History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Budgie

Often thought of as a cross between Black Sabbath (due to their plodding, molten-heavy riffs) and Rush (due to their singer's high-pitched, Geddy Lee-esque wail), the somewhat obscure British metal outfit Budgie has influenced countless outfits, despite enduring countless lineup shifts throughout their history.

The group originally formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales, comprised of members Burke Shelley (vocals, bass), Tony Bourge (guitar), and Raymond Phillips (drums), and by the early '70s, they'd inked a deal with MCA Records. This early lineup remains Budgie's most definitive, due to the fact that it spawned three of the group's finest albums — 1971's self-titled debut, 1972's Squawk, and 1973's Never Turn Your Back on a Friend — while the group's quirky song titles became somewhat of a trademark for the trio (such ditties as "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman," "Hot as a Docker's Armpit," "In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand," and "You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk").

Despite building a sizeable following in their homeland (while never breaking out of cult status stateside), Phillips left the group prior to their fourth album, 1974's In for the Kill!, replaced by newcomer Pete Boot, which would in turn set off a flurry of steady lineup changes over the years for the group (the only constant Budgie member from the beginning was Shelley). Further releases were issued throughout the '70s, including 1975's Bandolier, 1976's If I Were Brittania I'd Wave the Rules, and 1978's Impeckable, but each appeared to be less inspired than its predecessor.

The emergence of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal gave Budgie renewed popularity in the early 80s as the band headlined the famous Reading Festival in 1980 and 1982. The band released four more albums before calling it quits in 1983.

But almost as soon as they disbanded, several high-profile groups began covering Budgie classics, including Metallica ("Crash Course in Brain Surgery" and "Breadfan"), Iron Maiden ("I Can't See My Feelings"), and Soundgarden ("Homicidal Suicidal"), while back in their early club days Van Halen was known to cover the title track from In for the Kill!

Budgie was a hard rock band when many weren't playing. During the bands peak years, disco and punk dominated the minds of listeners and sadly Budgie is relatively unknown in America - despite their influence on many US metal groups.