Originally known as Six Ton Budgie, Budgie’s first flight was above Cardiff in 1967. Taking their cue from Led Zeppelin and Cream, the trio’s big-riffing style first took shape on 1971’s self-titled debut, produced by Rodger Bain (who worked on Black Sabbath's first three albums).
“I loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock, but calling ourselves after something diametrically opposed to that,” said Burke Shelley, the bassist with the spectacles and the high-pitched voice.
That said, as fans of The Beatles, Budgie also knew that juxtaposing a Sabbath-style wall of noise with veneers of acoustic fragility made the heavier parts sound more monstrous still.
A predilection for ludicrous song titles – Don’t Dilute The Water, Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman, Hot As A Docker’s Armpit, You’re The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk soon became apparent.
Following the departure of Ray Phillips in 1973, Budgie began to experience drummer problems. It says much of their unpredictability that the following album, 1974’s hurriedly completed and distinctly patchy In For The Kill, remains the group’s only Top 30 album.
With new drummer Steve Williams in place for Bandolier in 1975, Budgie’s fortunes appeared to have stabilised, only for co-founding guitarist Tony Bourge to leave three years later.
With their bankability fortuitously enhanced by the NWOBHM, Budgie opened for Ozzy Osbourne on his first two solo tours and headlined a night at the Reading festival in 1982.
Burke explained that with an increasingly demanding family life Budgie entered “a suspended state of animation” in 1988. The reason he reactivated the band in 1995 was, he said, because “I was broke”.
However, with their songs being covered by a succession of high-profile artists such as Metallica, who famously included a cover of Breadfan on their 1998 compilation Garage Inc.
“That’s when I realised the impact it had,” Shelley told Classic Rock in 2020. “It always went down well. But then a lot of our tunes did – they’d be shouting out for Breadfan, Napoleon, Parents. I remember being surprised that it was the one everybody knows about. Metallica must have thought it was a decent song. We got a lift from that, some street cred.”
Metallica also covered Crash Course In Brain Surgery), while Iron Maiden took on I Can’t See My Feelings and Soundgarden tackled Homicidal Suicidal. With credibility ensured, the royalty checks also made life a little more comfortable.
Burke Shelley died on January 10, 2022. He was 71.
