On This Day 10/02/1970 BadFinger

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On this day, 10 February 1970, Welsh rock band Badfinger played Cardiff University with support provided by Rainbow People.

The story of Badfinger is a sad one, with band leaders Pete Ham and Tommy Evans disillusioned by the sheer difficulty and stress of turning their musical talents into hard cash.

Originally signed to the Beatles' Apple Records as the Iveys, Pete Ham, vocals, Mike Gibbins, drums, Tommy Evans, guitar, and Ron Griffiths, changed their name following the release of two unsuccessful singles.

Swansea-born Griffiths left in September 1969 and was replaced by Joe Molland of Liverpool.

The new line-up had a transatlantic hit with Come And Get It, written by their famous label boss Paul McCartney.

Their song No Matter What was another Top 10 hit, followed by critically acclaimed albums No Dice and Straight Up.

By the beginning of the 1970s, Badfinger was something of an Apple house band and even appeared on three solo Beatle recordings (All Things Must Pass, It Don't Come Easy and Imagine) as well as appearing at George Harrison's Bangla Desh benefit concert.

In 1972 Harry Nilsson enjoyed a huge transatlantic chart topper with Without You.

But Pete Ham found it difficult to penetrate the financial jungle which surrounded the music business.

He found himself working in a factory to make ends meet, hearing his song Without You playing on the radio as he toiled away.

In 1975 personal and financial troubles got too much for him and Ham hanged himself.

In November 1983, history repeated itself in the most bizarre fashion when Tom Evans committed suicide by hanging at his Surrey home.

Like Pete Ham, he had been suffering from depression and financial worries.

Following the discovery of some home-recorded tapes, these were finally issued as two complete albums of Ham's songs in the late 1990s.

Although the quality of the tapes was poor, they indicated a great songwriter with a marvellous grasp of pop melody and compounded the tragedy of his early death.

On This Day 05/06/1947 Tom Evans

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On this day, 5 June 1947, was born Liverpool musician and songwriter Tom Evans, from Welsh band Badfinger, who scored the 1970 UK No.4 and US No.7 single 'Come And Get It'.

In November 1969, the Iveys changed their name to Badfinger, and Paul McCartney gave the group a boost by offering them his song 'Come and Get It', which he produced for the band.

With Pete Ham he wrote 'Without You' first released on their 1970 album No Dice. The song has been recorded by over 180 artists and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey became international best-sellers.

Evans committed suicide on 19th November 1983.

After the departure of original bassist Ron Griffiths, Pete, Tom & Mike wanted, and tried, to recruit renowned Liverpool bassist Norm Bellis who'd previously partnered Tom in Liverpool band Them Calderstones. Norm was already signed to Apple but despite the support of his friend Mal Evans, he couldn't secure release from his contractual arrangements. Badfinger fruitlessly auditioned a replacement and with the arrival of Liverpudlian guitarist Joey Molland, Evans, who had previously played guitar, switched to bass and thus stabilised the classic line-up of Ham, Evans, Gibbins and Molland.

Badfinger enjoyed more major successes in the early 1970s with singles such as "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue". Each featured some of Evans vocals; background harmony and dual lead. Evans' high-career moment was with his composition "Without You," a song co-written with bandmate Pete Ham. The song became a No. 1 hit worldwide for Harry Nilsson and has since become a standard in the music industry.

Badfinger dissolved following Ham's suicide in 1975, after which Evans joined a group called the Dodgers with Badfinger bandmate Bob Jackson. The Dodgers released three singles produced by Muff Winwood and toured Britain before recording an album, Love on the Rebound, with producer Pat Moran. Evans was eventually asked to leave the band midway through the recording sessions and he briefly retired from the music industry.

Evans resurfaced in 1977 to join Joey Molland for two Badfinger "comeback" albums. The first single of two from the first album Airwaves, was an Evans composition - "Lost Inside Your Love", but it failed to chart after its release in March 1979. The second album, Say No More spawned the Evans and Tansin single "Hold On", which reached No. 56 on the Billboard chart in 1981. Evans and Molland went their separate ways after this second album was released, and the two put together rival Badfinger touring bands in the US.

In 1982, Jackson rejoined Evans in the latter's version of Badfinger. Original Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins was also enlisted for Evans' band for one tour. But after Evans and Jackson signed separate management contracts with a Milwaukee businessman, the trio of Evans, Gibbins and Jackson said they found themselves stranded in the US without tour dates, food, or money, and under much duress from physical threats. After returning to Britain, Evans was sued for $5 million in damages for abandoning his touring contract.

Evans hanged himself in his garden on 19 November 1983, at the age of 36. He got into a dispute with former bandmate Joey Molland over royalties for the song "Without You" the previous evening.

In 1993, a compilation of recordings made in the early 1980s by Evans and musician friend Rod Roach was posthumously released in the UK on Gipsy Records under the title Over You (The Final Tracks)

On This Day 10/02/1970 Badfinger

On this day, 10 February 1970, Welsh rock band Badfinger played Cardiff University with support provided by Rainbow People.

The story of Badfinger is a sad one, with band leaders Pete Ham and Tommy Evans disillusioned by the sheer difficulty and stress of turning their musical talents into hard cash.

Originally signed to the Beatles' Apple Records as the Iveys, Pete Ham, vocals, Mike Gibbins, drums, Tommy Evans, guitar, and Ron Griffiths, changed their name following the release of two unsuccessful singles.

Swansea-born Griffiths left in September 1969 and was replaced by Joe Molland of Liverpool.

The new line-up had a transatlantic hit with Come And Get It, written by their famous label boss Paul McCartney.

Their song No Matter What was another Top 10 hit, followed by critically acclaimed albums No Dice and Straight Up.

By the beginning of the 1970s, Badfinger was something of an Apple house band and even appeared on three solo Beatle recordings (All Things Must Pass, It Don't Come Easy and Imagine) as well as appearing at George Harrison's Bangla Desh benefit concert.

In 1972 Harry Nilsson enjoyed a huge transatlantic chart topper with Without You.

But Pete Ham found it difficult to penetrate the financial jungle which surrounded the music business.

He found himself working in a factory to make ends meet, hearing his song Without You playing on the radio as he toiled away.


In 1975 personal and financial troubles got too much for him and Ham hanged himself.

In November 1983, history repeated itself in the most bizarre fashion when Tom Evans committed suicide by hanging at his Surrey home.

Like Pete Ham, he had been suffering from depression and financial worries.

Following the discovery of some home-recorded tapes, these were finally issued as two complete albums of Ham's songs in the late 1990s.

Although the quality of the tapes was poor, they indicated a great songwriter with a marvellous grasp of pop melody and compounded the tragedy of his early death.

Badfinger ( line-up)

• Tom Evans

• Mike Gibbins

• Pete Ham

• Joey Molland

On This Day 15/02/1969 Joe Cocker and the Grease Band

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On this day, 15 February 1969, singer Joe Cocker played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. All included on the bill were the headliner, Gene Pitney, Marmalade and Welsh band The Iveys, who later became Badfinger.

Cocker was about to release hie debut album With a Little Help from My Friends. Cocker had found commercial success with a rearrangement of "With a Little Help from My Friends", a Beatles cover, which, many years later, was used as the opening theme for The Wonder Years.

The recording features lead guitar from Jimmy Page, drumming by B. J. Wilson, backing vocals from Sue and Sunny, and Tommy Eyre on organ.

The single remained in the top ten of the UK Singles Chart for thirteen weeks before eventually reaching number one, on 9 November 1968. It also reached number 68 on the US charts.

Cocker was born on 20 May 1944 at 38 Tasker Road, Crookes, Sheffield. He was the youngest son of a civil servant, Harold Norman Cocker (1907-2001), at the time of his son's birth serving as an aircraftman in the Royal Air Force, and Madge (née Lee).

According to differing family stories, Cocker received his nickname of Joe either from playing a childhood game called "Cowboy Joe", or from a local window cleaner named Joe.[citation needed]

Cocker's main musical influences growing up were Ray Charles and Lonnie Donegan. Cocker's first experience singing in public was at age 12 when his elder brother Victor invited him on stage to sing during a gig of his skiffle group. In 1960, along with three friends, Cocker formed his first group, the Cavaliers.

On This Day 3/4/1970 Badfinger

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On this day, 3 April 1970, Welsh rock band Badfinger played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre as part of a package that included Gene Pitney, Clodagh Rogers, Satisfaction and Johnny Hackett.

The band had visited the same venue the year previously on a bill again with Gene Pitney but under their original name The Iveys. Also playing that night were Joe Cocker and Marmalade.

The Iveys, formed in 1961, which became the first group signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968. The band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie").

From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple Records' dissolution.

Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), "No Matter What" (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), "Day After Day" (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972).

Their song "Without You" (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a US and UK number-one hit for Harry Nilsson and, decades later, a UK number-one for Mariah Carey.