In Defense of Ska Ep 203: Budgie (The Slits, Siouxsie and the Banshees)

Budgie became one of the most famous alternative rock drummers in the 80s and 90s as the driving beat behind of Siouxsie and the Banshees. But before he joined The Banshees, he played drums on one of the most iconic post-punk records of the late ’70s: The Slits’ Cut. It’s a record that blends everything happening in late ’70s England music: Fun experimentation, punk energy, and reggae/ska influences. Today, we talk about Cut with Budgie. 

The album came out around the same time as 2 Tone was emerging, demonstrating that a lot of the music within the punk subculture in the UK was influenced by Jamaican music. We learn how Budgie was exposed to the music at a young age, how he learned to play reggae on the drums, and what his perception of the 2 Tone ska movement was. 

We also learn about what it was like to work with producer Dennis Bovell, which Max Romeo song he sung as a kid, and we dissect many of his beats he played with The Slits. Plus, there’s plenty of talk about John Bonham. 

Listen to the conversation, and make sure to like, review, and follow the series wherever you get your podcast. Don't forget to check out all the Consequence Podcast Network series here.

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

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