If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules

If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules
Studio album by Budgie
Released	23 April 1976
Recorded	1976
Studio	Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales
Genre	Hard rock
Length	35:51
Label	A&M
Producer	Budgie
Budgie chronology
Bandolier (1975) If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules (1976) Impeckable (1978)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules is the sixth album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie, released in April 1976. ^[2]

The album is the band's first new release with A&M Records, having signed with them in late 1975 to distribute the US pressings of Bandolier . Musically, the band's usual hard rock style is augmented on this album with funk elements in two songs, and progressive rock in two others. ^[1]

The title is a pun on the concept of Britannia ruling the waves. Professor Irene Morra of Cardiff University wrote that Budgie used this title to "declare an essential lack of agency within Britain" which helped portray a countercultural identity, lacking in national ambition. ^[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Burke Shelley and Tony Bourge.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Anne Neggen"	4:04
2.	"If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules"	5:50
3.	"You're Opening Doors"	4:14
4.	"Quacktor and Bureaucats"	3:52

Side two

No.	Title	Length
5.	"Sky High Percentage"	5:52
6.	"Heaven Knows Our Name"	3:52
7.	"Black Velvet Stallion"	8:07

2010 remaster bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
8.	"You're Opening Doors" (2006 version)	3:38
9.	"Black Velvet Stallion" (2006 version)	7:56

Personnel

Budgie

• Burke Shelley – bass, lead vocals
• Tony Bourge – guitar, backing vocals; lead vocals (track 6)
• Steve Williams – drums

Guest musicians

• Richard Dunn – keyboards

Production

• Pat Moran – mix engineer
• Fabio Nicoli – art director
• Alun Hood – illustrator
• Gered Mankowitz – photography ^[4]

Charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5]	98

References

1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Budgie: If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules" at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
2. Larkin, Colin (1992). The Guinness encyclopedia of popular music. Guinness Publishing. p. 361. ISBN   9780851129396.
3. Morra, Irene (2013). Britishness, Popular Music, and National Identity: The Making of Modern Britain. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN   9781135048952.
4. If I Were Brittania I'd Waive The Rules. A&M Records. 1976. SP-4593.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.