Badfinger

Badfinger was a rock/pop band formed in Swansea, Wales in the early 1960s and is one of the earliest representatives of the power pop genre.

During the early 1970s the band was touted as the heir apparent to The Beatles, partly because of their close working relationship with the 'Fab Four' but also because of their similar sound. However, it was the meteoric rise and harrowing demise of Badfinger that cemented their name in rock history journals. Although poised to make an impact on the music scene of the 1970s, starting it out with four hit singles and a number-one Billboard composition, Badfinger became victim to the worst elements of the music industry; this resulted in bankruptcy and two suicides.

Badfinger originated with guitarist/keyboardist Pete Ham and a group called The Panthers formed in 1961, then The Black Velvets and The Wild Ones. Ham, Ron Griffiths (bass guitar) and David 'Dai' Jenkins (guitar) went on to form The Iveys, named after a street in Swansea, Wales. By March of 1965, Mike Gibbins had joined as the drummer and the band began playing locally with such groups as the Spencer Davis Group, The Who, The Moody Blues and The Yardbirds. [1] The Iveys moved their base to London in 1966, performing both for David Garrick (a local singer) and as a solo act, and reportedly opening for Pink Floyd on occasion. The following year, Jenkins was asked to leave the group and he was replaced by Liverpudlian guitarist Tom Evans.