Budgie - Bandolier (1975) [Remastered, 2004] CD Rip

Budgie biography
Originating from Cardiff, Wales, UK, Budgie first formed in 1967 under the guise of ' Hills Contemporary Grass'. This name was shortlived however and by 1968 they had renamed themselves Budgie, which still remains this to the current day, although line ups have changed from time to time. The original members were Burke Shelley (b.1947) on bass and vocals, Tony Bourge (b.1948) on guitars and vocals and Ray Phillips (b.1949)on drums.

As was often the case with debut albums from the late sixties and early seventies, "Budgie" 1971 was a mixed bag of hard rock combined with a strong dose of blues. Produced by Black Sabbath producer Roger Bain. " Squawk" 1972 and " Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" 1973 were further studio albums following in quick succession. The latter probably being the most well known of Budgie work." In For The Kill" followed in 1974 and by now the line up changes began with Ray Phillips departure and replacement by the soon departing Pete Boot. The band experienced further membership changes and in 1978 Tony Bourge moved on and in stepped John Thomas who also later worked with Glenn Hughes.

Classifying Budgie is no easy feat hence it being in the Prog related category but the blues rock influences are ever present especially up to the close of the 70's.Sometimes described as pioneers in metal, Burke Shelley's voice often compared to Geddy Lee of Rush and the progressive influences are particularly evident in " Squawk", " Never Turn Your Back On a Friend" and 1975's " Bandolier". Budgie became less active in the latter parts of the 80's and ceased live tours in 1988. The 90's saw a revival of the band and further studio albums ensued, the last being in 2006 called " Your'e All Living In Cuckoo Land". Line up changes remained unabbated but one thing remains is that Budgie continue to play high energy rock, progressive at times, bluesy and plain solid metal to a high standard. Metallica have had notable success doing versions of their work " Breadfan" being one song and " Crash Course In Brain Surgery" the other, Judas Priest being another band influenced by the outfit from Wales.

Two live shows of note were in 1982 when Budgie headlined the Reading festival and Live In San Antonio ( 2002).Recommended albums would be 1972's " Squawk", " Never Turn Your Back On a Friend" from 1973 and 1978's "Impeckable". Founder member and drummer Ray Phillips is scheduled to release his first solo album in the first half of 2009.