Rock legend Pat McManus devastated by death of Rush’s Neil Peart

Irish Guitar hero recalls short tour with Rush and how Peart’s death brought back memories of his late brother, Mama’s Boys drummer Tommy

ROCK legend Pat McManus said he was “devastated” when news of Neil Peart’s passing broke this week.

The iconic RUSH drummer died at the age of 67 from brain cancer.

In 1985, Mama’s Boys – three young Irish brothers from sleepy County Fermanagh, guitar wizard Pat, drummer Tommy (RIP) and singer and bassist John McManus – found themselves supporting RUSH in north America.

They had two shows with a band they had hero-worshipped, one in New Haven, Connecticut and the second in Hartford, Connecticut.

Mama’s Boys were riding the crest of a wave in the 1980s, performing with bands such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Twister Sister, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Scorpions and Bon Jovi while enjoying chart success in the UK and the US.

Pat McManus has fond memories of those two shows with RUSH in ’85.

“I’m devastated that Neil Peart has died,” said Pat.

“It was really quite upsetting when I heard. He was a genuine human being, an immensely talented guy. I thought he would be riding off into retirement and enjoying it. It’s so sad that illness has taken him. He was one of the top drummers of all time.”

Pat McManus

“He was just one of those pure musical icons the we grew up with – there was no-one ever like him and there will never be anyone like him again.”

Pat ‘The Professor’ McManus

He added: “It seems a very long time ago now since we supported RUSH.

“But I have fond memories and vividly remember the soundcheck at the venue when we turned up to do ours. The venue was huge, absolutely breath-taking – so big in fact that when we got there, the entire Rush crew, and the guys in the band apart from Neil, were playing a full-scale baseball game out the back! We were invited to play but it was not our thing, we wouldn’t have known what to do!

Phenomenal

“When they called for the soundcheck, we were sat out the front of the stage and so we thought it would be a good opportunity to watch them. Well, it was absolutely phenomenal. It really was a jaw-dropping moment watching three guys making such a huge sound.

“It was incredible for us because me, Tommy and John were big RUSH fans, so to see them perform in a soundcheck in that arena was just one of those memories that will last forever.

“The soundcheck actually went on for a long time. If memory serves me right, Neil left the stage and then Geddy Lee left but Alex Lifeson continued to play. A few minutes later Geddy came back on and told Alex to finish up to “let the Mama’s Boys come up and do their soundcheck”. They were very gentlemanly and very aware that we were there. They were extraordinary people, very, very kind. We were just shocked that they knew our name!

Left to right: Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

“I can’t recall if it was Neil or his roadie but one of them took Tommy around the drum kit and that was a big moment for Tommy.

“When Tommy came back into our room after that he was just gushing – he was so excited to have sat behind Neil’s drumkit. It was a tremendous moment for him and for all of us.

“We did our piece that night and quickly cleared up so that we could watch Rush perform. I mean this sincerely, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. It was perfection from beginning to end. I’m still dumbfounded that three musicians could make such a sound.”

He continued: “As we were driving along to the next venue, we passed a guy on a bicycle and Tommy jumped from his seat and shouted: ‘lads look, look, it’s Neil Peart on his bike!’ We couldn’t believe that he was cycling to the next venue.

Neil Peart who died on January 7

“The second night was just like the first, fantastic. It was a lovely time then, and it’s a lovely memory to have now.”

Pat’s only regret is that Mama’s Boys didn’t get a photo opportunity with RUSH.

He said: “We didn’t want to impose on them when we supported them, but I do wish we had asked for a photograph to mark the occasion. We were simply starstruck, so we left them to their own devices. It was just our way, we wouldn’t have imposed on any of the big acts we shared a stage with.”

Peart’s death brought memories flooding back to the Mama’s Boys guitarist of his brother’s passing in 1994. Drummer Tommy was an integral part of the three-piece sibling set-up – so much so that he once turned down an invitation to join Ozzy Osbourne’s band.

Irreplaceable

Tommy was rated one of the best up-and-coming drummers on the rock scene in the 1980s and early 90s before he took ill with leukaemia for the second time in his life.

Pat added: “Tommy was a massive RUSH fan. The album Farewell to Kings was always one Tommy would play on the tour bus and he would just go mental listening to the drums. He always said that Neil Peart was on another level.”

As few would expect RUSH to ever play again in Peart’s absence, Pat and John McManus knew their brother’s passing was the end of Mama’s Boys.

Mama’s Boys (l-r) John, Tommy and Pat

He added: “We were contractually obliged to play on without Tommy for a period, but it was a farce as far as I was concerned. When three people like myself, John and Tommy hit it off, that’s it – there’s an understanding that no-one else can have.

When you can mentally converse with the guy next to you and not a word needs to be said, that’s the type of relationship we had in Mama’s Boys and I expect that’s exactly what it was like for Geddy, Alex and Neal.”

Pat McManus

“When Tommy died, he was irreplaceable. Mama’s Boys was three brothers from the very start and when you take one element out of that, it’s not the same. I’m sure it was the same for Rush when Neil said he couldn’t do it anymore. You could get a drummer with the best chops in the world and it still wouldn’t be the same.”

RUSH are regarded as one of the greatest progressive rock bands of all time, having sold more than 25-million albums in the United States alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

RUSH performing at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013