Budgie - Squawk

Budgie was an uncompromising, all-out heavy rock band. At the height of their popularity, in the early '70s, they matched and rivalled groups like Black Sabbath, Stray and the Groundhogs.

Originally formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1967 by Burke Shelley (vocals, bass), Tony Bourge (guitar), and Raymond Phillips (drums), relatively obscure yet influential act Budgie was one of the earliest British heavy metal bands. Their weighty riffs and high-pitched vocals often draw comparisons to Black Sabbath and Rush and the group has released nearly a dozen studio albums and a handful of live recordings to date amidst numerous line-up changes.

The founding line-up of Shelley, Bourge and Phillips would issue three of the band's finest albums including eponymous debut Budgie (1971), sophomore follow-up Squawk (1972) and third effort Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1973) and is universally hailed as Budgie's definitive incarnation.

Although their debut was a love letter to their influences like Cream, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, diverse second offering Squawk finds the band carving out their own identity and experimenting in different musical modes including ballad territory while incorporating more complex arrangements and adding piano/Mellotron to the mix.