Budgie (band)

Budgie
Background information
Origin Cardiff, Wales
Genres Hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock[1]
Years active 1967–1988, 1995–1996, 1999–2010 (on hiatus)
Labels MCA, RCA, NPL
Associated acts Tredegar
Website www.budgie.uk.com
Members Burke Shelley
Steve Williams
Craig Goldy
Past members Tony Bourge
Ray Phillips
Pete Boot
Rob Kendrick
John "Big" Thomas
Duncan Mackay
Jim Simpson
Robert "Congo" Jones
Andy Hart
Simon Lees

Budgie are a Welsh hard rock band from Cardiff. They are described by author Garry Sharpe-Young as one of the earliest heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene,[2] with fast, heavy rock (an influence on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and acts such as Metallica)[3] being played as early as 1971.[4] The band has been noted as "among the heaviest metal of its day".[5]

Career

Budgie formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales under the name Hills Contemporary Grass. Their original line-up consisted of Burke Shelley on vocals and bass, Tony Bourge on guitar and vocals, and Ray Phillips on drums.[6] After performing several gigs in 1968, the band changed their name to Budgie the following year and recorded their first demo.[2] The band originally formed under such names as Hills Contemporary Grass and Six Ton Budgie.[7] Burke Shelley has said that the band's name came from the fact that he, "loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock, but calling ourselves after something diametrically opposed to that".[8]

Their debut album in strong blues-oriented hard rock lines was recorded at Rockfield Studios with Black Sabbath producer Rodger Bain[9] and released in 1971, followed by Squawk in 1972. The third album, Never Turn Your Back On a Friend (1973), contained "Breadfan", which was covered by Metallica in 1988, the band having covered another Budgie song, "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" earlier in their career. Ray Philips left the band before the fourth album In for the Kill! was recorded and was replaced by Pete Boot (b. Peter Charles Boot, 30 September 1950, West Bromwich, Staffordshire).[10]

In late 1974, the band were joined by drummer Steve Williams for the album Bandolier, for live shows promoting this album and the follow-up, If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules, the band were augmented by Welsh guitarist Myf Isaac, but both Bourge and Isaac left mid 1978 and were replaced by ex Trapeze guitarist Robert Kendrick. Music from the 1978 LP Impeckable was featured in the 1979 film J-Men Forever (shown frequently on the USA Network's "Night Flight" television series in the 1980s) which is now a cult classic. In late 1978, having been dropped by A&M and with no new recording contract, this line up floundered, and after 12 months Kendrick was replaced by "Big" John Thomas (b. 21 February 1952) in late 1979. This line up recorded two albums for Kingsley Wards 'Active' label: Power Supply (1980) and Nightflight (1981). 1982 saw them signed to RCA for Deliver Us From Evil their final recording for a "major label".

Burke Shelley and Steve Williams performing in 1981

The band continued to have success during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, playing the Reading Festival in 1980 and then headlining the festival in 1982.[11] They built a particular following in Poland, where they played as the first heavy metal band behind the Iron Curtain, in 1982. Also notable was their tour support of Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz Tour.[12]

The band stopped gigging in 1988, members went into studio production, occasionally guesting on other projects; Thomas most notably worked on the Phenomena CD with Glenn Hughes[13][14] out of the Black Sabbath studios.

Although the group has had very little commercial success in America, they have enjoyed a strong fan following in Texas[15] and they have been known to receive radio airplay from Joe Anthony and Lou Roney on KMAC/KISS radio in San Antonio in the 1970s,[16] the band reformed using various drummers for one-off gigs in 1995, 1996 for outdoor festivals 'La Semana Alegre' in San Antonio, Texas. They toured in 2002-6, mostly in the United Kingdom, the NYC/NJ area, Dallas, and with a few shows in Europe including the Sweden Rock Festival and a return to post-Communist Poland. In 1999 the band reunited in Letchworth and officially reformed.

In 2006 Budgie undertook a thirty five date United Kingdom tour and a new album, titled You're All Living In Cuckooland, was released in the UK on 7 November that year. In 2007 they played dates in Sweden and Poland.

On 4 July 2007 Lees announced his departure from the band to concentrate on his teaching and solo career.

Following the departure of Lees, Dio lead guitarist and songwriter Craig Goldy offered his services while Ronnie James Dio was completing commitments with Heaven & Hell on their World Tour.

In February 2008 Craig Goldy accompanied Budgie on their first tour of Australia and has continued playing with Budgie as 'guest guitarist' for all of their shows.

Budgie's November 2010 tour of Eastern Europe had to be cancelled as Shelley was hospitalised on 9 November in Wejherowo, Poland with a 6 cm aortic aneurism. After surgery, he returned to Britain for recovery.[17] The band has since been on hiatus, as Shelley can not sing and play at the same time.

The former Budgie guitarist, John Thomas, died at the age of 63 on 3 March 2016.[18]

Musical style and legacy

Budgie's music is often described as a cross between the progressive textures of Rush and the heaviness of Black Sabbath.[1] Burke Shelley's vocals have been compared to Geddy Lee due to his similar approach of high-pitched banshee wails (incidentally, Shelley and Lee are also the bass players in their respective power-trio bands).[1] Although Budgie remained quite obscure during their early career, many future stars of hard rock/metal have cited them as an important influence and covered their songs, including Iron Maiden,[19] Metallica,[20] Megadeth,[21] Van Halen,[22] Melvins,[23] Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains,[24] and Soundgarden.[25]

Metallica released a cover of "Breadfan" in September 1988 as a B-side to their "Harvester of Sorrow" single. It was later included on their 1998 album Garage Inc., and was also used as an encore during their 1988-1989 tour supporting their ...And Justice for All album. A live video version is present on the Live Shit: Binge & Purge boxed set, taken from their Seattle concerts on August 29 and 30, 1989 where it was performed in the second encore. It was also played with frequency during the Madly In Anger with the World and World Magnetic Tours. A short clip of "Breadfan" is played at the beginning of the "Whiskey in the Jar" music video

Members

Current members
Former members
  • Tony Bourge – guitars (1967–1978)
  • Ray Phillips – drums (1967–1973)
  • Pete Boot – drums (1973–1974)
  • Rob Kendrick – guitars, backing vocals (1978–1979)
  • John "Big" Thomas – guitars (1979–1988, 1995–1996, 1999–2002; died 2016)
  • Duncan Mackay – keyboards (1982)
  • Jim Simpson – drums (1986–1988)
  • Robert "Congo" Jones – drums (1995–1996)
  • Andy Hart – guitars (2002–2003)
  • Simon Lees – guitars (2003–2007)
Touring members
  • Myf Isaac – guitars (1975–1978)
  • Lindsey Bridgewater – keyboards (1982)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album UK#
1971 Budgie -
1972 Squawk -
1973 Never Turn Your Back on a Friend -
1974 In for the Kill! 29
1975 Bandolier 36
1976 If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules -
1978 Impeckable -
1980 Power Supply -
1981 Nightflight 68
1982 Deliver Us from Evil 62
2006 You're All Living in Cuckooland -

Live albums

Year Album
1998 Heavier Than Air - Rarest Eggs
(live compilation of 1972-1981 material)
We Came, We Saw...
(live compilation of 1980-1982 material)
2002 Life in San Antonio
2005 Radio Sessions 1974 & 1978
(double album)
2006 The BBC Recordings
(live compilation of 1972-1982 material)

Compilation albums

Year Album
1975 Best of Budgie
1981 Best of Budgie
1996 An Ecstasy of Fumbling - The Definitive Anthology
1997 Best of Budgie
2004 The Last Stage

EPs

Singles (UK-exclusive unless stated otherwise)

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Artist-Budgie". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007), p. 30
  3. ↑ Archived July 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Album: Budgie, Track: Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman
  5. ↑ Crocker 1993, p. 106 "Still recording into the eighties, Budgie was among the heaviest metal of its day."
  6. ↑ "Budgie's MySpace page". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  7. ↑ "Artists :: BUDGIE". MusicMight. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  8. ↑ "Classic Rock » Blog Archive » The Top 14 Birds In Rock". Classicrockmagazine.com. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Budgie - Budgie". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  10. ↑ Prato, Greg (2002-05-30). "Budgie". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  11. ↑ "Reading Festival timeline". Fatreg.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  12. ↑ Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "Phonomena - Phonomena". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  14. ↑ Phillip Hackney. "Whitesnake". Whitesnake.f9.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  15. ↑ Prato, Greg (2002-08-02). "Life in San Antonio - Budgie". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  16. ↑ Mendiola, Jim. "San Antonio Current - SPECIAL ISSUES: Louder By Design". Sacurrent.com. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  17. ↑ Shelley, Burke. "Latest update 20 November". Budgie.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  18. ↑ "Former Budgie Guitarist John Thomas Dies". Blabbermouth.net. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  19. ↑ "Iron Maiden - Similar Artists, Megadeth,Influenced By, Followers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  20. ↑ "Metallica - Similar Artists, Influenced By, Followers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  21. ↑ Kory Grow (2010-08-03). "Exclusive Excerpt From Dave Mustaine’s Autobiography: Meeting Lars Ulrich - Hard Rock & Heavy Metal News | Music Videos |Golden Gods Awards". Revolvermag.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  22. ↑ Prato, Greg. "In for the Kill! - Budgie : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  23. ↑ "Melvins - Similar Artists, Influenced By, Followers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  24. ↑ "Alice in Chains - Similar Artists, Influenced By, Followers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  25. ↑ "Soundgarden - Similar Artists, Influenced By, Followers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-15.

External links

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