Many have commented on the slightly unnatural appearance of this clip. Here's the original file from which the interview was upscaled: drive.google.com/file/d/1vRR8uNkgx1v5uFKjpj8RfZs5sFqOT89n/view?usp=sharing
BUT why did Ham top himself Was he cheated I think I know the answer As were many naive people It goes on even now Take legal advice and don’t do drugs
No wrong! It had more to do with Badfinger getting virtually robbed by Stan Polley and being stranded in the US unable to go home plus their fall from grace entirely than it did to ignoring legal advice or drugs!! (Geeeeez!)
Thats right! But Pete won't see him there, he's up in Heaven with Tommy and Mike , plus all their other friends and relatives who passed before and after them! God bless them and all their families, Amen. ✝❤🕊
Think about it. We had to wait for Circus, Cream, Hit Parader magazines to get any information on our favorite bands. And it was very limited . We'd play an album and just stare at the cover, the gatefold or the back of the album. It's all we had and had nothing else to compare it to so we were happy .
@@AlmostReady504 agreed, but then again I’ve learned some things in this Information Age that I probably didn’t want or need to know. Me: I just love that song! Band: we hate that song and always did. Me: what great guitar solo or drum track! Insider: that wasn’t a band member that was a studio musician. 🙄😂
65 this yr same here. Seen Ringo, George,Paul, and alot more from the 70s it's good to see some of the shows I was actually at like monsters of rock "88" And Zeppelin,stones,the who and more in "77" just great times back then ☮️
I'm a Badfinger fan, but I think Pete Hamm and Tom Evans had been wrestling with their own personal demons, and they simply couldn't overcome their internal struggles. Many artists and bands have suffered great rejections, but somehow they find a way to push through the hard times and emerge on the other side, with varying degrees of success, despite whatever extrenal pressures they may have had to endure. How many bands get a head start with a Paul McCartney-penned song that becomes a hit? I'm not judging the two Badfinger guys; I realize their pain and sorrow were legitimate; however, if the four of them would have been there for one other through thick and thin, and if they had assured one another... "no matter what happens, we will get through these hard times, we'll be there for one another, we'll keep working on new material, we'll tour, we'll support each other as bandmates" (something along those lines), they could have risen above their many disappointments and figured out a way to stay together, work hard together, and find happiness and fulfillment together. If only. . .
Apple signs a new group and Paul knocks off a demo of a #1 hit in 30 min and tells them not to change it because its going to be a hit! WOW that is like Babe Ruth pointing to where he is going to hit a home run! The great ones are truly GREAT !
I was thinking the same thing all along. McCartney is just a hit writing machine. The one I remember most is Sgt Pepper's "Lovely Rita". Paul got a ticket for where he was parked, drives to the studio and writes a song about it... damn! As a kid that was one of my favorite songs from that album.
Badfinger is one of the greatest power pop bands of all time. Due to Bad management they never got to see how popular they became until Pete Ham and Tom Evans were gone. The legend of Badfinger lives on with Joey Molland.
I was raised on The Beatles by my father and we still play them all the time solo and as The Fab Four. When I was 4 years old there was the tragic news about Lennon and that was 1980 Pete Ham was already gone. I took Badfinger as along with ELO the best to come out of the Beatles and years later found out the tragic story of Pete, Tom, and what depression and getting screwed did. I still love both bands, but am haunted by the histories as many of us are. It's our job as musicians those of us know this music to carry it on and go against the grain of modernity. Let's do our best to continue George, John, Tom, and Pete. You are dearly missed by all of us Rest In Peace.
I too have been a Beatle fans since I seen them on the "Ed Sullivan Show" back in Feb 1964. I was one of the 73 million viewers who tuned in that Sunday Night 🤗 Because of The Beatles I learned the Guitar, Piano, Bass Guitar, and Drums. I've played in bands from the early 70's until 2004. I have a small studio so I can record the songs I write. I can't help it but, most of my songs are Beatles influenced! ❤🚶♂🚶♂🚶♂🚶♂🌞.. I love it!
@@garychambers5850 Wow that's a great story you are so lucky! I don't see how anyone who is a serious musician or writer could NOT be influenced by The Fab Four. I think I've seen your name on records were you in bands that recorded then? The Beatles need to be rediscovered and hopefully a new wave of that magic to replace the current stagnant state of what's out there.😃❤🖕
I used to live in the house next door to Badfinger member Tom Evans...a neighbor who knew the band and Tom very well told me this story.... Tom was at home in 'Berry Hill Avenue' in Knowsley Village Liverpool...with his wife one sat' night when the door bell rang - there was the band, telling him they had to go and do this gig that had come in...he left saying he was sorry to his wife having to leave her home alone....It was while he was travelling to this gig..in the van!...that he put pen to paper and wrote this classic world famous song....'Without You'....RIP Tom Evans & Pete Ham....both took their own lives - :(
"Come and get it" .... was the first real wake-up to music for me ...loved it ... then I found Sgt Pepper .... but I've only found Song Writing recently which keeps me sane. Big Thanks.
I still listen to their music. I have an album with them doing this song. What a power house of a band they would have been. Politics and human interaction only ruins good things. Pete appeared to be a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve. Obviously it was used by those around him and the end result was tragedy. RIP to all of them, we the fans know who you were, and miss your presence yesterday and today.
With the talent they had, they would have climbed out of that hole and made it big. It's hard to think straight, when emotions take over. Too bad, they were talented and great, especially Ham.
In 1969 ??? I was in a Local Band in Miami some how I ended up with the Ranes by that time. We did Photos a demo 8 to 10 songs, being full of Piss and Vinegar I got us into Capitol Records in Miami, long story short the Rep had a cassette tape of a New Group he played That Song for us I became a Instant Fan before it was Ever Released on the Air. My little Two Cents 🙏
Badfinger was such a tragic story...rock and roll music can be unforgiving, but their circumstances were Behind The Music material on steroids. They could have made so much more music...instead they became casualties like so many artists, particularly of that era.
I've been hoping for years that someone would make a biopic of Badfinger. They had as much promise as any band of the era and it's such a tragic story of betrayal that led to their demise (literally in the case of Pete and Tom). I thought that maybe the iconic ending of Breaking Bad (no song better suited the moment than Baby Blue) would spike interest in the band but in any case, their legacy will live on.
Dragged a comb across me head. Paul is my birthday pal = 18 June both of us. Tunes can't wait. Just perform it. Period. Precision instrumentalist. Love, Cav. *
Wow! Macca in hyper-speed composing and recording mode! Lucky the studio was set up and he was so nearby. Was the demo made at Abbey Road? Paul's demo is a great version of this great pop song. It's out there on YT.
Yes the demo was done at Abbey Road and then a week later Badfinger reported to Abbey Road and they recorded Come And Get It with Paul McCartney as producer.
They were known as the iveys before john.lennon renamed them.Badfinger after a song called Bad finger boogie..their first hit was when they were the iveys it was " Maybe Tomorrow " before Pete died they had other hits " No Matter what " Baby Blue " Day After Day "( produced by George Harrison
I think George sat in with them on occasion. "Come and get it" is soundtrack for Peter Sellers/Ringo Starr film "The magic Christian", a hilarious social parody.
Sat in? He helped produced the Straight Up LP and played slide on Day After Day, then Badfinger helped back George at the Bangladesh concert and they also played on George's 1st solo LP All Things Must Pass and Ringo's 1st solo LP. George gave Pete Ham his famous cherry Gibson SG that George played throughout '66 on Revolver, Rain , Paperback Writer etc. After Pete killed himself his co writer in the band Tom Evans hanged himself a year later, pretty sad stuff. 👀
@@cuda426hemiJust FYI Pete passed in 1975 and Tom in 1983. Got to meet and talk to Tom after a concert in late 1982. Very nice person. Badfinger's story is just plain sad but they left us with some great music!
RIP: Pete Ham, Tom Evans, and Mal Evans, a cast of dozens. Many Thanks to Bernstein and Chomsky, Unwin, Halliday, Derek and the domino's, Alan Parsons, Danny O'Keefe, Spencer Davis, Tara Browne, Angela Lansbury, David Crosby, Dino, Keith, ByrdHollieStoneMarmelade, and the queen.
I recall the first hit record Badfinger had in the US: "Come and Get It." That song played on the low-fidelity of AM radio stations at the time, many listeners in the US thought it was The Beatles performing the song. As a youngster it had me fooled for a while.
TR did not produce every track the ones he didn't George Harrison did including Day After Day. If you really want to explore more check out the original SU recordings, Badfinger self produced it with horn and string arrangements and it was rejected by the brass. You can find those tracks here on YT.
Why didn't Paul, et al, intercede against the doings Stan Polley which ultimately led to the death Pete Ham? It's curious that monetary or media or legal help wasn't forthcoming.
Setting aside all of the politics of the era, it stands to reason that this was a great song. None of us, the public, were involved or responsible for any of the losses. Just the sales, please.
Pete,might have thought his time had come and gone. If he would have just waited a few years,which goes quickly,he would have been rolling in it.He would have needed a rake to rake it in, Touring,Merchandise,Interviews,Etc. The Whole story,What a shame.
Our Mom took us kids to see The Magic Christian film. She made some faces at a lot of the parts that probably werent best for children but when the money was throw in a big tank of sewage and people waded in to get it I'm certain she started to turn a shade of pale green.
Paul might sound egotistical for DEMANDING that they do it EXACTLY as he demo-ed it, BUT they were an unknown band and it was GREAT advice. A similar thing happened to The Guess Who in Canada. They were told to 'follow the formula' of their first hit and if they did, then they would NEVER have to 'follow the formula' again. They made their second hit a near carbon copy of their first hit, and NEVER had to do so again.
Paul is very glib and his own worst enemy. The way he talks about things colours our perceptions of events, often in a more negative light. When you listen to the recording session itself, he is not demanding or controlling at all. He is patient and supportive, but he is clearly the producer and knows what he wants. As it should be.
There was some sort of odd negative energy that seemed to follow the boys around in this world. I saw them once. It was in the mid 1980s at a club called The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY.. The gig was the very first night that the club's monitor guy was working. New guy who really had no idea of what he was doing. Feed back. I mean FEEDBACK!!! Relentless feedback. So bad that the band had to leave the stage. They told the audience that they would return when the problem was solved. It took a half hour before the problem was fixed. Much of the audience had received free tickets from the local radio rock station. So having invested nothing in the show, by the time the band returned, the room was almost empty. Being a huge fan of the band, there was doubt that I was going to stay. And so glad that I did because when they returned they were brilliant and I got to hear and see a great show. I felt so bad for the band because there were only about thirty people still there out of an original audience of about three hundred...
Pete Ham was one of the most underrated songwriters of his generation; forget 'Without You' and consider 'Perfection' or 'Meanwhile Back at the Ranch'. Badfinger are a bloody sad story, the ultimate example of just how easily artists could be bled dry in those days.
Not mentioned, apple records was said to not fulfill royalty payments promised to the group. It's a tough gig anyhow, but imagine not knowing how you're going to pay the electric bill, rent etc. Badfinger comprises a multi-layered tragedy. I didn't even know until last year, but it's a worthy read.
Here's Paul playing all the instruments and double tracking his voice. Yeah he famously did it before the Beatles showed up for Abbey Rd. Badfinger recorded it a week later. th-cam.com/video/kxtX_IIcLZI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NVEsLeLpZ2eY19On
The question is more - couldn't Paul (and the other 3) have intervened to help out Badfinger - financially, legally - at their worst time of need? Would have been nothing for them to do (one phone call, one check) and Badfinger might still be alive.
@@wonder6789 Didn't the Beatles get screwed over by their manager? Paul once said that when they split up none of them were as wealthy as people assumed, and that was in part because of UK income tax rates at the time were crippling for high earners.
@@trevorbrown6654 Badfinger's problems came a few years after the Beatles break-up, when they were well off. Obviously the 4 of them could have had no problem chipping in.
Wish You Were Here. The great lost album of Badfinger that would have cemented their legacy and made them millions if Polley hadn't ripped them off so much.
Brilliant lp Dennis is some song , they must of got screwed over Without You royalties as well as Nilson version sold mega amounts , that was before Polley .
@@jaycharger72 The Without You royalties were still a matter of contention and I have read that Tom Evans actually killed himself because of the contention of lost royalties partly over that particular song by Harry Nilsson.
I wish Paul's management could have taken Badfinger under their "wings" before this turned into such a tragedy. The story of these lovely, talented people and an evil corrupt villain - their so called manager.😢
From around 1965-1973 Paul McCartney was just on a different level as a songwriter.. he's had plenty of other great songs but he was just money for those 8 or 9 years.
@@OobuJoobu Thanks, buddy. That was great. It must be the hardest thing for McCartney to choose a set list from his extraordinary catalogue & his favourite covers. Quite the dilemma. 👍
Yeah, they've AI upscaled the video, which, while making some things look more detailed, can also produce weird artifacts that weren't there originally, and create a sort of "waxy" look to the whole thing.
I'm perplexed about Macca's statement regarding Pete's suicide. "No need" seems overly simplistic to me. Pete was fully aware of their talent...but that ability didn't square with being betrayed by manager Stan Polley who left them broke due to his embezzlement of front money earmarked to record a new album. Pete was horribly depressed which apparently made it impossible for him to get through that crime and summon up any hope.
Stan Polley had a bad reputation and several people he managed were extremely unhappy with him but couldn't leave as they were under contract. I think he may even have had connections to the mob. However Badfinger were a bunch of naive lads from Wales so presumably when this flashy American said he would get them a deal with Warner Bros when their deal with Apple ran out, they jumped at the chance and relocated to the US. Unfortunately that's when he pounced and kept their advance leaving them flat broke. He didn't care, he was a crook and had no guilt. All this happened after Apple had helped set them up and get them noticed by the public. It's a shame things went south for them and it would be interesting how much Paul actually knew about their predicament at the time.
Fortunately, for the musical creativity of Pete Ham and Tom Evans, along with cohorts Joey Molland and Mike Gibbons, Badfinger will always have a significant presence in music. But the abominable screw-over of Badfinger will also be a tragic element of music history. Many years ago, as a journalist, I covered the appearance in Montclair, NJ, of Eddie Brigati, once the co-lead vocalist and songwriter of The Young Rascals, an American melodic-rock band that began in 1964. The band. later known as The Rascals, had several AM radio hits. However, its members received almost no royalties due to their onerous contract (also financially screwed was Tommy James & The Shondells; for awhile, Tommy James resided in the adjacent town of Clifton). Brigati appeared before a grade-school assembly where his girlfriend was the music instructor. Eddie spoke with the students about his career and generally about being a musician. Asking the kids how many intended to go to college and major in music, Eddie advised them not to major in music. Instead, he told them to protect their future careers by majoring in finance and economics or even the rudiments of law and minor in music.
This isn't exactly the entire story that Paul didn't go into here. A music journalist had commented to Ron Griffiths, how fabulous it must be to be on the Beatles label, Apple. And Griffiths responded w/ something along the lines of, "Well, it hasn't worked out that great for us, so far". He wasn't pleased w/ the attention the band had been getting.. and rightfully so. McCartney read the comment when it came out and that's why he gave them the song.
Pete Hamm 'Topped' himself (committed suicide) cos one of the band members of Bad Finger claimed a share of the Copyright for Without You and the Lawyers took all the money accrued from the Broadcasting Rights during the dispute which were substantial as I believe Without You is only song to hit No 1 on both sides of Atlantic with several Artists, Mariah Carey, Harry Nillson etc , to rub salt into wound the song got a special award at Hall of Fame and the guy who disputed the Copyright appeared in person to be given award despite everyone knowing it was Pete Hamm, he was going to a Recording Session at night and told his wife as he left he would not be long away and always missed her , that is whete the song came from, the guy who challenged it did not claim the Lyrics but cos he played an Instrument on the song .
Wow, you've completely got the story wrong. Besides your curious lack of punctuation, that is a woefully inaccurate statement of why Pete did what he did. Do some more homework on this and maybe mention a piece of shit named Stan Polley.
The Beatles could not help Pete because they asked to be released from Apple to sign a a big deal with Warner and the Beatles graciously allowed them to leave . Leaving Apple ultimately cost Pete and Tom their lives. Certainly Paul or George would told them Stan Polley had to go and was ripping them off. A very tragic story .
Many have commented on the slightly unnatural appearance of this clip. Here's the original file from which the interview was upscaled: drive.google.com/file/d/1vRR8uNkgx1v5uFKjpj8RfZs5sFqOT89n/view?usp=sharing
(I also flew in some higher-quality audio of the parts that were included in VH1's Behind The Music special: th-cam.com/video/WWEV_-Ca2oc/w-d-xo.html)
BUT why did Ham top himself Was he cheated I think I know the answer As were many naive people It goes on even now Take legal advice and don’t do drugs
Yes, its wonderful. We are the first generation who can found back our childhood.
No wrong! It had more to do with Badfinger getting virtually robbed by Stan Polley and being stranded in the US unable to go home plus their fall from grace entirely than it did to ignoring legal advice or drugs!! (Geeeeez!)
If there's a hell, Badfinger's manager, Stan Polley, is a crispy critter right about now.
Thats right! But Pete won't see him there, he's up in Heaven with Tommy and Mike , plus all their other friends and relatives who passed before and after them!
God bless them and all their families, Amen. ✝❤🕊
@@garychambers5850 ...I agree.
I’m 65 years old,and I’m SO THANKFUL for TH-cam. When we were younger, we didn’t get to see all these great videos and interviews. 😊
I’m 59 and I feel the same way.
I'm 52 but old enough to agree 100%.
Think about it.
We had to wait for Circus, Cream, Hit Parader magazines to get any information on our favorite bands. And it was very limited . We'd play an album and just stare at the cover, the gatefold or the back of the album. It's all we had and had nothing else to compare it to so we were happy
.
@@AlmostReady504 agreed, but then again I’ve learned some things in this Information Age that I probably didn’t want or need to know.
Me: I just love that song!
Band: we hate that song and always did.
Me: what great guitar solo or drum track!
Insider: that wasn’t a band member that was a studio musician.
🙄😂
65 this yr same here. Seen Ringo, George,Paul, and alot more from the 70s it's good to see some of the shows I was actually at like monsters of rock "88" And Zeppelin,stones,the who and more in "77" just great times back then ☮️
'Day after Day' still one of the greatest songs ever.
There are better songs on the same album.
I've never fucking heard of it.
@@oliverpearson1577 Well it was a hit.
@@oliverpearson1577Your loss
@@oliverpearson1577 You should check it out and give your thoughts. Greatest doesn't mean known by you Oliver
Stan Polley was a reprehensible human being.
Love Pete Ham forever.
Yes, I was surprised that Dixie lives nearby here, in KC MO.
This band deserves a good movie.
They do, but it would be incredibly depressing, and I don't think I'd be able to watch it.
I'd watch it. But, Badfinger is practically the very worst story in rock music history, for sure.
Love McCartney and that determination, "30 minutes, right, I can do it!" and he always did it.
A story with a very happy beginning and a tragic ending.
Badfinger were such a brilliant band..
Badfinger's story is one of the saddest. They got screwed so bad.. two of the band took their own lives.
Who did they get screwed by? Cuz if it was record execs doesn’t that point at Apple? Was another label involved by that time?
@@hklinkerwas their manager Stan Polley
Rollers were another with their manager and Jimmy Saville,leave it at that.
@@hklinker Their manager. He was a sociopath and kept the broke while they made millions.
I'm a Badfinger fan, but I think Pete Hamm and Tom Evans had been wrestling with their own personal demons, and they simply couldn't overcome their internal struggles. Many artists and bands have suffered great rejections, but somehow they find a way to push through the hard times and emerge on the other side, with varying degrees of success, despite whatever extrenal pressures they may have had to endure. How many bands get a head start with a Paul McCartney-penned song that becomes a hit? I'm not judging the two Badfinger guys; I realize their pain and sorrow were legitimate; however, if the four of them would have been there for one other through thick and thin, and if they had assured one another... "no matter what happens, we will get through these hard times, we'll be there for one another, we'll keep working on new material, we'll tour, we'll support each other as bandmates" (something along those lines), they could have risen above their many disappointments and figured out a way to stay together, work hard together, and find happiness and fulfillment together. If only. . .
Apple signs a new group and Paul knocks off a demo of a #1 hit in 30 min and tells them not to change it because its going to be a hit! WOW that is like Babe Ruth pointing to where he is going to hit a home run! The great ones are truly GREAT !
I was thinking the same thing all along. McCartney is just a hit writing machine.
The one I remember most is Sgt Pepper's "Lovely Rita". Paul got a ticket for where he was parked, drives to the studio and writes a song about it... damn! As a kid that was one of my favorite songs from that album.
I love the Beatles and Badfinger. I never liked this song.
@@rosewoodsteel6656 THEY wrote better songs than this! Day After Day makes Come and Get It sound like a nursery rhyme.
@@DrTomoculus Absolutely! And I always liked Baby Blue, as well. Come and Get it sounded like something the Archies would have done, imo.
@@rosewoodsteel6656 It is very bubblegum. I think a lot of what McCartney does sounds just on the edge of bubblegum or euro vision 1972.
Rest In Peace, Pete, and thanks for the music, mate.
Badfinger is one of the greatest power pop bands of all time. Due to Bad management they never got to see how popular they became until Pete Ham and Tom Evans were gone. The legend of Badfinger lives on with Joey Molland.
I could listen to Macca tell anecdotes all day…💭
Yup. The man has been around for so long and knew so many people. He must have so many stories we don't know about.
Pete hamm ❤️
I was raised on The Beatles by my father and we still play them all the time solo and as The Fab Four. When I was 4 years old there was the tragic news about Lennon and that was 1980 Pete Ham was already gone. I took Badfinger as along with ELO the best to come out of the Beatles and years later found out the tragic story of Pete, Tom, and what depression and getting screwed did. I still love both bands, but am haunted by the histories as many of us are. It's our job as musicians those of us know this music to carry it on and go against the grain of modernity. Let's do our best to continue George, John, Tom, and Pete. You are dearly missed by all of us Rest In Peace.
I too have been a Beatle fans since I seen them on the "Ed Sullivan Show" back in Feb 1964. I was one of the 73 million viewers who tuned in that Sunday Night 🤗
Because of The Beatles I learned the Guitar, Piano, Bass Guitar, and Drums. I've played in bands from the early 70's until 2004. I have a small studio so I can record
the songs I write. I can't help it but, most of my songs are Beatles influenced! ❤🚶♂🚶♂🚶♂🚶♂🌞.. I love it!
@@garychambers5850 Wow that's a great story you are so lucky! I don't see how anyone who is a serious musician or writer could NOT be influenced by The Fab Four. I think I've seen your name on records were you in bands that recorded then? The Beatles need to be rediscovered and hopefully a new wave of that magic to replace the current stagnant state of what's out there.😃❤🖕
It makes my weekend listening list. Thank Paul and Badfinger.
Amazing what Genius can do.
What a super talent Pete Ham was and badfinger were a great group, they made some great songs.
Paul is a genius
I used to live in the house next door to Badfinger member Tom Evans...a neighbor who knew the band and Tom very well told me this story....
Tom was at home in 'Berry Hill Avenue' in Knowsley Village Liverpool...with his wife one sat' night when the door bell rang - there was the band, telling him they had to go and do this gig that had come in...he left saying he was sorry to his wife having to leave her home alone....It was while he was travelling to this gig..in the van!...that he put pen to paper and wrote this classic world famous song....'Without You'....RIP Tom Evans & Pete Ham....both took their own lives - :(
"Come and get it" .... was the first real wake-up to music for me ...loved it ... then I found Sgt Pepper .... but I've only found Song Writing recently which keeps me sane. Big Thanks.
That was a great song.
Too bad Pete did not reach out to Paul to tell him what was happening. Maybe Paul could have helped him, saved him.
I keep thinking that SAME THING.
Suicidals can't think clearly. They view their problems as impossible to overcome.
This is Paul we're talking about. I doubt he would have given a toss.
@@cd3949 Hard to say.
@@cd3949 Like you really know the man.
I still listen to their music. I have an album with them doing this song. What a power house of a band they would have been. Politics and human interaction only ruins good things. Pete appeared to be a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve. Obviously it was used by those around him and the end result was tragedy. RIP to all of them, we the fans know who you were, and miss your presence yesterday and today.
And that is the genius of Paul McCartney. That guy can play everything! He's a human demo-making machine! It helps that Badfinger were simply badass.
Great band, but a truly tragic story. They were my favorite band as a teenager and I still love their music today.
Both Pete and Tom Evans wrote "Without You" - Pete wrote the verse and Tom the chorus.
No matter what was their best
That's a rocking tune!!!
Also baby blue
Name of the Game is a powerful song.
Day after Day
Believe me
Uh.... I think Paul may vie been IN THE ZONE writing , performing and producing no .1 songs in 30 minutes........
So Sad. They should have waited. They would have Won BIG in the End.
With the talent they had, they would have climbed out of that
hole and made it big. It's hard to think straight, when emotions
take over. Too bad, they were talented and great, especially Ham.
For Pete, it was the influence of alcohol.
In 1969 ??? I was in a Local Band in Miami some how I ended up with the Ranes by that time. We did Photos a demo 8 to 10 songs, being full of Piss and Vinegar I got us into Capitol Records in Miami, long story short the Rep had a cassette tape of a New Group he played That Song for us I became a Instant Fan before it was Ever Released on the Air. My little Two Cents 🙏
Badfinger was such a tragic story...rock and roll music can be unforgiving, but their circumstances were Behind The Music material on steroids.
They could have made so much more music...instead they became casualties like so many artists, particularly of that era.
It's harder than it looks. (AC/DC)
Badfinger's "Straight Up" is a really good album. "Take it All", "Baby Blue", "The Name of the Game" and "Sweet Tuesday Morning".
I've been hoping for years that someone would make a biopic of Badfinger. They had as much promise as any band of the era and it's such a tragic story of betrayal that led to their demise (literally in the case of Pete and Tom). I thought that maybe the iconic ending of Breaking Bad (no song better suited the moment than Baby Blue) would spike interest in the band but in any case, their legacy will live on.
Put Badfinger in the RRHOF!
No idea Pete Ham wrote “Without You.” Nilsson was such a good writer I always assumed he had written that song.
Pete had the lyrics he put to Tommy’s chorus.
Dragged a comb across me head. Paul is my birthday pal = 18 June both of us. Tunes can't wait. Just perform it. Period. Precision instrumentalist. Love, Cav. *
Wow! Macca in hyper-speed composing and recording mode! Lucky the studio was set up and he was so nearby. Was the demo made at Abbey Road? Paul's demo is a great version of this great pop song. It's out there on YT.
Yes the demo was done at Abbey Road and then a week later Badfinger reported to Abbey Road and they recorded Come And Get It with Paul McCartney as producer.
@@thud9797 Thanks!
The Rolling Stones first hit was a Beatles penned song called I Wanna Be Your Man.
Especially during this time period, if Paul McCartney writes you a song and says do it exactly this way, you do it. Kapeesh?
They were known as the iveys before john.lennon renamed them.Badfinger after a song called Bad finger boogie..their first hit was when they were the iveys it was " Maybe Tomorrow " before Pete died they had other hits " No Matter what " Baby Blue " Day After Day "( produced by George Harrison
I think George sat in with them on occasion. "Come and get it" is soundtrack for Peter Sellers/Ringo Starr film "The magic Christian", a hilarious social parody.
George played slide on some BF.
The Magic Christian is one of the all time great movies. The Badfinger songs used and how they were filmed was amazing. Carry On in particular.
Sat in? He helped produced the Straight Up LP and played slide on Day After Day, then Badfinger helped back George at the Bangladesh concert and they also played on George's 1st solo LP All Things Must Pass and Ringo's 1st solo LP. George gave Pete Ham his famous cherry Gibson SG that George played throughout '66 on Revolver, Rain , Paperback Writer etc. After Pete killed himself his co writer in the band Tom Evans hanged himself a year later, pretty sad stuff. 👀
@@soarornorno its not lol. It's one of the worst films of all time.
@@cuda426hemiJust FYI Pete passed in 1975 and Tom in 1983. Got to meet and talk to Tom after a concert in late 1982. Very nice person. Badfinger's story is just plain sad but they left us with some great music!
Nice interview with Billy.
RIP: Pete Ham, Tom Evans, and Mal Evans, a cast of dozens. Many Thanks to Bernstein and Chomsky, Unwin, Halliday, Derek and the domino's, Alan Parsons, Danny O'Keefe, Spencer Davis, Tara Browne, Angela Lansbury, David Crosby, Dino, Keith, ByrdHollieStoneMarmelade, and the queen.
Are you blind, deaf and dumb? 🤦🏻♂️😅
I recall the first hit record Badfinger had in the US: "Come and Get It." That song played on the low-fidelity of AM radio stations at the time, many listeners in the US thought it was The Beatles performing the song. As a youngster it had me fooled for a while.
Man, I was just barely past sucking my thumb but thought it sounded very BUBBLEGUM. In just a bit, though, I was in awe of Badfinger and Ham's songs.
😎👍🏻🎵🎶🙏🏻 thank you Paul he’s a master
Amazing.
So great ❤
I love especially the entire "Straight Up" album. Todd Rundgren made it sound so good.
TR did not produce every track the ones he didn't George Harrison did including Day After Day. If you really want to explore more check out the original SU recordings, Badfinger self produced it with horn and string arrangements and it was rejected by the brass. You can find those tracks here on YT.
Never knew this...but now that listen to it in this light, it sounds like a Beatles song from that era.
Definitely. Macca penned songs have a very definite sound, even if they aren't sung by him.
Why didn't Paul, et al, intercede against the doings Stan Polley which ultimately led to the death Pete Ham? It's curious that monetary or media or legal help wasn't forthcoming.
I don't think anyone is gonna say they were part of that. "Who, me?"....
I think Paul had troubles enough of his own at that point.....
Exactly as I've asked that question a lot myself. -Also Paul here forgot that Pete Ham wrote the verse and Tom Evans wrote the chorus to Without YOU!
I've often wondered about that too. Where was the big powerful Beatles during Badfingers business rip off?
Setting aside all of the politics of the era, it stands to reason that this was a great song.
None of us, the public, were involved or responsible for any of the losses. Just the sales, please.
Gracias.
Ham is in the 27 club
Oh, thats right how strange.
It sounds like a Beatles song.
When that song first came out, being played on AM radio stations [in the US] with its low-fidelity, it had me fooled thinking it was The Beatles.
Nice!
A1 Paul
Pete,might have thought his time had come and gone. If he would have just waited a few years,which goes quickly,he would have been rolling in it.He would have needed a rake to rake it in, Touring,Merchandise,Interviews,Etc. The Whole story,What a shame.
Things were like that then. The music machine might get behind you and hype you, and then drop you when you produced your best work.
Tommy sang this perfect
I was about 14 when this came out and had just started smoking weed. I thought it has to be about Hashish which was very popular at the time.
Don’t ruin historical video with filters.
Our Mom took us kids to see The Magic Christian film. She made some faces at a lot of the parts that probably werent best for children but when the money was throw in a big tank of sewage and people waded in to get it I'm certain she started to turn a shade of pale green.
Paul might sound egotistical for DEMANDING that they do it EXACTLY as he demo-ed it, BUT they were an unknown band and it was GREAT advice. A similar thing happened to The Guess Who in Canada. They were told to 'follow the formula' of their first hit and if they did, then they would NEVER have to 'follow the formula' again. They made their second hit a near carbon copy of their first hit, and NEVER had to do so again.
Paul is very glib and his own worst enemy. The way he talks about things colours our perceptions of events, often in a more negative light. When you listen to the recording session itself, he is not demanding or controlling at all. He is patient and supportive, but he is clearly the producer and knows what he wants. As it should be.
Phil McDonald was a great engineer for many including the Beats and Squeeze
There first name of the band was the Ivies
GOAT
This was a great hit (and still a great song), but my personal favorite of Badfinger was/is *_Day After Day._*
There was some sort of odd negative energy that seemed to follow the boys around in this world.
I saw them once. It was in the mid 1980s at a club called The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY.. The gig was the very first night that the club's monitor guy was working. New guy who really had no idea of what he was doing. Feed back. I mean FEEDBACK!!! Relentless feedback. So bad that the band had to leave the stage. They told the audience that they would return when the problem was solved.
It took a half hour before the problem was fixed. Much of the audience had received free tickets from the local radio rock station. So having invested nothing in the show, by the time the band returned, the room was almost empty.
Being a huge fan of the band, there was doubt that I was going to stay. And so glad that I did because when they returned they were brilliant and I got to hear and see a great show.
I felt so bad for the band because there were only about thirty people still there out of an original audience of about three hundred...
todd rundgren produced their Straight Up lp....ie baby blue and day after day
Pete Ham was one of the most underrated songwriters of his generation; forget 'Without You' and consider 'Perfection' or 'Meanwhile Back at the Ranch'. Badfinger are a bloody sad story, the ultimate example of just how easily artists could be bled dry in those days.
Heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. i think that Badfinger were destined for superstardom.
McCartney's world-class glibness on full display at the end there 🙄
I think that is perhaps just the way he sees the world - maybe it was part of the reason that he was able to be so successful?
Can't stand him
@@dodibenabba525 jealousy gets you nowhere in life son
@jason698 it's not jealousy, he's a luciferian.
Not mentioned, apple records was said to not fulfill royalty payments promised to the group. It's a tough gig anyhow, but imagine not knowing how you're going to pay the electric bill, rent etc. Badfinger comprises a multi-layered tragedy. I didn't even know until last year, but it's a worthy read.
I have also thought that Come Get It would have also been a great song for The Beach Boys to record.
I never knew Badfinger were Indian until Paul's impression of them
Indian? two were Welsh and two were from Liverpool, haha!
Why does Paul look like he has been AI'd here? There are weird shadows on his face and his mouth movements are strange also.
This is real, but in the near future, we will know what to believe.
Video quality of the times...
I was thinking the same thing.
hmmmm...maybe he's not the real Paul after all?...heh heh! - :)
Same thought. The video must have been upscaled with AI
Badfinger for me at the time was like the drug that helps people withdrawal from heroin that was The Beatles.
Here's Paul playing all the instruments and double tracking his voice. Yeah he famously did it before the Beatles showed up for Abbey Rd. Badfinger recorded it a week later.
th-cam.com/video/kxtX_IIcLZI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NVEsLeLpZ2eY19On
Couldn't Paul have warned Pete Hamm to not get involved with Stan Polley. That might have saved his life. If there is a hell, Polley is burning in it.
Thing is, that's unfair. How would Paul know to distrust Polley?
The question is more - couldn't Paul (and the other 3) have intervened to help out Badfinger - financially, legally - at their worst time of need? Would have been nothing for them to do (one phone call, one check) and Badfinger might still be alive.
@@wonder6789 Didn't the Beatles get screwed over by their manager? Paul once said that when they split up none of them were as wealthy as people assumed, and that was in part because of UK income tax rates at the time were crippling for high earners.
@@trevorbrown6654 Badfinger's problems came a few years after the Beatles break-up, when they were well off. Obviously the 4 of them could have had no problem chipping in.
once again ,Paul takes a nap and wakes up with a hit , not fair .Sadly Pet and Tom never got to know just how long their music has carried on
This clip is probably at least 25 years old.
Wish You Were Here. The great lost album of Badfinger that would have cemented their legacy and made them millions if Polley hadn't ripped them off so much.
Brilliant lp Dennis is some song , they must of got screwed over Without You royalties as well as Nilson version sold mega amounts , that was before Polley .
@@jaycharger72 The Without You royalties were still a matter of contention and I have read that Tom Evans actually killed himself because of the contention of lost royalties partly over that particular song by Harry Nilsson.
I wish Paul's management could have taken Badfinger under their "wings" before this turned into such a tragedy. The story of these lovely, talented people and an evil corrupt villain - their so called manager.😢
Tom wrote the chorus to Without You, Pete wrote the verses.
From around 1965-1973 Paul McCartney was just on a different level as a songwriter.. he's had plenty of other great songs but he was just money for those 8 or 9 years.
Reintroduced the band,had been working under the ivys
Has McCartney ever done Come & Get It live? Would like to hear that ...
Yes -- it was in the main set during the 1st European leg of Paul's On The Run Tour in late 2011. th-cam.com/video/0t2zz4kVzeg/w-d-xo.html
@@OobuJoobu Thanks, buddy. That was great. It must be the hardest thing for McCartney to choose a set list from his extraordinary catalogue & his favourite covers. Quite the dilemma. 👍
Macca looks strangely AI
He does
Yeah, they've AI upscaled the video, which, while making some things look more detailed, can also produce weird artifacts that weren't there originally, and create a sort of "waxy" look to the whole thing.
@@omnipop4936 I wondered what was going on with it. Thanks for the clarification.
I wish I could get through ten minutes in a day without hearing the following terms ' Narcissist '
AI
' literally '
I'm perplexed about Macca's statement regarding Pete's suicide. "No need" seems overly simplistic to me. Pete was fully aware of their talent...but that ability didn't square with being betrayed by manager Stan Polley who left them broke due to his embezzlement of front money earmarked to record a new album. Pete was horribly depressed which apparently made it impossible for him to get through that crime and summon up any hope.
Stan Polley had a bad reputation and several people he managed were extremely unhappy with him but couldn't leave as they were under contract. I think he may even have had connections to the mob. However Badfinger were a bunch of naive lads from Wales so presumably when this flashy American said he would get them a deal with Warner Bros when their deal with Apple ran out, they jumped at the chance and relocated to the US. Unfortunately that's when he pounced and kept their advance leaving them flat broke. He didn't care, he was a crook and had no guilt. All this happened after Apple had helped set them up and get them noticed by the public. It's a shame things went south for them and it would be interesting how much Paul actually knew about their predicament at the time.
Listen to Badfinger's "Straight Up" from start to finish, you won't be sorry you did :)
Fortunately, for the musical creativity of Pete Ham and Tom Evans, along with cohorts Joey Molland and Mike Gibbons, Badfinger will always have a significant presence in music. But the abominable screw-over of Badfinger will also be a tragic element of music history.
Many years ago, as a journalist, I covered the appearance in Montclair, NJ, of Eddie Brigati, once the co-lead vocalist and songwriter of The Young Rascals, an American melodic-rock band that began in 1964. The band. later known as The Rascals, had several AM radio hits. However, its members received almost no royalties due to their onerous contract (also financially screwed was Tommy James & The Shondells; for awhile, Tommy James resided in the adjacent town of Clifton).
Brigati appeared before a grade-school assembly where his girlfriend was the music instructor. Eddie spoke with the students about his career and generally about being a musician. Asking the kids how many intended to go to college and major in music, Eddie advised them not to major in music.
Instead, he told them to protect their future careers by majoring in finance and economics or even the rudiments of law and minor in music.
It would have been a great hit for the Beatles with their harmonies.
This isn't exactly the entire story that Paul didn't go into here. A music journalist had commented to Ron Griffiths, how fabulous it must be to be on the Beatles label, Apple. And Griffiths responded w/ something along the lines of, "Well, it hasn't worked out that great for us, so far". He wasn't pleased w/ the attention the band had been getting.. and rightfully so. McCartney read the comment when it came out and that's why he gave them the song.
Spot on.
Pete Hamm 'Topped' himself (committed suicide) cos one of the band members of Bad Finger claimed a share of the Copyright for Without You and the Lawyers took all the money accrued from the Broadcasting Rights during the dispute which were substantial as I believe Without You is only song to hit No 1 on both sides of Atlantic with several Artists, Mariah Carey, Harry Nillson etc , to rub salt into wound the song got a special award at Hall of Fame and the guy who disputed the Copyright appeared in person to be given award despite everyone knowing it was Pete Hamm, he was going to a Recording Session at night and told his wife as he left he would not be long away and always missed her , that is whete the song came from, the guy who challenged it did not claim the Lyrics but cos he played an Instrument on the song .
Wow, you've completely got the story wrong. Besides your curious lack of punctuation, that is a woefully inaccurate statement of why Pete did what he did. Do some more homework on this and maybe mention a piece of shit named Stan Polley.
Why is Paul so A.I. looking?
Such a shame so young both of them
George Harrison was there producer 4 short period of time. There music was timeless ,
Such a tragic story. What could have been. . . . .
The Beatles could not help Pete because they asked to be released from Apple to sign a a big deal with Warner and the Beatles graciously allowed them to leave . Leaving Apple ultimately cost Pete and Tom their lives. Certainly Paul or George would told them Stan Polley had to go and was ripping them off. A very tragic story .
How sad about Badfinger. They could have gone on to have a long career. It’s one of the biggest tragedies in Rock and Roll history.
I’ve never seen anybody else ask this: Why didn’t Badfinger play any of thier song’s st , George Harrison’s Bangladesh concert?