BUDGIE VOCALIST / BASSIST BURKE SHELLEY DEAD AT 71

Ela Shelley, the daughter of Budgie frontman Burke Shelley, announced her father's passing earlier today in the Budgie fans worldwide Facebook group with the following post:

"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."

In 2010, Budgie cancelled tour dates in Poland and the Czech Republic after Burke Shelley underwent emergency surgery for an an aneurism of the aorta. 

Shelley appeared on all 11 Budgie studio albums, beginning with their self-titled debut in 1971, and culminating with You're All Living In Cuckooland in 2006.

Metallica introduced Budgie to a new legion of fans when they covered "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" on The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited in 1987.