Budgie's Burke Shelley recalls 1980s Eastern bloc gigs
Post categories: Artists,ÌýLive,ÌýSouth Wales
| 10:15 UK time, Friday, 5 March 2010
In a wide-ranging Budgie lead singer Burke Shelley has discussed his band's career highs and lows, the support of the band from Metallica and how they played huge gigs during Poland's political maelstrom of the 1980s.
"When we found out we'd been booked [to play in Poland] to go we were like: 'Are you mad'?" he said.
"There'd been a lot of unrest, folks rising up against the oppressive communist regime and martial law was on the streets.
"The government set up goon squads called ZOMOs, thugs with licences basically, to go out and bash anyone who dissented.
"I remember looking out the hotel window over Victory Square in Warsaw and asking someone what the thousands of lit candles strewn around the place were for," added Burke.
"They told me they were to commemorate all the people killed - it really brought home the reality of the situation."
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