Badfinger has always been a baffling mystery to many music aficionados. Often called “The Original Power Pop Band,” the band was mega-talented and very connected, but for some reason, they never were able to achieve the level of stardom they once appeared to be headed for.
This band had all the necessary components to be Superstars; they had the talent, the looks, and the relationships. They were the very first artists signed to the newly formed Apple label. Paul McCartney himself penned their very first hit. Yet, in spite of everything they had going for them, they seemed to be snake-bit from the early days on.
The Beginning
Their story starts in Swansea, Wales in 1961, beginning as The Panthers, formed by Pete Ham. This group would undergo several name and line-up changes before it became The Iveys in 1965, the name as a nod to the Hollies. The initial lineup was Pete Ham, Dai Jenkins, Mike Gibbons, and Ron Griffiths. They then met Bill Collins in 1966, who would become their mentor and manager. Collins’ vision for them was bigger than a small Welsh city and he moved them to his house in London. Jenkins left the band in 1967 and was replaced by Tommy Evans. Evans and Ham immediately bonded. Creatively, the two gelled well together and they composed several songs as a team.
In 1968, Collins invited his friend Mal Evans (AKA “The 5th Beatle”) to come see his band. Evans was so impressed, he brought the band to the attention of the Beatles, who had just formed Apple Records. The Beatles were also captivated and groomed the group for stardom. As the Iveys, they would record the lush power ballad “Maybe Tomorrow.” The song was also the title track for their only album under the Ivey’s name. “Maybe Tomorrow” dropped in 1969 on the Apple label and was released in Italy, Germany and Japan. No explanation was ever given as to why the album, itself, was not distributed in the US, or the UK.
The Apple Label Years
Then, disappointment and frustration would set in as they tried to find another song that would meet the Apple label’s requirements for a potential hit song. After several rejections, enter Paul McCartney. McCartney had been asked to provide three songs for the soundtrack of a new film, “The Magic Christian”, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Paul saw this as an opportunity for The Iveys. He offered the band his composition for the film, “Come and Get It”, and the band could provide the other two songs for the film. McCartney produced the sessions for “Come and Get It”, “Carry on Till Tomorrow” and “Rock of All Ages” at Abbey Road Studios in August of 1969. During the recordings, Producer Tony Visconti said he had to keep checking that John or Paul hadn’t surreptitiously joined in. He said, “Their voices sounded remarkably like the Beatles”.
During this time, Ron Griffiths left the band due to internal conflicts, and was replaced by guitarist Joey Molland. This addition required Tommy Evans to switch to bass. They now were their best-known lineup, consisting of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tommy Evans, and Joey Molland. Apple also felt that the band needed a new name. John Lennon suggested the band call themselves “The Prix” while McCartney offered “Home”. It would ultimately be Apple’s Neil Aspinall who would suggest “Badfinger”. The name was derived from the early working title to the Lennon/McCartney song that eventually given the title “With a Little Help from My Friends”. Lennon had called it “Bad Finger Boogie” due to the fact that he had an injured finger while playing the piano during the composition process with McCartney.
“Come and Get It” was the first single recorded under the “Badfinger” name. The song was released in December 1969, in the U.K., January 1970 in the U.S., and reached the top 10 on various charts throughout the world, including #7 on Billboard in the U.S. and #4 on the U.K.’s Melody Maker. An album was needed to coincide with the release of the single, so Apple compiled one with the three McCartney produced songs from The Magic Christian film along with a few newer recordings produced by Mal Evans with the rest comprised of remixed tracks from The Iveys’ Maybe Tomorrow album. Although all material was recorded by The Iveys, the resulting album, “Magic Christian Music”, would be released under their new name of Badfinger.
Success and Turmoil
While they were enjoying their newfound fame, a big shake-up was about to occur. April 10, 1970, The Beatles announced their break-up. Badfinger was being hailed as the new heirs to the throne, “The Next Beatles”. They were not altogether comfortable with this comparison though. They repeatedly stated they did not want to be “pop stars”, that they were musicians first.
Another big overhaul would also change the band forever. Manager Bill Collins felt the band needed bigger representation than what he could offer and had them hire well known manager, Stan Polley, and his entertainment group. While this union seemed to be the way to go in the beginning, it ultimately proved to be a disastrous move.
George Harrison then also stepped in, adding the rising stars as his backing band for his new project “Concert for Bangladesh”, his first post-Beatles solo album, and they performed at George’s actual concert for Bangladesh. George, in particular, was very taken with Pete Ham, as was John Lennon. They also appeared on John Lennon’s “Imagine” album.
They began writing new material for their next album, “No Dice”, and while recording it, John heard the song that would become their biggest hit, and passed it along to his good friend, Harry Nilsson. Nilsson then optioned “Without You” for his upcoming album, and the boys from Badfinger were invited in to hear him record it live in the studio. Pete was totally blown away by Nilsson’s range, and version of the song, and felt it was the best rendition he’d heard.
Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hit singles from 1970 to 1972: “Come and Get It” (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), “No Matter What” (1970), “Day After Day” (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and “Baby Blue” (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Their song “Without You” (1970) has been recorded many times, including a US number-one hit for Harry Nilsson, and decades later, a UK number-one for Mariah Carey.
A Shakespearean Fall
The downward spiral began in late 1972, when their new manager, Stan Polley, convinced the band to leave the then floundering Apple Records for Warner Brothers. After Apple folded in 1973, Badfinger struggled with a host of legal, managerial and financial issues, stemming from Polley’s insistence on pooling all the band’s advances in escrow funds. The band members were reluctant, but eventually gave in, trusting Ham, and signed the agreement, even though they were warned by Polley’s partner, Stan Poses not to sign it. In doing so, they unwittingly gave away most of their legal rights in the process.
In 1974, the other lads had begun to wonder why, when they were selling millions of albums, they were still basically broke. Ham was still insistent that Polley was their guy, and believed in Polley’s management style, mistakenly thinking Polley had their best interests at heart. This led to massive in-fighting within the band. Ham continued to stubbornly believed in Polley and held on to the notion they were still on stable ground. The other guys were now pretty sure this was not the case.
In late 1974, the band recorded the album, “Wish You Were Here”, hoping to revive their earlier successes. The album was released in November 1974, but Warner Brothers stopped production after finding massive discrepancies in the Escrow accounts. $100K was missing, and WB decided to stop production in mid-December while this was being sorted out. While all this was ongoing, Joey Molland left the band. They quickly hired Bob Jackson to replace him. Former VP, Joe Smith has since stated “Perhaps that wasn’t the best decision” but felt it was the only one they had at that time. Warner Brothers also filed a lawsuit against Polley, and Badfinger Enterprises, and also rejected the next album over the unresolved financial situation.
Pete Ham then became increasingly despondent, drinking and taking drugs in his depression. He was writing anguished songs, to try to release the pain. But it became too much for him. After receiving a call from the US in April of 1975, telling Pete that the band was totally broke, Pete first went to Tommy Evans and told him what had transpired. After talking for hours, Tommy took him home around 3am, and that was the last he saw of Pete alive. 27-year-old Pete Ham committed suicide on April 24, 1975 in the wee hours of the morning. His 8 months pregnant partner, Ann Herriot, found him hanging in their garage the next morning. Next to him, Ann found a half empty bottle of wine, and a note telling her he loved her, but “Stan Polley is a soulless bastard, and I will take him with me”. She called Tom and his wife, who came over to try to help. Tommy was totally devastated over the loss of his friend and writing partner.
The End and the Aftermath
The band broke up at that point. Joey Molland moved to Los Angeles. After a few years had passed, Joey decided to reform the band. He sent for Tommy Evans and contacted Electra Records. Electra said they’d sign them, ONLY if they used the name “Badfinger”. Joey and Tommy reluctantly agreed, but both secretly thought the name was cursed. They made 2 albums under Electra, both of which flopped. Tommy returned to England, and he and Joey proceeded to fight over control of the “Badfinger” name. Joey eventually won the lawsuit over control, then filed a lawsuit against Tommy Evans for royalty rights. He stated the band had all verbally agreed those monies were to be split 4 ways.
All of this was just too much for Tommy, who had become increasingly anxious and depressed, and often stated he wanted to join Pete. On November 18, 1983, Tommy Evans hung himself in the same manner Pete Ham had 8 years prior. He was found by his 6-year-old son.
Joey Molland continues to tour and perform as “Badfinger”. He dedicates every show to his band mates, Pete Ham and Tommy Evans.
The band’s friend, Dek Leonard, calls their story “A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.” However, perhaps longtime friend Mae Pang said it best, stating “When we lost Badfinger, I think we lost innocence.” Tami Danielson is the main in-house blogger and Director of Operations for Pop-Daze. She was raised in California and Florida and currently resides in Oregon. Tami has written for a variety of periodicals and has provided digital marketing services for a number of artists. She can be reached at [email protected].
