Cherry Red [Release date : 25.09.26]

The seventies have always been considered to be the hard rock and heavy metal years.

Welsh band Budgie was at the epicentre.

Their songs were covered by Soundgarden, Metallica, Van Halen and Iron Maiden. And yet they never got the credit they deserve.

Of the 10 albums they released in an initial 20 year career, the three in this boxset are judged to be the key recordings, shining a light ahead for all the NWOBHM wannabes.
Arguably, they were taking a lead from US Power Trio, Blue Cheer, whose heavy-duty blues rock had already made a huge impact.

CD1 : Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (1973)
CD2 : In For The Kill (1974) plus 2 bonus tracks
CD3 : Bandolier (1975) plus 3 bonus tracks

The three man band were :- Burke Shelley, vocals and bass; Tony Bourge, vocals and guitar, and Ray Philips, drums.

They had a sense of humour too. ‘You’re The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk’ and ‘In The Grip Of A Tyre Fitter’s Hand’ would tend to indicate that.

Easy to see why Metallica covered ‘Breadfan’. Bourge’s rapidfire licks on the intro to Never Turn’s opening track is the perfect background for Shelley’s hi speed, hi pitch vocal delivery, which seems to spiral endlessly upwards.

As all three of this trio of albums were self produced, you might expect a mis-step here and a drop-off there. But no, from ‘Never Turn…’ onwards, these albums just quake with groundshaking rhythms and pneumatically powered riffs, and no question, they’ve ramped up the volume.
Who’d a thought a little Welsh band could have produced their own material, and in doing so completely ignored the limiting structures of the heavy metal formula.

Standout on Never Turn…, apart from ‘Breadfan’ would be the 10 minute ‘Parents’. Not just because it pulls in influences from all adjacent heavy metal lifeforms, but because it truly stays the distance.

Even moreso on In For The Kill, the rhythm section (duo) lay down a densely constructed, bass heavy bedrock, leaving plenty of room for Shelley to to carve out thick, three dimensional riffs.
Crackling with kinetic energy, ‘Zoom Club’ and ‘Hammer And Tongs’ are widely acknowledged as the album’s standout tracks.

Aside from the song title’s neat wordplay, ‘Napoleon Bona-Parts One And Two’ is by far the most accomplished track on the third album here, Bandolier. It’s disappointing that it’s not chantee en francais, though.

New drummer, Steve Williams adds muscle to the music’s heavy metal spine. His thundering beats snake through the theatrics and the histrionics to deliver even more bottom end than most studio sets up can handle. Peak Budgie.

The word “iconic” is overused in the music media. But no one can deny that the band’s album covers, created by Roger (Yes, Asia) Dean and Patrick (Pallas, Judas Priest) Woodroffe are genuine icons.

All 3 albums broke the UK Top Forty. ****1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast 30 August 2026.

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Power Plays w/c 31 August 2026

JEFFERSON STARSHIP Jetpack (indie)
SHOGUN MOJO Under The Gun (Frontiers)
NOT MY WIFE Best Friend (indie)
BEN POOLE Time Has No Mercy (Gypsy Soul Records)
NIGHT TALKS Window Shopping (indie)
CHEZ KANE One Day (Is All That It Takes) (Frontiers)

Featured Albums w/c 31 August 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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