Budgie

A Welsh heavy metal power trio from Cardiff, led by the bassist and singer Burke Shelley, whose song "Breadfan" was covered by Metallica in 1988.

Origin: Cardiff, Wales
Years active: 1967-2010
Genres: heavy metal, hard rock
Labels: MCA, A&M, Active, RCA
Also known as: Hills Contemporary Grass

From Hills Contemporary Grass to Budgie

Budgie formed in Cardiff in 1967 as Hills Contemporary Grass, with Burke Shelley on bass and lead vocals, Tony Bourge on guitar and Ray Phillips on drums. The renaming to Budgie came in 1968 or 1969, depending on the source. Shelley, born John Burke Shelley on April 10, 1950, said in Louder that he loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock but calling themselves after something diametrically opposed to that. He played bass with a pick and the keyboards on early albums, including Mellotron on "Young Is a World" on Squawk.

They made their first three albums for MCA at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth: Budgie (July 30, 1971) and Squawk (1972) with Rodger Bain as producer, and Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (June 30, 1973), produced by the band, with Roger Dean artwork on the last two. Sounds called the debut good natured foot-tapping music and preferred it to Black Sabbath's debut. Phillips left in 1974, and Steve Williams joined for Bandolier (1975). In for the Kill! (1974) reached number 29 in the UK.

Later years

Bourge left in 1978 and the band moved from A&M to Active for Power Supply (1980) and Nightflight (1981), which reached number 68, then to RCA for Deliver Us from Evil (1982), their last major-label album. They stopped gigging in 1987 and reformed in 1995-96, then played from 1999 to 2010, with You're All Living in Cuckooland (2006) and a first Australian tour in February 2008 with Craig Goldy. Their last show was in the Netherlands in November 2010, when a Central European tour was cancelled. Shelley was the only musician on every Budgie release; he died on January 10, 2022, aged 71, and the live album Live Flight appeared that year.

Metallica covered "Breadfan" in 1988 and put it on Garage Inc. in 1998, which Decibel's account says made Budgie fashionable with the press again. Decibel inducted Never Turn Your Back on a Friend into its Hall of Fame on August 13, 2018. Iron Maiden covered "I Can't See My Feelings" from Bandolier on a 1992 B-side. Phillips published an autobiography in April 2018.

Members

Burke Shelley bass, lead vocals (1967-2010)
Tony Bourge guitar, vocals (1967-1978)
Ray Phillips drums (1967-1974)
Steve Williams drums (1974-1986, 1999-2010)
John Thomas guitar (1979-)
Craig Goldy guitar (2008-2010)

Records

Never Turn Your Back on a Friend 1973 · MCA
The third album, self-produced, with a Roger Dean cover; Phillips's last Budgie studio album.

Songs

Breadfan Never Turn Your Back on a Friend · 1973
The opening track of Never Turn Your Back on a Friend and Budgie's most-played song live; Metallica covered it in 1988.

Angel Witch, Accept