Name Of the Game: The Badfinger Story
Published March 22, 2005
You'd have to look long and hard for a rock 'n' roll story more tragic and heartbreaking than that of Badfinger. One of the most determined and hardworking bands of the early 1970's, they were foiled at nearly every turn. One of the first signings by the Beatles to their new Apple label, Badfinger also remained on the label the longest. At first they were overshadowed by their mentors. Then, abandoned by them. They were exploited by record companies and ripped off by their own financial managers. They scored 4 major hits, but went unpaid. They were largely disregarded by the music press at the time as lightweights, but posthumously are now considered one of the big-3 architects of the power-pop sound, along with Big Star and the Raspberries.
"Posthumously" is not a word chosen lightly here; Badfinger will also be remembered as the only rock band to suffer the suicides of two members.
Badfinger began life in Wales as the Iveys, and had been knocking around London for a while, occasionally opening for the likes of the Yardbirds and Moody Blues. In 1968, after several lineup shuffles, they were signed to the new Apple label; the members at that time were Welsh leader and singer/guitarist Pete Ham, early member and bassist Ron Griffiths, drummer Mike Gibbins, and new guitarist/singer Tom Evans, from Liverpool but based in Wales.
In the early days, the band lived communally under the watchful eye of manager Bill Collins, who encouraged them to write their own material, and discouraged distractions from women. Collins' influence could be a mixed blessing; while he helped instill a work ethic in the band that never left them, he wasn't the best judge of their music.
Their debut album for Apple was a peculiar pastiche of songs and styles. Some of it was string-laden pop ballads. Others were crunchy little pop rockers. Still others resemble 30's pub music. In short; they seemed wholly out of step with the times in 1968. The album wasn't even released in the U.S., although the title song, the syrupy "Maybe Tomorrow" did chart respectably at #67 in the States. The failure to release the album in America was due to internal turmoil at Apple, rather than commercial concerns. This would be the first of many disappointments for the band.
Paul McCartney then took an interest in the band, which had rechristened itself Badfinger, and gave them a song he'd written "Come And Get It", which would appear in the Peter Sellers film The Magic Christian and reached the top-10 in the U.S. and England. The first Badfinger album proper, Magic Christian Music would appear in 1970 and chart respectably. During the sessions, Ron Griffiths left the band, to be replaced by Liverpool lead guitarist/singer Joey Molland, Evans switching from guitar to bass. This lineup would be the band's enduring one, lasting until 1974. Ham, Evans, Molland, and Gibbins could all sing and write; Ham/Evans and Molland supplying most of the band's material.
- Name Of the Game: The Badfinger Story
- Published: March 22, 2005
- Type:
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Pop, Music: Rock
- Writer: uao
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Comments on this articleComments
"Without You" is an engaging read, and it's somewhat blood-boiling to see how Stan Polley swindled not only Badfinger but "investors" in other projects and managed to get away scot-free. Joey Molland's spinning Badfinger history towards himself these days, minimizing Pete Ham and Tom Evans' legacy.
"Baby Blue", "No Matter What" and "Day After Day" always are high on my playlists. Terrific stuff that deserves more exposure than it gets.
Great article!
I remember a friend finding a used copy of Straight Up, & we used to play it all the time. An essential part of a classic rock fan's collection.
Glad to hear from some other Badfinger fans. The Proprietor is right; Stan Polley, the culprit in this story, had also allegedly cheated a sizable number of other investors and musicians, and did get off scot-free.
The book,"Without You", is a good, informative read, too.
Glad to see your article. A nice
overview. However, the book you mention
unfortunately is a self-serving project
by the author, in which certain facts
were glossed over, and some were deliberately ignored as to not affect
it's credibility and intent of the
author. A lot of info was presented,
but with such a slant it taints the
rest, and has readers forming opinions
they wouldn't have, had they been
presented with all the facts.
The slant is certainly there; I realize that the book ("Without You")is controversial among serious Badfinger fans.
For this article, I relied on other sources for facts, and avoided speculating on the motives of the bandmembers, their family members, and their business associates (which the book does).
I still recommend it, since it contains a lot of useful hard facts, and a lot of good photos. Also, since it remains the only book (I'm aware of) about the band.
Andy DeWitt's caveat does have merit though; however, the author's allegiances are evident in the writing (and the accompanying CD), and can be glossed over by an alert reader in favor of the historical events depicted.
As such, it's all there is on Badfinger beyond bio info in music encyclopedias and the like.
If someone writes a better, less biased one, I'll buy it ;-)
What facts were glossed over or ignored in Without You? I hear this criticism often, but nobody ever really explains it in detail. "Glossing over" is a phrase I would more associate with Joey's approach to the Badfinger legacy.
What facts were glossed over or ignored in Without You? I hear this criticism often, but nobody ever really explains it in detail. "Glossing over" is a phrase I would more associate with Joey's approach to the Badfinger legacy.
Who is the model on the No Dice Album?
She looks just like Raquale Welsh or a little like Cher.Joey Molland didn't even remember her name.I was told the house hippie at Apple Records hired her and
took the photo.He also took the photo for
the No Dice and Stright Up Album.Joey
did say she wasn't a well know modle.
3/22-"Joey Molland's spinning Badfimger history towards himself these days, minimizing Pete Ham and Tom Evans' legacy"-The Proprietor
3/25-"'Glossing over' is a phrase I would more associate with Joey's approach to the Badfinger legacy"-John
I have known Badfinger since 1971 and been regarded by all 4, individually and collectively, as though I were family. I have attended well over 100 of their performances over the years, including several which included Pete and Tom in the line-up. I knew the history before there was a book to present it. I can assure you, the Badfinger legacy is reverently kept by Mr. Molland to this day. If Pete and Tom have been minimized, it can be attributed more to the fact that Pete and Tom are no longer with us (as this site's article points out), and to greedy people who took advantage of them along the way. Joey has never ceased to credit both with the authorship of their songs when he performs them (keeping them alive for those who may not have been around 30 years ago to hear for themselves) and he has nothing but admiration and praise for their outstanding musicianship, and the time, and friendship, they all shared together in the band. As for "spinning history toward himself" nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, he tends to divert attention and praise away, even when he is deserving of it. (And if you are among those who consider his exhuberance in accepting the ASCAP award as such, you are mistaken). The whole band was generally that way, especially in the shadow of their mentors, which is partly why they endured such raw deals from the very beginning. If anything, he has been put in the unenviable position of having to reel in the "spinning" that has already occured against him (and his wife, who has been depicted as a meddling menace, rather than a caring person who spoke up when she saw things weren't going well for the band-too bad Pete didn't take her concerns to heart, he might still be here today) and to react to his friends and bandmates being elevated to sainthood, as can happen when public figures die too young. I've heard Joey express many different emotions and his preference is to see the good in people and situations wherever possible and to look optimistically toward the future. If that's "glossing over", then so be it. It comes across to me as not dwelling on the past, or the negative, and I applaud him for the ability to do that amidst the adversity that is dircted his way. He and his wife are not perfect, but they are good, caring people who have been treated rather unfairly in the wake of the tragedies that befell Badfinger, and those of you who have not met these people personally would do well to take hearsay with the proverbial grain of salt.
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Sadly, I read that Mike Gibbins passed away at home on Oct. 4, 2005 from 'natural causes'. He was 56.
I messed up that link for Gibbins' passing. It should be: here
The Badfinger book is packed with quotes (hundreds of people in/around Badfinger and the music business) and copies of contracts and other documentation. The facts speak for themselves.
We saw Badfinger about 10 years ago at a pizza place in Dallas, PA for ten dollars.
They signed all of our albums, talked to us at length individually and I even got a peck on the cheek by Joey Molland.
The concert was so awesome. Probably the most humble, but genuinely kind musicians I have ever met. I would easily pay ten times that to see them again.
Check this out! It sounds like Badfinger with John Lennon.
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what a terrific, empathetic career overview/review, and I was quite unaware they had done much of note after Straight Up - will definitely give my Apple Greatest Hits collection another listen. Thanks uao!