Badfinger

Badfinger were a rock/pop (or 'power pop') band formed in Swansea, Wales in 1965. During the early 1970s the band was touted as the heir apparent to The Beatles in part because of their close working relationship with the 'Fab Four'. Badfinger's meteoric rise and demise became a cautionary tale for the rock music industry.

Badfinger originated with guitarist/keyboardist Pete Ham and a group called The Panthers. Ham, Ron Griffiths (bass guitar) (b. October 2, 1946) and David 'Dai' Jenkins (guitar) went on to form The Iveys, named after a street in Swansea, Wales (and a pun on influential British Invasion group, The Hollies). By 1965, Mike Gibbins (b. March 12, 1949) had joined as the drummer, and the band began playing locally with such groups as the The Spencer Davis Group, The Who, The Moody Blues and The Yardbirds. The following year, The Iveys moved their base to London, performing both for David Garrick, a local singer, and as a solo act. In 1967, David 'Dai' Jenkins left, an...