Il-Budaj's love for folklore music began at a young age. He was also passionate about opera and classical music. He loved writing poetry and was awarded a diploma a short while ago for his poetry by the group ‘Poeti Maltin’ of which he was a member. The much-loved singer participated in many folklore festivals, both on a local and international level, singing in Canada, France, Libya, Greece and Tunisia.  

Frans Baldacchino earned himself the nickname il-Budaj in the 1950s, when the Hungarian football team Honved visited Malta. The players included Puskas and Bodai, whose name got passed on to Baldacchino’s brother who also played football, and eventually was given to Frans.  

Born in Zejtun on May 16, 1943, il-Budaj emigrated to Australia during the 60s where he formed part of a folklore group together with other Maltese emigrants. He returned to Malta in the 1970s.  

To mark the singer’s passing, Melbourne-based Għana researcher and musician, Manuel Casha is releasing an album entitled Tifkira.  

The album will be released both in Malta and Australia and is Casha’s farewell to his friend and music colleague of twenty plus years. Frans and Manuel teamed up from across the globe, for many projects, the last of which was the CD album Tila in 2005.  

Tifkira is available from all leading record shops.

See also:
Frans il-Budaj: An Appreciation
from Toni Sant's Blog

Special podcast commemorating Il-Budaj
a podcast by Toni Sant