Why didn't Badfinger take off when the Beatles did?

[Nightatthehotel]

I just started getting into a couple Badfinger songs and realized their sound isn't too different from the Beatles and they even recorded at Apple Studios where the Beatles recorded stuff so why is it that Badfinger didn't take off to the extent of the Beatles?

 

[waparker4]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-last-act-in-a-rocknroll-tragedy-8590656.html

 

[Telenut62]

Not that 27 number again, good grief.

 

[StoogeSurfer]

Because they were called Badfinger. Come on this is too easy.

 

[burtwangcaster]

I can tell you that B.F. guitarist Joey Mollond is still giging and sounds fantastic. I always enjoyed the band.

 

[maryjane]

because of the particular time in history, some thought of them as beatle wannabes.

i did enjoy listening to the instrumental and vocal talents they had in that lineup.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Talented band but I think doing the McCartney song(s) hurt as much as helped them in the long run.

We do "No Matter What" and filter enough of our early 80's sensibilities through it that it's different but it still works cuz it's a great song.

 

[Vortexan]

I always thought Paul McCartney "discovered" them and was responsible for bringing them in to Apple.
From Wikipedia:

"Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans; active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys; formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969, following the departure of Griffiths. Signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968 as The Iveys, they adopted the name Badfinger in 1969. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits in 1970 and 1971: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". The Ham/Evans-penned Badfinger song "Without You" became a Billboard number one hit for Harry Nilsson.
In 1970, the band engaged American businessman Stan Polley to manage their commercial affairs. Over the next five years the band recorded several albums for Apple and toured extensively, but became embroiled in the chaos of Apple Records' dissolution. They signed to Warner Bros., but Polley's financial machinations resulted in a lawsuit by Warner Bros., over missing escrow account money. Warner's consequent withdrawal from market of the 1974 album, Wish You Were Here (seven weeks after its release), cut off the band's income. Three days before his 28th birthday, on 24 April 1975, Ham committed suicide by hanging himself, leaving a note that included damning comments about Polley.
The next three years saw surviving members trying to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits. The albums Airwaves (1978) and Say No More (1981) foundered, as Molland and Evans see-sawed between cooperation and struggle in attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. Having seen Ham's body after Ham's wife had called him, Evans reportedly never got over his friend's suicide, and was quoted as saying in darker moments, "I wanna be where he is."[1] On 19 November 1983, Evans also took his own life by hanging."

 

[TDPRI]

Badfinger was actually a group called The Iveys. When the Beatles started Apple they called for groups to come record on Apple. Beatle road manager Mal Evans brought in The Iveys and after the first LP went nowhere Paul wrote a couple of songs for them. Other acts that signed on were James Taylor and Nicki Hopkins.

The Beatles actually recorded and completely finished "Come and Get it" but Paul decided to not put the song out as the Beatles and gave it to The Iveys. You can hear it on the Beatles Anthology LP (I think it's on the 3rd LP). Paul produced the Badfinger version and made them perform it EXACTLY the same as the Beatles version. The two sound almost identical.

Here's a Youtube of the Beatles version:


The Beatles didn't like the name The Iveys and Apple’s Neil Aspinall came up with the name Badfinger. John wanted to call them "The Prix" and Paul wanted to call them "Home."

PS. I've since discovered that the "Beatles" version is all Paul McCartney and it was a demo for the Beatles to record the song for the Abby Road LP. The rest of the Beatles took a pass on the song and Maxwell's Silver Hammer made it onto Abby Road instead.

 

[Vortexan]

Yea to answer the. OP's question the Beatles were huge LONG before Badfinger, so the time frame is way different.

 

[mtjo62]

Vortexan's wikipedia blurb is a good summation. Badfinger is perhaps the unluckiest band ever. Stan Polly literally went "off the grid" with $100,000 which led to WB pulling Wish You Were Here. Joey Molland's wife at one point took over managing at that caused even more rifts. They got stranded in Minnesota while rehearsing for a tour when the money dried up and Joey Molland ended up in California working at a car wash. That being said, Badfinger is one of my favorite bands ever. Airwaves was supposed to be a big comeback album but received no promotion from the record company and fizzled as disco and newer bands got the attention and it ended up in the cutout bin. I saw them on a US tour for the Say No More album which featured Tony Kaye although he had gone back to Yes by then. Airwaves and Say No More are great examples of power pop.

 

[PumpJockey]

It is stories like this that should remind people just how treacherous and unprofessional things were "back in the day."

It should also be remembered that Apple Records, while not crooked, was full of hippy vibe that was antithetical to actually taking care of business, so as cool as it was to get signed to Apple, it was not a company that was going to push your records or get you your royalties. Certainly the Beatles had no interest in running a business nor did they hire people who did. It was run by one of their roadies.

Pete Ham was a talented gentle soul who got eaten alive by the business.

 

[Jonny_Quest]

I bought "Come and Get it" when it came out....boy did I wear that out as a kid!

At the time I didn't even know of the Beatle connection back then even though McCartney's name (Lennon's too?) would've appeared on the label. It was the first Apple record I'd had.

Molland came to Manhattan, KS to perform about 4 years ago. He hung around for at least an hour afterwards to sign autographs and chat. Nice guy.

 

[Fearnot]

'No Matter What' is one of my all-time faves - I still count off that pause everytime it comes around - and as I recall, the whole 'No Dice' album was a great listen, filled with memorable tracks. Why didn't they get the attention they deserved? The music business is filled with weasels, that's why.

(See also: Big Star...)

 

[tommyd73069]

Bad timing, bad management, bad planning. The 3 things that screw most bands up...well, and wifes/girlfriends/managers. Who did she think she was, Yoko Ono?

 

[ricksandteles]

To this day when I hear a Badfinger Tune on the radio, I always give the volume a good nudge and just listen... I'm old enough to remember when they were on the "charts" if you listen to Ham's lyrics he had a sensitive side. The Bangladesh stuff when he plays with George is priceless.

 

[Flakey]

Fundamentally it was bad management and the band mates were a little too trusting of them. Joey Molland lives in town here (Minneapolis Area) and is very affable. I've had several discussions with him mainly about various ways they recorded certain songs. To me the perfect overdrive tone is what they achieved in the song "No Matter What", well the one that was released anyways. It was done on George Harrison's 62 SG and a Vox AC 30. (I thought for sure it was an overdriven Champ or Vibro Champ.)

 

[Nightatthehotel]

Fundamentally it was bad management and the band mates were a little too trusting of them. Joey Molland lives in town here (Minneapolis Area) and is very affable. I've had several discussions with him mainly about various ways they recorded certain songs. To me the perfect overdrive tone is what they achieved in the song "No Matter What", well the one that was released anyways. It was done on George Harrison's 62 SG and a Vox AC 30. (I thought for sure it was an overdriven Champ or Vibro Champ.)

That's pretty neat actually!

 

[Larry F]

It's interesting read that people here had very strong connections to some of their songs. Same for me. One of my bands were signed to a booking agent who got us into the high schools in and around Portland in 1970-2. One place we regularly played was Gladstone High School. We played in the cafeteria area, which had a loud jukebox. I would feed those quarters into it for all of the Badfinger songs they had. Their music was so emotional and uplifting. While Come and Get It and No Matter What were mega for me, the one that really got under my skin was Carry On, written for the Peter Sellars/Ringo Starr movie, The Magic Christian. I still get goosebumps listening to it.

 

[Abu Twangy]

During my full-time bar band days we did a few Badfinger songs. Due to the songs' popularity they stayed on our playlist from 1971 to 1982.