BADFINGER BIOGRAPHY

Badfinger were a British rock band that originally consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland. The band evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys that was formed in 1961 by Ham, Ron Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales. They were signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968 as The Iveys. In 1969 Griffiths left and was replaced by Molland, and the band renamed itself Badfinger. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". In 2013, "Baby Blue" made a resurgence onto the "Hot Rock Songs" Billboard 100 chart at No. 14, due to its featuring at the end of the series finale of the hit TV show, Breaking Bad. Their song "Without You" has been covered many times, including a Billboard number one hit for Harry Nilsson.

After receiving an invitation from Collins, Beatles' roadie/assistant Mal Evans and Apple Records' A&R head Peter Asher saw them perform at the Marquee Club, London, on 25 January 1968. Afterward, Evans consistently pushed their demo tapes to every Beatle until he gained approval from all four to sign the group. The demos were accomplished using a mono "sound-on-sound" tape recorder: two individual tracks bouncing each overdub on top of the last. Mal Evans' support ultimately led to their signing with Apple on 23 July 1968 – the first non-Beatle recording artists on the label. Each of The Iveys' members were also signed to Apple Corps' publishing contracts. The Iveys' early sessions for Apple were produced by either Tony Visconti or Evans. The group's first single, "Maybe Tomorrow", produced by Visconti, was released worldwide on 15 November 1968. It reached the Top Ten in several European countries and Japan, but only number 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and failed to chart in the UK. The US manager of Apple Records, Ken Mansfield, ordered 400,000 copies of the single—considered to be a bold move at the time in the music business—and pushed for automatic airplay and reviews from newspapers, which he secured. Nevertheless, Mansfield remembered the problems: "We had a great group. We had a great record. We were missing just one thing ... the ability to go out and pick up people, and convince them to put their money on the counter". A second Tom Evans composition, "Storm in a Teacup", was included on an Apple EP promoting Wall's Ice Cream, along with songs by Apple artists such as James Taylor, Mary Hopkin and Jackie Lomax. The chart success of "Maybe Tomorrow" in Europe and Japan led to a follow-up single release in those markets in July 1969: Griffiths' "Dear Angie", also produced by Visconti. An LP containing both singles and titled Maybe Tomorrow was released only in Italy, Germany and Japan. The following year they signed to The Beatles' Apple label, and their first single was Come And Get It, a bitter song about Apple's finances written by Paul McCartney. It reached the top five in the UK, and also appeared on the soundtrack to The Magic Christian film, starring Ringo Starr. Badfinger's links with The Beatles lasted well into the 70s. George Harrison co-produced their album Straight Up in 1971, the same year that Joey Molland and Tom Evans played on John Lennon's Imagine. Additionally, Ham, Evans and Molland played key roles in Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Concert For Bangla Desh. They released the No Dice album - considered by the band to be their best album - in 1971, from which came the massive hit song Without You. The song, written by Ham and Evans, later became an international hit for Harry Nilsson. In 1973 their manager Stan Polley negotiated a multi-million pound deal with Warner Bros, which soured relations between Apple and Badfinger. The band released a final album on Apple - titled Ass - and their debut for Warners, the Badfinger album, in quick succession. However, the groups finances were in disarray thanks to gross mismanagement, with millions missing from the band's accounts. The members of Badfinger were in personal debt, and relations with Warner Bros had deteriorated to the point where their third album for the label, 1974's Head First, was never released.Over the next few years, the remaining members of Badfinger tried to control their increasingly complex legal and financial problems. In 1978 Tom Evans and Joey Molland kickstarted the band again, with ex-Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye and former Stealers Wheel drummer Peter Clarke. They released the album Airwaves, which was followed by a second album, Say No More, in 1981.Since then, a number of live and radio recordings have surfaced, in response to the still-high demand for the music of one of Wales' most popular and sorely missed groups. Badfinger can be found today in theatres, fairs & Festivals throughout the U.S and still commands emense crowds and standing room venues.