RIP Burke Shelley

[Pat2019]

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/11/burke-shelley-frontman-with-welsh-rock-band-budgie-dies-aged-71

 

[Paul S]

 RIP.  Saw them a few times back in the day.  The floor of the Kursaal in Southend was bouncing up and down to Zoom Club.

[alyctes]

[alembic1989]

Gutted today, to discover  that Burke Shelley  passed away.

A major influence on me as a young bassist..and huge Budgie fan.

😪😪

[Jonse]

Damn, an underrated bassist and a big influence on me as an early player. I spent many a night as a young teen trying to play along to my Dad's 'Best of Budgie' CD. In For The Kill, Parents and Breadfan kicked my derriere and really helped me with my pick playing.  

 

RIP. 

[alembic1989]

A sad day.

Loved his playing. 

[peteb]

 

This article has a bit more detail about his life

 

https://www.loudersound.com/news/budgie-legend-burke-shelley-dead-at-71

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by peteb

[Boodang]

It's sad to say but I remember Budgie mostly for the Roger Dean artwork on their albums.

[Happy Jack]

My covers band The Junkyard Dogs has covered Baby Please Don't Go for years (with me on vocals!) and our version owes a lot more to Never Turn Your Back On A Friend than it does to Van Morrison and Them.

 

I lent my original copy to one of my best friends in 1974. He rode home on a weird Suzuki thingy with an upswept exhaust (very rare in those days) and the only way he could take it home was by sliding my LP between the exhaust and the rear sub-frame. Seriously.

 

Unbelievably, that record never played again.

 

[godathunder]

gutting news.

 

Burke was a family friend when I was a kid but I hadnt crossed paths with him since the 90s when I left Wales.

 

I never actually saw Budgie (and wasnt a huge fan despite being a metalhead) but still probably saw Burke play live more times than any other bass player

 

he was a genuinely down to earth and nice guy who was hilariously funny (he made a hysterical singing nun). he was also a very talented bass player with a far broader range than you may imagine.

 

he was a huge influence on my bass playing - not so much in style as in encouragement and definitely in terms of playing the thing bloody loud - he ran a Marshall Major flat out into a pair of Vox Foundation 18s for pub gigs for gods sake

 

anyway, somewhere it'll always be a sunday afternoon in the royal oak soundtracked by beautiful lies

 

chin chin old chap

[Raymondo]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

My covers band The Junkyard Dogs has covered Baby Please Don't Go for years (with me on vocals!) and our version owes a lot more to Never Turn Your Back On A Friend than it does to Van Morrison and Them.

 

I lent my original copy to one of my best friends in 1974. He rode home on a weird Suzuki thingy with an upswept exhaust (very rare in those days) and the only way he could take it home was by sliding my LP between the exhaust and the rear sub-frame. Seriously.

 

Unbelievably, that record never played again.

 

I'd been struggling to work out how to play songs on bass for ages when one day, for the umpteenth time, I put that track on and somehow just... played along with it. It was my eureka moment. Budgie were my favourite band in the Seventies and Burke inspired me to play bass. He never knew of course but I have had some of the best times of my life playing bass thanks to him.

[ubit]

I admit to being slightly too young to be into Budgie at the time but over the years I heard a few songs and realised that they were a superb band. About 15 years ago I started to seriously give them a listen and was blown away by how many great songs they had. Burke can rest easy now knowing his legacy lives on.

[KevB]

I knew he hadn't been well for some time but sad non the less. The first serious rock gig I went to was 1981 with Gillan headlining and Budgie as one of the supports. I thoroughly enjoyed their set yet for some reason never got round to seeing them again which I regret. Proper power trio.

[PaulThePlug]

Likes the Budgie...

Lots of old vinyl and the MCA 3 disk box set, In for the kill, Bandolier, Never turn ya back on a friend, 3 great albums for a tenner!  is a bargain for those wishing to get a refresh.

Often billed as a British (Welsh) Rush, but @KevBsums it up 'proper power trio'

Was a bit on the telly about Rockfield Studios a while back... Looking to see if there is any Old Grey Whistle Test footage...

[White Cloud]

I recall hearing 'Breadfan' in a pals bedroom for the first time and being blown away... 

 

Great vocals and bass player. I'm sad 😭

[bertbass]

Supported Budgie many times and they were always great.

[Misdee]

I too remember Breadfan as a standout track back in the day.  Budgie were one of the bands that , like Judas Priest and UFO for example, were a precursor to the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (now there's a phrase I haven't heard in a while...) that was a thing in 1979/80. Saw them opening for Ozzy Osbourne in 1980 and they were a consummate live act, from what I can remember.

 

 I recall seeing Burke Shelley on some program or other a few years back talking about his Christian faith ect. Good for him, I thought.

 

  Anyhow,I hope he is at peace now.🙂

 

All this is making me realize how long ago the 1970s are  getting to be.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Misdee

[Misdee]

15 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

My covers band The Junkyard Dogs has covered Baby Please Don't Go for years (with me on vocals!) and our version owes a lot more to Never Turn Your Back On A Friend than it does to Van Morrison and Them.

 

I lent my original copy to one of my best friends in 1974. He rode home on a weird Suzuki thingy with an upswept exhaust (very rare in those days) and the only way he could take it home was by sliding my LP between the exhaust and the rear sub-frame. Seriously.

 

Unbelievably, that record never played again.

 

That's what the 70s were really like in a nutshell!  Motorbikes, warped vinyl (and people who claimed to be able to do Kung Fu but in reality probably couldn't, from what I remember).

[KevB]

For anyone interested this is a solid cheap as chips introductory CD

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Budgie/dp/B000005RDY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15P6RV3H27YQJ&keywords=best+of+budgie+cd&qid=1642002211&sprefix=best+of+budgie%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-1

[Paul S]

Two of my fave tracks.  This one is a remix of Crash Course in Brain Surgery (which is just the greatest track title) with a different guitar to Tony Bourge.  Not sure who, tbh, as there seemed a lot of changing around in later years.  Love the simplicity of this riff.

 

 

 

And good old Zoom Club.

 

 

[mattbass6]

Really, really sad news. A great bass player, singer, and musician. Budgie were brilliant and I wish I could have seen them live. The Welsh Rush in my opinion. They should have been much bigger than they were. RIP Burke. Thank you for the music 🌟

[ubit]

22 hours ago, Misdee said:

I recall seeing Burke Shelley on some program or other a few years back talking about his Christian faith ect. Good for him, I thought.

 

 

I saw a clip where he was moaning about Islam being everywhere in Britain. Great musician but not very accepting of others beliefs.

[dmccombe7]

Sad sad news. Amazing player and vocalist. Big fan of Budgie.

Loved his tone.

Budgie should have been far better known. They have influenced so many people over the years.

RIP Burke.

Dave

[Misdee]

23 hours ago, ubit said:

 

 

I saw a clip where he was moaning about Islam being everywhere in Britain. Great musician but not very accepting of others beliefs.

I'm sorry to hear that. I would give him the benefit of the doubt at the very least until I know the context of those remarks.

 

Just a general observation, but I suppose as people get older, regardless of what line of work they are in, they have a tendency to get more frightened by what they can't understand or can't control.

[Seashell2]

Very sad to hear this. Possibly the most exciting gig I ever saw was Budgie at the Winning Post, Witton in (I  think) 1975. I think I fell in love with Burke Shelley right there.