Rising young Welsh rockers Florence Black close their shows with a sledgehammer version of Budgie’s best-known tune. “Budgie were awesome,” says the trio’s singer, Tristan Thomas. “They were one of the first heavy metal bands back in the day, they helped start the whole thing. We play Breadfan at the end of our set and kids still go crazy for it. It’s so powerful and unique, it still really sticks in your head.”
“[When Metallica covered Breadfan], that was when I realised the impact it had.”
Over the years some huge bands - Van Halen, Soundgarden, Metallica, Iron Maiden - have also covered Budgie songs. True, Budgie never quite reached the major heights of contemporaries like Black Sabbath, but their influence stretches far. Breadfan is their Paranoid, the song their fans would holler for at shows, the one known by casual listeners who couldn’t name a single other song from their catalogue.