough but we have to reposition all this in its context and not forget its many qualities. Indeed, we have here three teenagers (Tommy is barely 15 years old!) who have only four hours to discover what a recording studio is and to put their first compositions on tape.The energy is obvious (‘I’m Leaving Town’), the three brothers are sometimes disrespectful with a delirious cover of Gershwin’s ‘Summertimes’ mixing talk-box and saxophone, and ambitions are sometimes handicapped by a few approximations (‘Without You’). Finally, while each instrument can be heard clearly, which makes John’s bass sound a little more prominent, Tommy’s already hyper tonic and rich playing still lacks power at times.But how many bands would be capable of producing a must-have work in these conditions? None for sure! And yet, this “Official Bootleg” doesn’t lack qualities that will explode later on the next albums of the three brothers.First of all, there’s Pat’s blinding talent, who strings together the devastating solos on each track. And then there are already some beautiful pieces, some of which will appear again on the rest of the band’s discography and throughout their stage performances.This is the case of the energetic ‘Record Machine’ that we will find on “Plug It In” (1982), as well as the magnificent ballad ‘Belfast City Blues’, bluesy and full of melancholy. Also note the nervous and swift ‘Highland Rock’ with its catchy chorus and at the end, the Scottish anthem ‘Scotland The Brave’, a ‘Big Bad City’ with the magnificent scent of Thin Lizzy and a ‘Demon’ which seems to group the bases of the future and legendary ‘Runaway Dreams’ with, among others, its violin solo.Also note the bonuses consisting of the excellent single ‘High Energy Weekend’ and its B-side of the time, a live and instrumental ‘Hitch-Hike’, a pretext for a breathtaking drum solo.Behind his still amateur side, this first record of the Mama’s Boys is no less indispensable for all the fans of the band and those who appreciate this authentic hard rock, assuming its historical as well as artistic origins.
Line Up:
John McManus - Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar
Pat McManus - Guitars, Talkbox [Voice Box], Fiddle
Tommy McManus - Drums, Percussion
+ guest:
Mama’s Lover (track 7) - Saxophone
Production:
Recorded At – Crofton Airport Hotel
Copyright © – Mama's Boys (2)
Recorded At – John Dee's Studio
Co-producer – Barry McCabe (2) (tracks: 11), John Dee (2) (tracks: 1 to 10)
Design [Design Concept], Project Manager [Project Co-Ordinator] – Francisco Dias
Engineer – Ken Kiernan (tracks: 11), Stephen 'Oats' Iredale* (tracks: 1 to 10, 12)
Layout, Design – Carlos Faria
Liner Notes, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar, Talkbox [Voice Box], Fiddle – Pat McManus
Management – Joe Wynne
Producer – Barry Devlin (tracks: 11), Barry McCabe (2) (tracks: 1 to 10)
Remastered By [Remastering], Transferred By [Digital Transfer] – Janne Stark
Written-By – Haywood* (tracks: 7), Gershwin (tracks: 7), Pat "The Professor McManus
Tracklist:
01. I’m Leaving Town
02. Down And Out
03. Belfast City Blues
04. Highland Rock
05. Record Machine
06. Rock N’ Roll Craze
07. Summertime
08. Big Bad City
09. Without You
10. Demon
11. High Energy Weekend [1981 single] (Bonus Track)
12. Hitch-Hike (Live in Ireland) [1981 single / B-side] (Bonus Track)
40th Anniversary Edition...never before released on CD
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