Power Supply: A Biography of Budgie
Why do I love Budgie so much? Because they are an uncompromising, all-out heavy rock band. At the height of their popularity, in the early seventies, they matched and rivalled groups like Black Sabbath, Stray and the Groundhogs. Here is my biography of this group.
Budgie were originally formed in the late sixties in Cardiff, under the name Six-Ton Budgie, by Burke Shelley (lead vocals/ bass), Tony Bourge (guitar/ backing vocals) and Ray Phillips (drums). After playing a number of gigs in the local area, they shortened the name to Budgie as a contradiction of their heavy-rock style. Their first self-titled album, produced by Rodger Bain and released in 1971 on MCA, introduced the hallmark crunching riffs and weird song titles such as 'Rape of the Locks' and 'Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman'.
As on all of the first five albums, the band are unorthodox; neither overtly blues-inspired like Cream or the Groundhogs, nor underpined by keyboards in the way of Uriah Heep or Deep Purple. Perhaps their closest contemporaries were Paranoid-era Black Sabbath, in the use of sheer heavy guitar riffs (although Shelley has said, as a Christian, he could not relate to the satanic imagery of Sabbath). Burke Shelley's high-pitched vocal is highly unusual and has inspired many copyists, such as David Surkamp of Pavlov's Dog and Geddy Lee of Rush, while Phillips has an economical approach to the drums. Tony Bourge is not an entirely original guitarist (his solo on the cover of 'Baby, Please Don't Go' can be heard on Juicy Lucy's 'Who Do You Love?'), but he is very unconventional - his guitar is made to flow, scratch and scream by turn. Burke Shelley has described Budgie's way of working as the bass and guitar playing off each other with the drums filling the gaps. Surprising, he cites Led Zeppelin as an influence, as they (Led Zeppelin) were heavy, not by having a 'thick' sound, but by having a 'thin' sound and then belting it out. The first Budgie album, largely ignored at the time, is now seen as a classic of the genre and set the benchmark high.
Squawk, the second album from 1972, continued the trend of heavy rock and weird titles, as in 'Hot as a Docker's Armpit', and sales in the UK reached gold status. But, it is with Never Turn Your Back On a Friend that Budgie reached their highest point. Released in 1973, it has everything: the rolling riffs of 'In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand'; the thoughful, psychedelia-tinged melody of 'You Know I'll Always Love You'; the light and shade of 'You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk'; the cover of 'Baby Please Don't Go'; the epic 'Parents'; and their signature song, 'Breadfan'. A later critic described 'Breadfan' as insipid, but it flows effortlessly, while paradoxically twisting and turning. It perfectly sums-up their technique in one track. Indeed, Never Turn Your Back On a Friend is close to being the perfect heavy rock album. Ray Philips left the band soon after, to later resurrect the Six-Ton Budgie name, and was replaced by Pete Boot for album number four, In for the Kill.
In For the Kill (1974) contains some of Budgie's best tracks like 'In for the Kill', 'Crash Course in Brain Surgery' and 'Wondering What Everyone Knows', but padding was beginning to appear, such as the intro to Hammer and Tongs (on which you can clearly hear the Led Zeppelin influences) or the instrumental passage in Running From My Soul. Steve Williams, an excellent drummer, replaced Pete Boot for the more consistent Bandolier (1975), which has 'Breaking All the House Rules' and 'I Can't See My Feelings', along with their greatest hit, Andy Fairweather-Low's 'I Ain't No Mountain'.
If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules (1976) was the first Budgie album to contain weak tracks and, worst of all, elements of cliche. Opener 'Anne Neggen', as the name implies, is repetetive and weary. So too is 'If I Were Britannia, I'd Waive the Rules', and these are the strongest tracks, meaning it is all downhill to the final Song. 'Black Velvet Stallion', a beautiful epic in the style of 'Parents', is the only track on the album to rank with the best of Budgie. Having switched labels from MCA to A&M, it was noticeable that the band appeared to be softening their sound in an attempt at commercial success in America, which had so far elluded them. Impeckable (1978), with 'Melt the Ice Away', is an improvement on its predecessor, but the West Coast-feel shows a further attempt at acceptance in America. Ironically, music from Impeckable, along with The Tubes, Head East and Billy Preston, was used in the cult comedy film J-Men Forever (US 1979), but by then it was too late.
Originally written in January 2012, updated October 2012