In 1968, The Beatles were beginning to fracture. It was beginning to be a possibility that their fame would soon fade, and that another band might take over. In that same year, Apple Records had just signed its first-ever band after the Fab Four. Badfinger, who were then known as The Iveys, were a young band hailing from Wales who had an enormous stash of potential. Each Beatles member approved of each member of their juniors, but it was Paul McCartney who took particular care of the newcomers. McCartney gifted them a song that launched their careers, but their downfall came almost as quickly and remains one of rock’s most tragic tales.
The Beginnings Of McCartney’s Prodigal Band
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The Badfinger story started in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. The band performed on the local circuit under many different names, but their first serious title was The Iveys in 1961. They managed to secure a place as David Garrick’s backing band and actually attracted more attention than he did. The band were fired, and suspected it was due to their ability to outshine. They moved to London, where frontman Pete Ham was relentlessly writing demos, throwing himself completely into it. The Iveys had a break when their makeshift manager, Bill Collins, invited Beatles roadie Mal Evans and Apple Records A&R head Peter Asher to come and see them play a gig. They liked what they saw, and The Iveys were the first band after The Beatles to be signed to the label.
There was a lot of excitement that came with the signing, but the results of the band didn’t quite match. Still operating as The Iveys, their European releases were doing pretty well, but their music just couldn’t get through to a US audience. At that time, Apple Records was facing some internal chaos, with huge changes to staffing and priorities. Iveys bassist Tom Evans voiced his frustrations to Disco & Music Echo magazine, saying that “The business definitely seems to be blocking all that Apple are trying to do, and we’re the ones suffering for it because we’re the guinea pigs…The un-cooperation of the Beatles isn’t helping either.” The band were being neglected by who were deemed as the most artist-friendly label of the time, but their luck was about to change.
How Paul McCartney Transformed The Iveys into Badfinger
After seeing Evans’ interview, Paul McCartney felt bad and decided to extend an olive branch. To give the boys a boost in confidence and musicality, McCartney offered what was sure to be a successful hit: “Come And Get It.” McCartney had written the song for the soundtrack of the movie The Magic Christian, but gifted it to The Iveys as their own on the condition that they played it just as he had recorded it in the demo. McCartney noted that “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.'”
McCartney’s vision paid off. With a new direction, the band renamed themselves Badfinger. Apple Records felt that ‘The Iveys’ was dated, and the new name was a much cooler, marketable alternative. “Come And Get It” became Badfinger’s breakthrough hit, finally getting the band a top ten spot in the US. With their newfound recognition, their following album, No Dice, was a huge success and was dubbed by Rolling Stone as “one of the best records of the year.” Badfinger were established as a great rock and roll band, and were even asked by George Harrison to play on All Things Must Pass, and by John Lennon in the Imagine sessions. They really were set to be “the next Beatles.”
But with fame and success, came new responsibilities. Badfinger were in need of new management to navigate their careers in America. They found Stan Polley, an entertainment manager with a seemingly impressive portfolio. Now, his abilities to accrue vast sums of money were impressive, but so were his manipulation skills.
How Bandfinger Met Their Downfall
Polley quickly set out to make a new arrangement where income from Badfinger’s tours, publishing, and record sales would go into a holding company controlled by Polley himself. He promised Badfinger that it was a plan that would have lucrative results for them. In reality, it was a bogus scheme and Polley seemed to pocket nearly all profits. Badfinger got no richer, despite being played on the radio daily and jamming with Beatles members. By 1971, The Beatles had broken up, Apple Records was in shambles, and there was no one really backing Badfinger anymore.
They decided to find a fresh start singing with Warner in 1973. But their first record with the band, Self-titled, was stripped from shelves by Warner when it came to their attention that the $250,000 advance they had paid to the band’s management had gone missing. Any guesses on where it went? It halted Badfinger’s career, left them in a mess of legal fees, and effectively broke, all while Polley was unreachable.
This was, understandably, deeply traumatic for Badfinger, and in April 1974, frontman Pete Ham died by suicide. He reportedly ended his note with “P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless b-stard. I will take him with me.” The tragic consequences of Polley’s actions, unfortunately, didn’t end there. In 1983, the commercial disappointment and turmoil of Badfinger and the lingering pain from Ham’s death led to the death of bassist Tom Evans, also by suicide. The rollercoaster ride that Badfinger were forced on is one of rock’s most haunting tales. What started as hope and promising development turned into a nasty battle of bankruptcy and betrayal. Badfinger should have inherited the success of the Fab Four. Instead, they met their end in a Shakespearean tragedy.