Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969, following the departure of Griffiths. Signed by The Beatles' Apple label in 1968 as The Iveys, they adopted the name Badfinger in 1969. The band drew comparisons to The Beatles initially, due to the similarities of their music, and the mentorship of some members of The Beatles. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits in 1970 and 1971: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". The Ham/Evans-penned Badfinger song, "Without You", became a Billboard number one hit for Harry Nilsson.

In 1970, the band engaged American businessman Stan Polley to manage their commercial affairs. Over the next five years while the band recorded several albums for Apple, they toured extensively, but became embroiled in the chaos of Apple Records' dissolution. They signed to Warner Bros., but Polley's financial machinations resulted in a lawsuit by Warner Bros. over missing escrow account money. Warner's consequent withdrawal from market of the 1974 album, Wish You Were Here (seven weeks after its release), cut off the band's income and plunged them into disarray and despair. Three days before his 28th birthday, on 24 April 1975, Ham committed suicide by hanging himself, leaving a note that included damning comments about Polley.^[1]

The next three years saw surviving members trying to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits. The albums Airwaves (1978) and Say No More (1981) foundered, as Molland, Gibbins and Evans see-sawed between cooperation and struggle in attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. Having seen Ham's body after Ham's wife had called him, Evans reportedly never got over his friend's suicide, and was quoted as saying in darker moments, "I wanna be where he is."^[2] On 19 November 1983, Evans also took his own life by hanging.

The Iveys and Apple[link]

The Iveys formed in 1961 in Swansea, from The Panthers, whose line-up comprised Ham (lead guitar) (b. Peter William Ham, 27 April 1947, Townhill, Swansea, d. 23 April 1975), Griffiths (bass guitar) (b. Ronald Llewellyn Griffiths, 2 October 1946, in Swansea), Roy Anderson (drums), and David 'Dai' Jenkins (guitar), (b. David Owen Jenkins, 30 October 1945, Swansea). Playing under various names including The Black Velvets and the Wild Ones,^[3] by 1964 they settled on The Iveys, after a street in Swansea called Ivey Place.^[4] In March 1965, drummer Gibbins (b. Michael George Gibbins, 12 March 1949, Swansea, d. 4 October 2005) joined The Iveys. The group secured concerts around Swansea area, opening for prominent British groups such as the Spencer Davis Group, The Who, The Moody Blues and The Yardbirds.^[5]

By June 1966, Bill Collins (the father of actor Lewis Collins),^[6] had started to manage the group.^[7] In December 1966 the entire group moved into Collins' home at 7 Park Avenue, Golders Green, London, sharing space with an act called The Mojos.^[8][9] The house was terminally overcrowded, so the only place to find any privacy was in a room equipped with a two-track recording machine.^[10]

The group performed a wide range of cover tunes on the London circuit,^[8] from Motown, blues, soul to Top 40, psychedelic pop, and Beatles' hits, which garnered interest from record labels.^[10] Ray Davies of The Kinks auditioned to produce them, recording three of their songs at a 4-track demo studio in London's Old Kent Road on 15 January 1967: "Taxi" and "Sausage And Eggs", songs by Ham; and Griffiths', "I Believe In You Girl".^[11] On 8 December 1966, Collins and the group signed a five-year contract giving Collins a 20% share of net receipts, the same as the individual group members, but only after managerial expenses had been deducted.^[11] Collins said at the time, "Look, I can't promise you lads anything, except blood, sweat and tears".^[10] The group performed occasional concerts backing David Garrick, while performing as The Iveys across the United Kingdom throughout the rest of the decade.^[12] In 1967, Jenkins was asked to leave the group,^[13] and was replaced by Liverpudlian guitarist, Evans, of Them Calderstones (b. Thomas Evans Jr., 5 June 1947, Liverpool, d. 19 November 1983).^[14] Jenkins' departure was remembered by Griffiths as being "politely asked if he would step down", as Jenkins seemed more interested in girls than the music.^[10]

After Collins' invitation, Mal Evans (a Beatles' roadie/assistant) saw them playing at the Marquee Club, London, on 25 January 1968, with Apple Records' A&R head, Peter Asher. Evans consistently pushed their demo tapes to every Beatle until he gained approval to sign the group from all four: McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.^[15] The demos were accomplished using a mono "sound-on-sound" tape recorder: two individual tracks bouncing each overdub on top of the last.^[16] Mal Evans' support ultimately led to their signing with Apple on 23 July 1968; becoming the first non-Beatle recording artists on the label.^[10] Each of The Iveys' members were also signed to Apple Corps' publishing contracts.^[17]

The group's first single, "Maybe Tomorrow", 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, but failed to chart in the UK.^[18] The United States 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".^[19] 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.^[20] 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".^[21] An LP entitled Maybe Tomorrow was released only in Italy, Germany and Japan, but not in the UK or the US. This was thought to be the work of Apple Corps' president, Allen Klein, as an Apple Corps' press officer, Tony Bramwell, remembered: "He [Klein] was saying, 'We're not going to issue any more records until I sort out this mess' [Apple Corps]."^[22]

Griffiths was interviewed for the Disc & Music Echo magazine, complaining about the group's handling by Apple: "We do feel a bit neglected. We keep writing songs for a new single and submitting them to Apple, but they keep sending them back, saying they’re not good enough”.^[13] McCartney read the interview and offered the song, "Come And Get It", to the group,^[23] which he had written for the soundtrack of the film, The Magic Christian.^[24] Before the recording on Saturday, 2 August 1969, Griffiths remembered the whole group being so excited they couldn't sleep.^[10] Producing the track in under one hour,^[25] McCartney made sure that they copied his own demo note-for-note:^[26] "They were a young band ... they said, 'We want to do it a bit different, wanna get our own thing in'. I said 'No, this has gotta be exactly like this, [McCartney's demo] 'cos this is the hit'."^[10] He also produced the group's original compositions of "Carry On Till Tomorrow" (commissioned as the main title theme for the film) and "Rock of All Ages", with all three tracks appearing in the movie and its soundtrack album. As Griffiths was ill midway during these sessions, Evans played bass on "Rock of All Ages".^[27]

Griffiths left the group in October 1969, being the only married occupant of the communal group's home, and raising a child, who was born in December 1968. His responsibilities created friction, mainly between Griffiths' wife, Evans, and manager Collins. Griffiths later said: "Tommy [Evans] created the bad blood. He'd convinced the others that [I was] not one of the boys anymore".^[10] Drummer Gibbins remembered that he wasn't even consulted about the decision: "I was considered a nothinghead at that point. I wasn't even worth conversing with".^[28]

Badfinger[link]

In October 1969, pending release of "Come and Get It", the band and Apple agreed upon a name change, as The Iveys were sometimes confused with "The Ivy League", and the name was considered too trite for the prevailing music scene. Suggestions were put forward, like Lennon's "The Glass Onion," "The Prix",^[13] "The Cagneys", and "Home" from McCartney.^[29] Apple Corps' Neil Aspinall proposed "Badfinger",^[30] in reference to "Bad Finger Boogie";^[31] an early working title of Lennon–McCartney's "With a Little Help from My Friends", as Lennon had hurt his forefinger on a piano by using only one finger.^[32]

As the release date of "Come and Get It" was approaching, Badfinger looked for a replacement for Griffiths. After auditioning a number of bassists, they hired guitarist Molland (b. Joseph Charles Molland, 21 June 1947, in Edge Hill, Liverpool), who was previously with Gary Walker & The Rain, The Masterminds,^[33] and The Fruit-Eating Bears.^[34] His addition required Evans to shift to bass guitar.^[33] "Come and Get It" was released in December 1969 in the UK, and January 1970 in the US. Selling over a million copies worldwide,^[35] it reached Top Ten throughout the world: number seven on the US Billboard chart on 7 February 1970,^[36][18] and number four in the UK.^[26] The track was also featured in The Magic Christian film.^[24] For the band's initial LP release, their three songs from the soundtrack LP were remixed, combined with some older Iveys' tracks (including seven songs from the Maybe Tomorrow album), and released as Badfinger's first album Magic Christian Music (1970).^[37] Even though the album was named after the film, only half of the songs on the album were actually used on the soundtrack.^[38] The album peaked at number 55 on the Billboard album chart in the US.^[39]

New recording sessions commenced in March 1970, with Mal Evans producing.^[40] Two songs were completed, including "No Matter What," but it was rejected by Apple as a potential single.^[40] Geoff Emerick then took over as producer, and the band completed its second album in July 1970.^[41] During the recordings, the band were sent to Hawaii on 4 June, to appear at a Capitol/Apple Records convention, and then flew to Italy to play concerts in Rome.^[42] No Dice was released in the US in late 1970, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard album chart.^[37] A re-mixed "No Matter What" was released as a single,^[36] reaching numerous Top Ten charts around the world, peaking at number eight in the US, and number five in the UK.^[40] The hit song from No Dice turned out to be "Without You", as Nilsson recorded the song in 1972, with his version becoming an international hit, reaching the Billboard number one, and spending five weeks at the top of the UK chart.^[43]. The verse lyrics were penned by Ham, with the chorus added by Evans. The song won Ham and Evans the 1972 Ivor Novello award for "Song of the Year".^[44]

In April 1970, while in America scouting prospects for a tour, Collins was introduced to New York businessman, Polley,^[33] who signed Badfinger to a business management contract in November 1970.^[45] Polley established Badfinger Enterprises, Inc., with Stan Poses as vice president.^[10] This signed the band members to various contracts dictating that receipts of touring, recording, publishing and even songwriter performance royalties, which would then go into holding companies controlled by Polley.^[10] This led to a salary arrangement for the band, which various members later complained was inadequate in comparison to their gross earnings.^[10] Gibbins: "My first impression was, Stan [Polley] is a powerful guy", while Molland thought that Polley seemed more of a father-figure.^[10] At the same time, Polley was also managing Al Kooper, of Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Lou Christie.^[10] Although Polley's professional reputation was admired, his dubious financial practices eventually contributed to the band's downfall.^[46] A financial statement prepared by Polley's accountants, Sigmund Balaban & Co., for the period from 8 December 1970 to 31 October 1971, showed Polley's income from the band: "Salaries and advances to client, $8,339 (Joey Molland), $6,861 (Mike Gibbins), $6,211 (Tom Evans), $5,959 (Pete Ham). Net corporation profit, $24,569. Management commission, $75,744 (Stan Polley)". Although it is not known if the band members saw the statement, Collins certainly had, as his handwriting was on the document.^[47]

Badfinger toured America for three months in late 1970, and were generally well received, although the band was already weary of persistent comparisons to The Beatles. "The thing that impressed me so much was how similar their voices were to The Beatles", Tony Visconti (producer, "Maybe Tomorrow") said, "I sometimes had to look over the control board down into the studio to make sure John and Paul weren't singing lead vocals".^[48] Rolling Stone critic Mike Saunders opined in a rave review of No Dice in 1970: "It's as if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had been reincarnated as Joey, Pete, Tom, and Mike of Badfinger".^[49] Media comparisons between them and The Beatles would continue throughout Badfinger's career. During this time, various members of Badfinger also recorded on sessions for fellow Apple Records labelmates, most notably playing acoustic guitars on Harrison's All Things Must Pass album (1970): "Isn't It a Pity" and its title song, All Things Must Pass.^[50] Ham and Evans also provided backing vocals on Ringo Starr's single, "It Don't Come Easy".^[51] Evans and Molland also performed on Lennon's album Imagine (1971), although Molland has said their tracks were not used.^[52] On 26 July 1971, all four members of Badfinger arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, to rehearse for Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, on 1 August 1971.^[53] Ham duetted with Harrison on "Here Comes the Sun" during the concert.^[46]

During 1971, the group rented Clearwell Castle, in Gloucestershire; living and recording there.^[54][55] They finished recording their third album, again with Emerick as producer, but the tapes were rejected by Apple. Harrison took over as producer in spring of 1971,^[56] but later pulled out of the project because of his Bangladesh commitments; the album was then completed by Todd Rundgren.^[57] Straight Up was released in the US in December 1971,^[56] and spawned two successful singles: "Day After Day" (Billboard number four),^[36] which sold over a million worldwide,^[58] and "Baby Blue" (US number 14).^[18] The album reached number 31 on the US charts. It included uncredited special guest appearances from Harrison, Leon Russell, and Klaus Voormann.^[59] Commenting on the recording of the dual slide guitars on "Day After Day", Molland remembered: "Pete and I had done the backing track, and George came in the studio and asked if we'd mind if he played ... It took hours, and hours, and hours, to get those two guitars in sync".^[60] The band embarked on a US tour in 1972, but after problems with Evans, Gibbins left and was replaced for the tour by drummer Rob Stawinsky, who was described as Badfinger's "solid, new drummer".^[61] Gibbins would rejoin the band after the tour.^[62]

By 1972, the band were contracted for one last album with Apple Records. Despite Badfinger's success, Apple was facing troubled times and its operations were being cut back by Klein, informing Badfinger that the label would not be as generous as previously regarding a new contract.^[33] By this time, manager Polley was openly suspected of financial mismanagement by his other clients, Christie and music arranger Charlie Calello. A series of allegations also represented Polley as a one-time "bagman" for the Mafia.^[63]

Sessions for Badfinger's fourth and last album for Apple, Ass, had begun as far back as early 1972 and would continue at five recording studios over the next year. Rundgren was originally hired to produce, but quit in a financial dispute during the first week. The band then produced itself, but Apple rejected their version of the album. Finally, Badfinger hired Chris Thomas to co-produce and complete the project.^[64] In the meanwhile, Polley negotiated a deal with Warner Bros. Records,^[65] that required a new album from the band every six months over a three-year period. By this time Evans had become suspicious of Polley's oversight, but the band nevertheless signed the deal. Released in 1973,^[37] the Ass front cover featured Evans' idea: a jackass staring at a huge dangling carrot.^[66] The Ass release was further stalled because of legal wrangling, with Polley using Molland's unsigned song publishing as a negotiating ploy. Attempting to sweep discrepancies under the carpet in order to secure the LP's release Apple attributed the songwriting credits to "Badfinger". But both Ass (US number 122),^[67] and its accompanying lead single, "Apple of My Eye", fell short of reaching the Billboard Hot 100.^[18]

All four Badfinger albums on Apple have been re-issued twice; first in the early 1990s as part of a revival of the Apple catalogue and again in 2010, when the albums were available individually or as part of the 17 Apple Box Set. The sole Iveys' album Maybe Tomorrow was also issued in the early 1990s but was not part of the 2010 campaign.^[68]

Warner Bros.[link]

After the Apple contract had been fulfilled, Polley signed the band to a management contract demanding two albums a year.^[69] Poses, as vice president of Badfinger Enterprises Inc.,^[70] repeatedly told the band not to sign the contract.^[10] Polley then organised a $3 million recording contract with Warner Bros., telling the band, "You're all millionaires!"^[71] The deal gave the band 12% of retail in the US—the price Warner Brothers received from record outlets—and 8.5% for the rest of the world, with a $225,000 advance for every album delivered.^[72]

Only six weeks after the Ass sessions had been completed, Badfinger re-entered the studio to begin recording material for its first Warner Bros. release, Badfinger (the intended title, For Love or Money, was omitted from the album pressings). The album was produced by Thomas, even though the songs were being written in the studio as they recorded.^[64] Ass and Badfinger were released almost simultaneously, and the accompanying singles from Badfinger, "Love Is Easy" (UK) and "I Miss You" (US), were unsuccessful. Badfinger did manage to retain some US fan support as a result of their touring schedule. A March 1974 concert at the Cleveland Agora was recorded on 16-track tape for a possible live album release, even though the performance was deemed unsatisfactory at the time.^[73]

Following the American tours, Badfinger recorded Wish You Were Here at the Caribou Ranch recording studio in Colorado, and at George Martin's AIR Studios in London.^[74][75] The album was well received by Rolling Stone and other periodicals upon its release in October 1974,^[37] but crises in band management, money and band leadership were creating growing frictions within Badfinger. Molland's wife, Kathie, had been taking a more assertive role in the band's politics, which did not endear her to the rest of the band, particularly Ham. She remembered complaining that even though the band had had hit records, they "still didn't have a fridge, and didn't have a TV".^[10] Just before the start of rehearsals for an October 1974 UK tour, Ham suddenly quit Badfinger during a management meeting,^[76] standing up and shouting “I don't want Kathie [Molland] managing the band! I'm leaving”.^[77] He found a cottage in Wales, where he hoped to build a studio.^[78] He was quickly replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Bob Jackson, who was then idle after previous involvement with The Fortunes.^[79] During Ham's three-week hiatus from the band, Polley tried to interest record companies in Ham as a solo act, but under pressure from Warner Brothers, Ham rejoined the band in time for the tour, as the company made it clear that it would have little to no interest in promoting Badfinger if Ham was not a part of it. Jackson remained as full-time keyboardist, making the band a quintet. After the UK tour, Molland quit of his own accord to pursue a solo career in December 1974.^[80]

Over the previous year, Warner Brothers' publishing arm had become increasingly troubled by a lack of communication from Polley regarding the status of an escrow account of advance funds. Per their contract, Polley was to deposit $250,000 into a mutually accessible account for safekeeping, which both Warner Publishing and the band could potentially access.^[81] But Polley did not reveal the account's whereabouts to Warner Publishing, and he reportedly ignored warnings to do so. Unbeknownst to the band, threats of litigation had been going on behind the scenes.^[82] It has been claimed that the total sum lost from the account was in the region of $600,000.^[83]

With Molland gone and an increasingly unstable situation overall, Polley's next ploy was to press the band to pass up a US tour to go back into Apple Recording Studios to record its third album under the Warner Brothers' contract. Over only eleven days at the Apple studio,^[71] tracks were recorded for the Head First album (eventually released in 2000),^[84] and rough mixes were distributed to the musicians and Warner Brothers Records in America. The album could not be formally accepted by Warner Bros., because their publishing arm had already filed a lawsuit against Polley and Badfinger in the L.A. Superior Court, on 10 December 1974. Polley had hoped submitting the Head First tapes would secure at least one more album cash advance before the litigation, but Warner Brothers refused to accept the tapes and never paid for the sessions. The legal action led to the company stopping the promotion of Wish You Were Here after seven weeks,^[43] and ending distribution worldwide, thus completely halting Badfinger's career.^[85] Warner Brothers filed a lawsuit against Polley that lasted four years, with Polley finally being forced to pay a "substantial sum" back to the company.^[86] In 1987, detective John Hansen, working for the Riverside District Attorney's office, started an investigation into fraudulent bank dealings by Polley.^[87]

A suicide, a reunion, and another suicide[link]

With their current album suddenly withdrawn and their follow-up rejected, Badfinger spent the early months of 1975 trying to figure out how to proceed under the unclear legal situation. Salaries were no longer arriving and panic set in, especially for Ham, who had recently bought a £30,000 house in Woking, Surrey,^[88] and whose girlfriend was expecting a child.^[89] According to Jackson, the band tried to continue without Polley's involvement by contacting booking agents and prospective managers throughout London, but they were routinely declined because of their restrictive contracts with Polley and impending legal actions. Ham tried many times to contact Polley by telephone during the early months of 1975, but was never able to reach him.^[10]

After a night out at a pub together,^[10] where Ham had drunk ten whiskies,^[90] Evans drove him home at three o'clock in the morning.^[10] On 24 April 1975, Ham hanged himself in his garage studio in Woking.^[91] His suicide note—addressed to his girlfriend, Anne Herriot, and her son, Blair—blamed manager Polley for much of his internal despair and inability to cope with his disappointments in life.^[92] The note read: "Anne, I love you. Blair, I love you. I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete. P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me".^[93] Ham had shown growing signs of mental illness over the past months, with Gibbins remembering Ham putting out cigarettes on his hands and arms.^[10] He was cremated at the Morriston Crematorium, Swansea; his ashes were spread in the memorial gardens.^[94] Ham's daughter, Petera, was born one month after his death.^[95]

After Ham's death, Badfinger dissolved. Gibbins joined the Flying Aces,^[96] and Evans and Jackson became part of a group called The Dodgers.^[91] They released three British singles on Island Records in 1976.^[97] "Don't Let Me Be Wrong" was the act's only US release, but failed to chart. Subsequently, the management of the Dodgers fired Evans for insubordination and deleted all his performances from the group's subsequent album recordings (later released as Love On The Rebound).^[98] Molland had started a band in 1975 with (Colosseum's) Mark Clarke and (Humble Pie's) Jerry Shirley called Natural Gas, performing a few concerts as the opening act for Peter Frampton in 1976. They released a self-titled album and three singles, but none managed to chart.^[99] Gibbins performed session drumming for various Welsh acts, including Bonnie Tyler's international hit "It's a Heartache", and later released four solo albums.^[96]

By 1977, both Molland and Evans were out of the music business. Molland later described his dire economic circumstances: "Thank God I had guitars and I was able to sell some of that stuff. We were flat broke, and that's happened to me three times, where my wife and I have had to sell off everything and go and stay with her parents or do whatever. I installed carpeting for a while in Los Angeles and stuff like that. You do what you've got to do to survive."^[100] In London, Evans briefly had jobs insulating pipes, and driving a taxi.^[101] Collins was having trouble paying the lease on the group's two-room rehearsal studio at 6 Denmark Street,^[102] London. After advertising for new occupants, he was contacted by Malcolm McLaren, manager of The Sex Pistols, who gave Collins £650 and a Fender Rhodes piano as down payment.^[103]

Later in 1977, US-based drummer Kenny Harck and guitarist Joe Tansin recruited Molland to start a new band.^[101] When they needed a bass player, Molland suggested Evans, who joined after a visit to California in 1978. Encouragement from the Elektra record company led to the decision to rename the new band Badfinger. Their “comeback” album, Airwaves, was released in 1979.^[37] Harck was fired from the band during the sessions and Tansin left the band immediately after the album was completed.^[104] To promote the album, Molland and Evans recruited Tony Kaye (ex-Yes) on keyboards,^[36] and Peter Clarke on drums, from Stealers Wheel.^[46] The single "Love is Gonna Come At Last" from Airwaves reached #69 on the Billboard chart.^[18] With Glenn Sherba added on second guitar and Richard Bryans (Aviary) replacing Clarke on drums, Badfinger released their second album, Say No More, in 1981,^[37] with the album being distributed by Radio Records.^[101] The initial single, "Hold On," reached number 56 on the Billboard charts.^[18]

During 1982 and 1983, Molland and Evans operated rival touring bands, each using the name Badfinger, which created personal and professional conflict. In the summer of 1982, Evans teamed with pre-1975 Badfinger members Jackson, Gibbins and guitarist Adam Allen,^[96] and in the fall of 1982, Evans, Jackson and Gibbins were joined by guitarists Reed Kailing, of The Grass Roots, and (Chicago's) Donnie Dacus.^[105] In 1983, Evans and Jackson were joined by post-1975 Badfinger members Kaye, guitarist Sherba and drummer Lenny Campanaro.^[106] Meanwhile, for his Badfinger concerts, Molland had teamed with post-1975 member Tansin. Evans and Jackson signed a management contract with Milwaukee businessman John Cass, which led to a disastrous tour and a $5 million lawsuit, which was finally settled on 21 October 1985, in Cass's favour, although both musicians argued that their responsibilities of the contract could not be enforced because certain management obligations had not been performed.^[107] Early in 1983, Evans and Jackson, with assistance from new member Al Wodtke, completed four demos in Minneapolis, under the name of "Badfinger". The demos included Jackson's "I Won't Forget You"; a tribute to Ham. The songs were briefly promoted but failed to generate strong interest, despite the involvement of David Bowie/Stevie Wonder manager Don Powell.^[108]

On 19 November 1983,^[109] Evans and Molland had an extensive and heated argument on the telephone regarding past Badfinger income still in escrow from the Apple era,^[110] and the "Without You" songwriting royalties Evans was now receiving, which Molland, former manager Collins and Gibbins all wanted a share of. Following this argument, Evans hanged himself in the garden at his home in Richmond, England.^[91] He was cremated at the Woking Crematorium, Surrey, on 25 November 1983.^[111] After the success of Carey's recording of "Without You" in 1994, Molland and Gibbins collected an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1995, incurring the anger of Ham and Evans' families, who were ignored by the society.^[112]

In 1984, Molland, Gibbins and Jackson reunited as Badfinger, along with Al Wodtke and Randy Anderson, playing thirty-one dates as part of a "20th Anniversary of the British Rock 'N' Roll tour", which included Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Troggs, Billy J. Kramer and Herman's Hermits.^[113] In 1986, Molland and Gibbins resumed sporadic touring as Badfinger, until Gibbins left for good in August 1989.

Subsequent Iveys and Badfinger releases and activities[link]

Badfinger's first collection entitled Shine On, spanning their two Warner Brothers albums, was released in the UK in 1989. In 1990, Rhino Records released another Warner Brothers-era compilation, The Best of Badfinger, Vol. 2, including material from both Airwaves and the previously unreleased Head First. A greatest hits collection taken from Badfinger's four albums on Apple, Come and Get It: The Best of Badfinger, appeared in 1995 on the EMI/Apple/Capitol, which was the band's first release since 1973's Ass to be assigned a standard Apple catalogue number: SAPCOR 28. A more comprehensive collection, with tracks from both record labels, was 2000s The Very Best of Badfinger.^[114]

In 1990, Rykodisc released Day After Day: Live, billed as a Badfinger live recording from 1974.^[33] The album underwent substantial re-recording,^[115] and a rearranged track order by the album's producer, Molland,^[116] and had a mixed critical reaction. The album's release then sparked a lawsuit filed by Molland. The band's accounting firm, collecting for a 1985 court order settlement, had re-adjusted against Molland's Apple royalty income by deducting away the percentage amounts of that court order, then reimbursing those amounts to the other Badfinger parties. The Rykodisc contract did not include artist royalty payments, because Molland had advised Rykodisc he would take care of that distribution himself under another company name.^[117] Molland subsequently sued the other members and their estates to recoup his expenses plus a producer's royalty. He was awarded a partial settlement, as the judge stated the evidence against Molland was insufficient to justify a severe penalty, also noting that since both parties had conceded the original tapes were of a poor quality, Mollands' salvaging of them to a commercial level merited consideration.^[118]

While in a 1988 readers poll for Goldmine magazine Straight Up ranked as the most-requested CD release among out-of-print albums, the album made it to CD only in 1993. In 1995, Molland was paid to re-record the ten most popular Badfinger songs.^[119] These recordings were variously packaged in the market, often showing the original 1970s line-up of the band with little or no disclaiming information, despite Molland being the only original member of Badfinger who performed. A detailed biography of Badfinger by Dan Matovina was published in 1998, entitled Without You: The Tragic Story Of Badfinger. The 2000 update of the book was accompanied by a CD of rare material and interviews.^[120]

In 2000, a rough mix version of Head First (prepared by Apple engineer Phil McDonald, in December 1974) was released on CD.^[37] Warner Brothers had refused access to the original master tapes for remixing, despite never having paid for the original sessions. In 2002, Gibbins released a two-disk set of a Badfinger performance recorded in Indiana, on 19 October 1982, which had been captured on a basic cassette recorder, which was initially (and inaccurately) entitled Live 83 — DBA-BFR. The band at that time had consisted of Evans, Gibbins, Jackson, Kailing and Dacus. In 2003 and 2006, two separate CDs of related Apple Publishing music, 94 Baker Street,^[121] and An Apple a Day, were released.^[122] The CDs contain nine songs by the pre-Badfinger Iveys. In 2008, another CD of Apple-related songs, Treacle Toffee World: Further Adventures into the Pop Psych Sounds from the Apple Era 1967–1969, included two more Iveys demos.^[123]

Post-Badfinger solo activities[link]

Since 1990, Molland has occasionally performed in the US as "Badfinger" or "Badfinger featuring Joey Molland", and has released three solo albums, After the Pearl (1985), The Pilgrim (1992) and This Way Up (2001). He also released a collection of demos called Basil (1998) on his own label, Independent Artists.^[124]

In 1995, Jackson joined re-joined The Fortunes. Jackson sings lead and they consistently perform Badfinger songs in their set. In both 1997 and 1999, posthumous collections of Ham's home recordings were released: 7 Park Avenue (1997), and Golders Green (1999),^[43] with extra instruments added by Jackson and Griffiths.^[125] In 1995, a posthumous Evans album was released, Over You: The Final Tracks, which was produced by friend and post-Badfinger songwriting partner, Rod Roach.^[126] In 1996, Gibbins contributed two songs to the compilation album, Young Savage Florida (1996). He then released four solo albums through Exile Music: A Place in Time in 1998, More Annoying Songs (featuring ex-Iveys member Griffiths singing on 2 tracks) in 2002, Archeology (Griffiths on 1 track) in 2005, and In the Meantime, also in 2005.^[127] The latter included different re-recordings of both the Badfinger hit "Come and Get It" and Gibbins' "In the Meantime", originally from the Wish You Were Here album in 1974.^[112]

Collins died in 2002,^[128] and on 4 October 2005, Gibbins died in his sleep at his home in Oviedo, Florida, of natural causes. He had been married twice and had three sons.^[112] In June 2006, a Badfinger convention took place in Swansea, featuring a performance by Jackson. The event brought together Jackson, Griffiths, and some members of the Ham, Evans and Gibbins families. On 1 January 2008, the BBC Wales radio station broadcast an hour-long documentary about Badfinger.^[129] Kathie Molland died on 24 March 2009,^[130] and Polley died on 20 July 2009, in California.^[131]

Personnel[link]

Membership of The Iveys/Badfinger underwent numerous personnel changes and, at the end, none of the original members of The Iveys were still in Badfinger. Members of Badfinger before 1975 are in bold.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Compilations/Live Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes[link]