What do you get when you mix a band of power pop visionaries into the jaws of crooked management and catastrophic misfortune. You get Head First, Badfinger’s great lost album, a masterpiece taped in 11 days, buried for half a century, and finally exhumed by Bob Jackson, the last man standing. Jackson lays it all out: the betrayal, the lawsuits, and the heartbreak, but also the defiance, the friendship, and the songs. It’s a tale so tragic it makes Let It Be look like a garden party, and yet Jackson is still here, championing the greatness of Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins.
Further information
Badfinger – Head First is out now
Podcasts also available: Joey Molland, Jeff Wayne, Steve Harley, Ian Hunter
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I have to admit that the names of Bad Finger, Pete Ham and Tom Evans make me teary, and angry, and has to a certain extent stopped me from listening to more of the band. Glad that this album, which really is a “lost classic” despite all it’s back story and production handicaps, has been made available in quality format.
As one of the millions and millions of original Badfinger fans, a big THANK YOU for this podcast! I remember packing the then new Magic Christian and Straight Up albums inside of my suitcase for my first road trip across the country. It was one of those bare bones journeys that young people embarked on to “find themselves” back in those days. I stayed with old friends who had moved away from my hometown and worked on a farm in New Jersey for food and a space to live in a cold basement. I introduced Badfinger to the farmer’s kids on their vintage record player. They loved it and became Badfinger fans. My ultimate experience was meeting Bob Jackson in person at Abbey Road studios and joining in a group singing of COME AND GET IT!