Badfinger

Badfinger are a rock group from Swansea, United Kingdom, best known for their place in the late 1960s and 1970s power pop and pop rock scene. The band forms in 1964 around Swansea as The Panthers, then becomes The Iveys before adopting the name Badfinger in 1969. Their line-up includes Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland.

Formation and early years

Badfinger begin with guitarist and keyboardist Pete Ham and a group called The Panthers. Ham, Ron Griffiths and guitarist David “Dai” Jenkins form The Iveys, taking their name from a street in Swansea. Mike Gibbins joins as drummer in 1965, and the group plays locally alongside acts including the Spencer Davis Group, The Who, The Moody Blues and The Yardbirds. In 1966 they move their base to London and perform with singer David Garrick as well as as a solo act. Jenkins leaves in 1967 and is replaced by Tom Evans.

The Iveys record and release “Maybe Tomorrow” in 1968, which reaches the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100. A full album of the same name appears in some European countries and Japan in 1969, although planned UK and US releases do not go ahead. The group signs to Apple Records in 1968.

Apple Records and breakthrough

Paul McCartney gives the band their breakthrough song, “Come And Get It”, for the soundtrack to The Magic Christian. Produced by McCartney, the single becomes a major hit in Europe and the United States, reaching the Billboard Top 10. The soundtrack also includes “Rock of All Ages” and “Carry On ’Till Tomorrow”. Around this time the group decides to change both style and name, moving away from their 1960s pop sound towards a harder rock edge and becoming Badfinger, a name suggested by Apple’s Neil Aspinall.

Griffiths leaves in late 1969, and Evans moves to bass while Joey Molland joins on guitar. Badfinger’s Apple albums include Magic Christian Music, No Dice, Straight Up and Ass. No Dice appears in late 1970 and includes “No Matter What”, another Billboard Top 10 single. Its track “Without You” later becomes a major international hit for Harry Nilsson in 1971 and for Mariah Carey in 1994. The band also records extensively for other Apple artists, including acoustic guitar on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, backing vocals on Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy”, and contributions to John Lennon’s Imagine. All four members also appear as backing musicians on George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

Success, setbacks and break-up

Straight Up, released in 1971, becomes Badfinger’s most commercially successful album. It includes “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue” and has production credits from George Harrison and Todd Rundgren, with Harrison and Ham sharing slide guitar duties on “Day After Day”.

The band’s later Apple work is affected by management problems and financial disputes. Ass includes the single “Apple of My Eye”, but neither the album nor the single reaches the Billboard Top 100. Badfinger’s first Warner Bros. album, Badfinger, also fails to make a strong chart impact, as do the singles “Love Is Easy” and “I Miss You”. Their 1974 album Wish You Were Here receives a better critical response. A follow-up, Head First, is recorded in 1974 but is not issued at the time because of legal action and is later released from a rough mix.

Internal disputes over management and money lead to changes in the line-up. Ham leaves and returns during 1974, Bob Jackson joins on keyboards, and Molland later departs. Pete Ham dies in 1975.

Later activity and legacy

After Ham’s death, Evans and Jackson form The Dodgers, while Molland forms Natural Gas with former Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley. Badfinger later re-forms in 1978 with Evans, Molland and others, recording Airwaves, whose single “Love Is Gonna Come At Last” reaches number 69 in the US. The follow-up album Say No More appears in 1981 and includes “Hold On”, which reaches number 56 in the US. Evans and Molland split in 1981, and rival Badfinger line-ups operate briefly in 1982 and 1983. Evans dies in 1983.

Molland, Gibbins and Jackson later play some US dates in a 20th Anniversary of the British Invasion package tour in 1984. Molland and Gibbins re-form Badfinger again in 1986 for touring, with Gibbins leaving in 1990. Molland continues to tour under Joey Molland’s Badfinger and releases four solo albums. Posthumous releases include 7 Park Avenue and Golders Green, both collections of Ham home recordings. A detailed biography of the band appears in 1997. Gibbins dies in 2005, and Molland dies in 2025. Bob Jackson continues to keep the Badfinger name active through projects, benefits and releases connected with the band’s catalogue.