Irish Guitar Hero Pat McManus Chooses Fret-King and Vintage

Pat McManus, best known for his association with Irish heavy rock group Mama's Boys, and now fronting his own eponymous three-piece blues/rock outfit, has chosen to add Fret-King and Vintage to his onstage arsenal.

On a recent visit to the offices of worldwide Fret-King and Vintage distributor John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd., Pat tried out a variety of instruments, and had no hesitation in putting his name to the ever-popular guitar brands.

Pat said: "I am proud to be associated with JHS as a Vintage and Fret-King artist. I have been blown away by the quality of these instruments – and I am one fussy guitar guy! – and also by all the team at JHS... their professionalism is first class!"

After trying a few models out, Pat settled on the Vintage ReIssued V100AFD Paradise ("It's getting a thorough workout right now and is sounding good!" Pat says) and he also fell in love with the sound and features of the Fret-King Green Label Corona 80, with its vintage-voiced humbuckers and designer Trev Wilkinson's legendary Vari-coil control – which allows the player to roll the guitar's pickups from thick humbuckers all the way down to biting single coils, and anywhere in-between.

One of six children born into an incredibly musical family in Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh, N.Ireland, Pat’s career started at the of seven, when he performed live with his family and on Irish television. He was the youngest ever Adult Class All-Ireland Fiddle Champion at the age of 14. Pat then moved on to rock music, forming his first band, Pulse, featuring his brothers John and Tommy on bass and drums respectively. After changing their name to Mama's Boys, the band quickly blossomed, going on to tour with the likes of Hawkwind, Wishbone Ash ,Thin Lizzy,Scorpions,Rush,Bon Jovi worldwide and scoring chart hits in many countries.

After a long hiatus, due in no small part to the death of their brother Tommy from leukaemia, Pat returned in 1997 with brother John under the name Celtus, releasing the Moonchild album and touring with Sheryl Crow, including a date at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall. That year, Celtus beat off competition from U2, The Corrs and Enya to win the coveted Irish World Music Awards' Best Album Of The Year gong.

Pat recorded his first solo album, In My Own Time, in 2007, which got some great reviews and led to the formation of the Pat McManus Band, featuring Paul Faloon on drums and Marty McDermott on Bass. The band has since recorded two more CDs and two live DVDs.

Pat has also worked as a session man, playing for John Parr, Tricky and Samantha Fox, among others.

The Pat McManus band are due to record a live DVD on Friday July 20th at Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland, which will be released in Sept/Oct 2012, while a new CD will be ready for release in early 2013. For all the info on Pat's career to date, and his future plans, visit his official website at www.patmcmanus.co.uk