Mama's Boys

Following the early-'80s surge of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, numerous acts sought to align themselves with the prevailing style even though they had formed well after Iron Maiden and Def Leppard had already achieved prominence; among these was the hard rockin' trio of brothers known as the Mama's Boys. Hailing from Northern Ireland, the group consisted of Pat McManus on guitar and vocals, John McManus on bass, and Tommy McManus on drums. Between the early and mid-'80s the band released several albums: Plug It In in 1982, Turn It Up in 1983, a self-titled effort in 1984, Power and Passion in 1985, and Growing Up the Hard Way in 1987. These recordings generated modest attention across Europe yet made little headway in the United States, aside from a short-lived stretch of MTV exposure for the band's cover of Slade's "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," an advantage that ended once Quiet Riot issued its own version of the track soon afterward. The members reconvened in 1992 to record a fresh album titled Relativity, although the project stayed unreleased for several years. In 1994 Tommy McManus died following an extended struggle with leukemia.