Badfinger | Artist

Founding member Pete Ham died in 1975 at the age of 27, tragically joining that illustrious group of brilliant yet ill-fated artists known as the "27 Club"

Badfinger was a Welsh band formed 1968 in Abertawe, Swansea by Pete Ham (lead guitar), Ronald "Ron" Griffiths (bass guitar), David "Dai" Jenkins (rhythm guitar), and Roy Anderson (drums). Originally called The Iveys, they changed their name to Badfinger when they became the first band to be signed to The Beatles' Apple label. The best known lineup was Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland, and they were renowned for their exquisite power-pop sound with well crafted songs and melodic vocals. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), "No Matter What" (produced by Mal Evans), "Day After Day" (produced by George Harrison), and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren). Their song "Without You" (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a US and UK number-one hit for Harry Nilsson in 1972 and a UK number-one for Mariah Carey in 1994. The band recorded five albums for Apple but unfortunately got embroiled in Apple's management chaos and dissolution. Outstanding albums include Magic Christian Music (1970), No Dice (1970), Straight Up (1971), and Wish You Were Here (1974). Magic Christian Music was the soundtrack to the 1969 British satirical farce black comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with appearances by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Raquel Welch, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. After Apple Records folded in 1973, Badfinger struggled with a host of legal, managerial, and financial problems mostly due to their fraudulent manager Stan Polley, leading to Ham's suicide in 1975. The surviving members struggled to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits which tied up the songwriters' royalty payments for years. Their subsequent albums floundered, as Molland and Evans alternated between co-operation and conflict in their attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. Evans died by suicide in 1983 and Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005, leaving Molland as the classic line-up's only surviving member. The band name Badfinger, originally came from the working title of the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie"). Badfinger's story as a band, is a truly tragic example of how music industry malpractice ruined a fine band and destroyed the lives of its members.

Artist Website: badfingersite.com

Featured Albums: Badfinger

Related Artists: Pete Ham, The Beatles

Collections: 27 Forever