Budgie: a great and underrated band.

Anyone else here a fan? I particularly love Squawk and Never Turn Your Back On A Friend. Squawk especially is, I think, criminally underrated. The A&M era albums and RCA era albums are somewhat less amazing, IMO.
I got into them via Metallica's covers back in high school, and haven't looked back since.

Here's what I've got:
S/T - Repertoire RR 4012-C (picture disc, does not include Crash Course)
Squawk - REP 4026-WZ (digipak Popumentary Series)
Never Turn Your Back On A Friend REP 4013-WZ (digipak Popumentary Series)
I used to have "In For The Kill," "Bandolier," and "If I Were Britannia," of which I'd only recommend the first two.

S/T and Squawk are available on Roadrunner/Roadracer Revisited domestically, S/T with "Crash Course" as a mid-cd bonus track (it was a b-side, I think, during the era of the first album but didn't appear on an actual LP until "In For The Kill"). I don't know anything about the sound quality of the various releases, as my love for them predates my audiophile years, but I will say that they spent more money on production as they went along.... Rodger Bain of Black Sabbath fame produced.

--MK

 

I like their albums "Nightflight" and "Deliver US From Evil" very much.

 

The first three albums are very good and I'd also probably recommend "In for the Kill" as well. Any band with a track called "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" is cool in my books. I think that's the first song I ever heard by them (back in the day).

Cheers,
Chris

 

I cannot believe you mentioned this band. Just the other day I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend of mine, who is a very big 'Metal Head' and is in a Metal band , a few years ago about the lineage of Heavy Metal. He told me that Metallica owed a lot to Budgie, whom I'd never heard of at that point, and he played me a few of their songs. For whatever reason, I was very vividly recalling this conversation just a day or two ago and now this post. Amazing.

 

I have both their self-titled and Squawk - both quite excellent. It's a shame that they're largely forgotten today.

 

Same with me. I have the S/T and Squawk. When I was in rock radio, Roadrunner Records sent us practically the whole catalog (along with some Uriah Heep). No one was interested in them and they were going to be huffed in the trash. A shame.

Great band. Great work. Power grooves.

 

I've always loved Budgie, especially throughout the '70's, and my favorite release is "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend". I recommend the 2-CD set on Repertoire, "An Ecstasy Of Fumbling", as a great introduction to the band; it's an excellent compilation of their material.






Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Heh, did you save the Mercyful Fate discs from the garbage too?

 

I couldn't agree more -- 'Ecstasy...' is a fabulous collection! Love that Roger Dean artwork!

 

Far out, man. Love the art.

 

No. Those left with the man in the grey jumpsuit. I don't think he was a Mercyful Fate fan either.

Can't tell you how many Type-O Negative Cds I just could NOT get rid of....

 

Any mention of Budgie automatically makes me think of this Monty Python sketch:

Mrs. Premise: We're going to have the budgie put down.

Mrs. Conclusion: Is it very old then?

P: No, we just don't like it.

C: How do they put budgies down anyway?

P: Well, I've just been reading a big book about how to put your budgie down. It seems you can either hit them with the book or shoot them *there*, just above the beak.

C: Mrs. Essence flushed hers down the loo.

P: Oh, that's dangerous! They breed in the sewers! And soon you get huge flocks of evil-smelling soiled budgies flying out of people's lavatories and infringing their personal freedoms!

 

Aww, I actually like Mercyful Fate (at least the Roadrunner years...). Type O I can definitely live without.
(does crapping one's own thread count? )
--MK

 

I love Budgie! It's was Metallica who made me go back and check them out after they covered "Crash Course In Brain Surgery". I love the song "Melt The Ice Away" from the IMPECKABLE album. Great riffs!

 

Except for the compilation, I have anything and everything Budgie. I'd love to see at least the first three get cleaned up with a nice remastering someday.