Burke Shelley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burke Shelley | |
|---|---|
 Shelley in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Burke Shelley |
| Born | 10 April 1950 Cardiff, Wales |
| Died | 10 January 2022 (aged 71) Heath, Cardiff, Wales |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1967–2022 |
John Burke Shelley (10 April 1950[1] – 10 January 2022) was a Welsh musician, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist of the early heavy metal band Budgie.
In 1967, Cardiff-born Shelley[1] co-founded the band Hills Contemporary Grass with Tony Bourge on guitar and vocals and Ray Phillips on drums. The following year they changed their name to Budgie.[1]
Shelley is often compared to Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee,[2] as they both share the position of bassist/vocalist in power trio bands, both have distinctive high-pitched singing voices, and during the mid- to late 1970s, they bore a striking resemblance to one another, with long, straight hair and large glasses. Both vocalists possessed a high tenor vocal range, but unlike Lee, who is a fingerstyle player, Shelley played bass with a pick. In addition to singing and playing bass for the group, Shelley also performed keyboards on Budgie's early albums, including the Mellotron on "Young Is a World" from the band's second album Squawk.[citation needed]
Budgie's November 2010 tour of Central Europe had to be cancelled as Shelley was hospitalised on 9 November in Wejherowo, Poland, with a 6 cm aortic aneurysm. After surgery, he returned to Britain for recovery, but no decision about the future of the band had been made.[3] By the time of his death in 2022, Budgie were considered disbanded or on hiatus, having not performed or recorded since Shelley's hospitalisation.
