Entertainment
Budgie singer and bassist Burke Shelley dies aged 71
Shelley died on Monday night
(Picture: Getty)
Burke Shelley, singer and bassist for the Welsh rock and heavy metal band Budgie, has died aged 71.
His death was announced by his daughter Ela Shelley on Monday night.
In a statement on Facebook, she wrote: ‘It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my father, John Burke Shelley.
‘He passed away this evening in his sleep at Heath Hospital in Cardiff, his birth town. He was 71 years old.
‘Please respect the family during this time.With love,His four children: Ela, Osian, Dimitri and Nathaniel.’
No cause of death has yet been released.
Shelley with Steve Williams and ‘Big’ John Thomas as Budgie perform at the Reading Festival in August 1980 (Picture: Redferns)
Shelley on stage with Budgie in 2006 (Picture: Redferns)
Budgie was formed in Cardiff in 1967 by Shelley, singer and guitarist Tony Bourge and drummer Ray Phillips.
They released 10 studio albums between 1971 and 1982, including 1974’s In for the Kill!, which peaked at number 29 on the UK album charts.
The band first stopped gigging in 1987, before officially reforming in 1999 and going on to record their final album, 2006’s You’re All Living in Cuckooland.
Shelley had been living with Stickler syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, and had previously suffered two aortic aneurysms.
He is survived by his four children.
This is a breaking news story with more to follow.
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