Celtus (band)
Celtus was a Celtic new age band founded by brothers Pat and John McManus of Mama's Boys.[1][2][3] Their sound was described by their manager as "Pink Floyd meets Clannad meets Enigma."[4] The band worked with Nick Beggs, Rupert Hine, Gary Barnacle, Stephen W Tayler, Neil Bennett and have been on the list of Ayreon guest musicians. Celtus have been hosted by the Classic Rock Society. After recording two studio albums for Sony S2, the band were dropped by the label. They recorded two further studio albums and a live album on the Shamrock label before disbanding.
John McManus retired but Pat returned to hard rock and started "The Pat McManus Band" which play regular shows containing original material, Mama's Boys songs and covers of classics. John McManus has occasionally joined the band on stage, notably as guest vocalist and bass player for the Mama's Boys standard "Needle In The Groove".
Discography
Albums:
- Moonchild, 1997
- Portrait, 1999
- Rooted, 2000
- Live 2000, 2000
- What Goes Around..., 2001
References
- ↑ Geoff Wallis, Sue Wilson -The Rough Guide to Irish Music 2001 1858286425 p. 160 "Celtus Pat and John McManus were teenage prodJohngies, winning the All- Ireland championships on fiddle and tin whistle respectively before jettisoning their roots to form Mama's Boys (with their brother Tommy on drums), the hardest-rocking ..."
- ↑ Billboard - 20 June 1998 p.46 "Celtus was formed out of the Mama's Boys, which in the great tradition of Irish family bands featured the three McManus brothers: the ethereally voiced John, guitarist Pat and Tommy, who died from leukemia two years ago. The two surviving ..."
- ↑ The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 1857431618 p.327 "... Mama's Boys with brothers Pat and Tommy and toured the world twice; Numerous TV appearances: Mama's Boys disbanded owing to Tom McManus' leukaemia. 1993; Tom died 1994; Changed musical direction and formed new act Celtus ..."
- ↑ Billboard 25 Oct 1997 p.93 "Mama's Boys was a rock act from Northern Ireland, composed of three brothers, with a Jive Records deal. When drummer Tommy McManus fell victim to leukemia, Benson maintained the group's spirit and purpose and ... brothers gained a new record deal with Sony Music's U.K. imprint, S2, as the more traditionally inclined Celtus, which Benson describes as "Pink Floyd meets Clannad meets Enigma."