John Burke Shelley (10 April 1950[1] – 10 January 2022) was a Welsh musician, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist of the early heavy metal band Budgie.

In 1967, Cardiff-born Shelley[1] co-founded the band Hills Contemporary Grass with Tony Bourge on guitar and vocals and Ray Phillips on drums.

[1] Shelley is often compared to Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee,[2] as they both share the position of bassist/vocalist in power trio bands, both have distinctive high-pitched singing voices, and during the mid- to late 1970s, they bore a striking resemblance to one another, with long, straight hair and large glasses.

Both vocalists possessed a high tenor vocal range, but unlike Lee, who is a fingerstyle player, Shelley played bass with a pick.

[5] In a 2010 interview for the BBC documentary Heavy Metal Britannia, Shelley expressed his Christian[6][7] beliefs and said he had always been uncomfortable with the occult-themed lyrics of bands such as Black Sabbath.