The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 04:39 PM PDT

Despite the classic catalogue, power pop outfit Badfinger isn't synonymous with happy endings.

ABOUT two months ago we marked the demise of Joseph Brooks, the man who gained legendary status for penning You Light Up My Life only to commit suicide while facing a host of sexual assault charges.

Since then I've been brooding over the tragedy that befell Badfinger. On paper the pop rock quartet had it all, being signed up and given an opening hit by Paul McCartney before recording a string of popular follow-ups. But despite composing Without You, one of the most resilient ballads in pop history, the group's two main men – Pete Ham and Tom Evans – both went on to end their own lives. The latter's suicide in particularly, was an eerie reconstruction of his best friend's hanging. The fact that their best-known composition was a massive hit for both Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey but not Badfinger probably sums the group's penchant for unwanted irony.

Badfinger originally kicked its story off in Swansea, Wales. In the mid 1960s, Ham (guitar/piano/vocals) and Mike Gibbins were part of the Iveys, themselves part of the growing Welsh rock scene that included Amen Corner and Man (originally The Bystanders).

Like many groups of its time, The Iveys moved from soul and blues covers to psychedelic-tinged material. However Hams' songwriting was more rooted in the melodic style of The Beatles. The Iveys made a major breakthrough when Beatles roadie Mal Evans became a fan of theirs, and actually tried to get the Beatles' members to support the group. In 1968, The Iveys became the first group signed up by the Beatles' new label, Apple.

After an initial recording flopped, McCartney roped them in to perform a note for note cover of a demo he had recorded. The ensuing recording Come And Get It was apparently knocked off in an hour. The decision was then made to rename the group Badfinger and Ham and Gibbins, along with new members Tom Evans (vocals/bass) and Joey Molland (guitars/vocals) soon found themselves in the ride of their lives.

In early 1970, the single was in the Top 10 in both Britain and the US and went on to become a million-seller. Over the next two years Badfinger cut a series of strong albums like No Dice, Straight Up and Ass, and proved itself capable of penning both popular hit singles like No Matter What, Day After Day and Baby Blue as well as lengthier creative pieces like Timeless.

All of those tunes were written by Ham, and Badfinger were produced first by Mal Evans and then by George Harrison. Furthermore, the guys were guesting on albums by the solo Beatles who had just split up.

Even though the picture was in theory very rosy, Badfinger had a series of unfortunate crutches that snow-balled. Firstly the press derided the group as Beatles rip-offs. Secondly internal problems began to surface with Evans and Gibbins clashing, resulting in the latter briefly leaving the group. Badfinger's poor financial management added to the woe. The deal it had first signed with manager Bill Collins in 1966 wasn't great, but in 1970 it made an arguably fatal decision to sign with US businesman Stan Polley. This meant that Polley controlled the group's finances and he could pay the band members small salaries.

Indeed, in 1972, when the group's friend Harry Nilsson had a massive hit with Without You, Badfinger saw very little of the songwriting royalties that Ham and Evans had earned.

Eventually the situation got really messy and Badfinger switched labels to sign with Warner Music. But even though the music continued to be strong on the Warner albums, the pressures became too much. Fed-up with the influence of Molland's wife, Ham quit, only to reverse his decision when Molland left for a solo career instead.

By early 1975, Badfinger were broke, despondent and struggling to make sense of its business decisions. It seemed insane that a group had had such success and yet had so little going for it. Peter Ham, whose girlfriend was eight months pregnant, was just three days short of his 28th birthday when on April 24, he hanged himself in his garage. A bitter suicide note attacking Polley only confirmed the feeling that financial pressures had overwhelmed him. By this time Polley was revealed to have had Mafia connections and was accused by Warner of misusing funds intended for the band.

A stunned Badfinger attempted to keep it going, even getting Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye in for a spell. The music wasn't bad but albums such as Airwaves (1979) and Say No More (1981) lacked the magic of the Pete Ham days.

In November 1983, dogged by more bad business decisions, Evans had a bust-up on the phone with Molland. He then proceeded to hang himself in his back garden, bringing a sorry end to a gifted band.

Martin Vengadesan, a music lover and history buff, combines his two passions in his fortnightly column. If you have any interesting stories you want him to research, do drop him a line.

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 17 Julai 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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