Badfinger

Badfinger was a Welsh band formed in Swansea as The Iveys in 1961, before changing their name in 1969. Their story is perhaps one of the most tragic in music history. Due to the ineptitude of their manager, Stan Polley, their money was stolen, their albums and sales were withheld, and they were unable to perform or record due to Polley's ineptitude. This ultimately led to the suicides of two of their members.
They were also the most successful band ever signed by The Beatles' Apple Records; they were also considered to be The Beatles' true successors as they sounded like them. As stated before, the band was originally formed in 1961 as The Iveys, but before the release of their first album with Apple Records, they changed their name to Badfinger in 1969. In 1970, they signed a business management contract with Stan Polley, one of the most inept managers to ever walk on this earth. 
Under his management, this put their money from touring, recording, and even songwriter performance royalties into holding companies controlled by him. While they were recording their fourth record signed to Apple, Polley was working out a deal with Warner Brothers records that demanded a new album every 6 months for the next 3 years. 
At first, the band was reluctant about Polley's financial oversights, but they signed the contract with Warner Brothers Anyway. By 1974, WB filed a lawsuit against Polley and Badfinger for funds that could not be accounted for. 
Polley was supposed to place $250,000 in a mutually accessible account that both Warner Publishing and the band could access. But Polley, being the inept dolt he is, never revealed the account's location to Warner Publishing, and repeatedly ignored warnings to do so. Next, he made the band pass up a US tour to record their third album under Warner Brothers, but the album couldn't be accepted by them since they had already filed a lawsuit against Polley and Badfinger. Warner Brothers refused to accept the tapes and never paid for the sessions. The legal action led to them stopping promotion of their new album, Wish You Were Here, after only 7 weeks, and ending distribution worldwide, thus completely halting the band's entire career. 
Eventually, all of this pressure was taking it's toll on the band's lead singer and guitarist, Pete Ham. In 1975, Pete received a phone call from the United States telling him all his money had disappeared. Pete later met the bassist, Tom Evans, and they went to a pub together, and drank himself stupid. Afterwards, Tom drove Pete home at 3 in the morning. Not long after, Pete hung himself in his garage on April 24, 1975, at the age of 27. His suicide note was addressed to his girlfriend Ann, and his son. 
After Pete's death, the band fell apart and broke up. Guitarist Joey Molland however formed a new band in 1978 and asked Tom Evans to join, and their record label suggested they call the new band Badfinger. They released two albums under the Badfinger name between 1979 and 1981. Eventually, an argument between Tom and Joey led them to disband the newly formed Badfinger and they formed their own bands also called Badfinger. In 1983, Tom and Joey had a heated argument on the phone about royalties still in escrow from the Apple era, which Joey and former members all wanted a share of. Following this argument, Tom hung himself in his garden on November 19, 1983. 
Joey still tours under the Badfinger name to this day. Drummer Mike Gibbins died in 2005 of a brain aneurysm at the age of 56.
Category:Bands
Category:1960s
Category:Bands with a tragic story