BUDGIE Issue Statement Regarding Death Of Former Guitarist John Thomas
March 8th, 2016
John Thomas, former guitarist of Welsh hard rock group Budgie, died on March 3rd, 2016.
Budgie issued the following statement: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce that on Thursday 3rd March, John Thomas suddenly passed away. John had not been well for some time but his sudden death has shocked us all. The precise details are not yet known but JT was admitted to hospital on Thursday after a fall at home and whilst in hospital he suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated. Our thoughts are with John’s family and we remember all of the great times we had with John, a man who bludgeoned his way into Budgie in 1979 adding a freshness and vitality to the band that resulted in many memorable live performances and recordings. An extremely talented guitarist respected and admired by other musicians with a stage presence that never failed to please. John will be missed by many, especially the lucky people who got to work with him and become his friends. So from your Budgie mates Burke, Steve and Paul and everyone associated with Budgie over the years, God bless JT and lets hope that where you are now there are Marshall amps with a volume control that goes up to 11.”
John Henry Thomas was born on February 21st, 1952. Following stints with Warwick, England-based psychedelic rock group Edgar Broughton Band and UK southern rock outfit George Hatcher Band, Thomas joined Budgie in late 1979 and appeared on three of the band’s full-length studio albums; Power Supply (1980), Nightflight (1981) and Deliver Us From Evil (1982).
Budgie stopped performing in 1988, but after a seven year hiatus reformed for one-off shows in 1995. In June 2000 Thomas was struck with a cerebral aneurysm. It was uncertain whether the musician would be able to play guitar professionally again, but following several months of treatment and recuperation Thomas recovered sufficiently to join Budgie for their headlining appearance at the Legends Of Welsh Rock festival in Cardiff on September 29th, 2001. John Thomas left Budgie following a short UK tour in February 2002.
