budgie

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Budgie are a Welsh rock band from the capital, Cardiff. They are widely considered as one of the first heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene,^[1] with fast, heavy rock (an influence on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and such acts as Metallica)^[2] being played as early as 1971^[3], preceding other influential bands such as Judas Priest. The band has been noted as, "among the heaviest metal of its day"^[4]. Notable Budgie songs include "Breadfan", "Crash Course In Brain Surgery", "Parents" and "Napoleon Bona - Parts 1 & 2".

Career

Budgie formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales under the name Hills Contemporary Grass. Their original line-up consisted of Burke Shelley (b. John Burke Shelley, 10 April 1950, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales) on vocals and bass, Tony Bourge (b. Anthony James Bourge, 24 November 1948, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, South Wales) on guitar and vocals, and Ray Phillips (b. Raymond John Phillips, 1 March 1949, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, South Wales) on drums.^[5] After performing several gigs in 1968, the band changed their name to Budgie the following year and recorded their first demo then.^[1] The band originally formed under such names as Hills Contemporary Grass and Six Ton Budgie^[6]. Burke Shelly 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"^[7].

Their debut album in strong blues oriented hard rock lines was recorded at Rockfield Studios with Black Sabbath producer Rodger Bain^[8] and released in 1971, followed by Squawk in 1972. The 3rd album, Never Turn Your Back On a Friend (1973), contained "Breadfan", later covered by Metallica. (Metallica also covered another Budgie song, "Crash Course In Brain Surgery"). 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).^[9]

In late 1974, the band were joined by drummer Steve Williams for the album Bandolier, but Bourge left mid 1978 and finally was replaced by "Big" John Thomas (b. 21 February 1952) in late 1979. 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.

The band continued to have success during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene until 1982, even headlining the Reading Festival that year^[10] (a year before they played there a main show with headliner Whitesnake). They built a particular following in Poland,^{[citation needed]} 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^[11].

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^[12][13] out of the Black Sabbath studios. Thomas left the band in 2001 after headlining the "Welsh Legends Of Rock" outdoor festival.

Albeit the group has had very little commercial success in America, they have enjoyed a strong fan following in Texas^[14] and they have been known to receive radio airplay from Joe Anthony and Lou Roney on the legendary KMAC/KISS radio in San Antonio in the 1970s^[15], the band reformed for one-off gigs in 1995, 1996 and 2000 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 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. A statement on his personal website read as follows:

"I am sad to report that I have resigned from my position as Budgie's Lead Guitarist. This is so that I can give my full attention to my guitar students and my One Man Rock Show. It has been a huge honour to work with such an influential band and I know that Burke and Steve will have absolutely no problems in finding a replacement. I wish the lads all the very best for the future."^[16]

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 (Black Sabbath - The Dio Years) World Tour. In February 2008 Goldy accompanied Budgie on their first tour of Australia where some fans had paid up to AU$500 for VIP passes to meet their "favourite band of all time."

Discography

Studio albums

• Budgie (1971)
• Squawk (1972)
• Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1973)
• In For The Kill (1974)
• Bandolier (1975)
• If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules (1976)
• Impeckable (1978)
• Power Supply (1980)
• Nightflight (1981)
• Deliver Us From Evil (1982)
• You're All Living in Cuckooland (2006)

Live albums

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

Compilation albums

• Best Of Budgie (1975)
• Best Of Budgie (1981)
• An Ecstasy Of Fumbling - The Definitive Anthology (1996)
• Best Of Budgie (1997)
• The Last Stage (2004)

Miscellaneous albums

• Tredegar (1986) - A release by the band Tredegar, featuring Tony Bourge and Ray Phillips
• Six Ton Budgie - Unplucked (1995) - drummer Ray Phillips' band
• Six Ton Budgie - Ornithology v.1 (1996) - drummer Ray Phillips' band
• The Extreem - From Out Of The Sky (1999) - pre-Budgie late 60's efforts, Japan only CD
• Budgie And Beyond (1999) - 80's solo works, out-takes, unreleased demos ~ Australian Fan Club "Sabre Dance" release on VSC label (Gold CD)
• Booty's B-Sides (2003) - Boot 66 with ex-Budgie Pete Boot and various artists
• The Battle of My Mind (2006) - Pete Boot with Andy Colley (guitar)

EPs

• If Swallowed Do Not Induce Vomiting (1980, Active BUDGE 1)

Singles (UK-exclusive unless stated otherwise)

• "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" / "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" (1971, MCA MK 5072)
• "Whiskey River" / "Guts" (1972, MCA MK 5085)
• "Whiskey River" / "Stranded" (1972, MCA 2185) - US-exclusive release
• "Zoom Club (Edit)" / "Wondering What Everyone Knows" (1974, MCA 133)
• "I Ain't No Mountain" / "Honey" (1975, MCA 175)
• "Smile Boy Smile" / "All at Sea" (1978, A&M AMS 7342)
• "Crime Against the World" / "Hellbender" (1980, Active BUDGE 2)
• "Keeping a Rendezvous" / "Apparatus" (1981, RCA BUDGE 3)
• "I Turned To Stone (Part 1)" / "I Turned To Stone (Part 2)" (1981, RCA BUDGE 4)
• "Bored With Russia" / "Don't Cry" (1982, RCA 271)

See also

• Roger Dean - cover artist extraordinaire
• Judas Priest - toured with Budgie in the early 1970s.
• Soundgarden - covered "Homicidal Suicidal".
• Iron Maiden - covered "I Can't See My Feelings" from Budgie's 1975 LP Bandolier.
• Metallica - covered "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" and "Breadfan".
• Van Halen - used to cover the title track to In for the Kill live.^{[9][17][18][19]}
• Girlschool- supported Budgie on tour^[20].
• Sweet Savage- covered "Breadfan" at the 2008 Wacken Open Air festival^[2].
• The Melvins- list the group as an influence^[21].
• Federation X- covered their song "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman"^[6]

References

• The New Musical Express Book of Rock, 1975, Star Books, ISBN 0 352 300744
• Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007), Metal: The Definitive Guide, London: Jawbone Press, ISBN 9781906002015 
• Crocker, Chris (1993). Metallica: The Frayed Ends of Metal. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312086350. 

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Official Myspace page
• Budgie biography from BBC Wales
• Artist page at Allmusic
• Live Photos From Hard Rock Hell 2008

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