Molland stirred further controversy by releasing Day After Day, a recording of a 1974 show by Badfingers classic lineup, augmented with posthumous guitar and vocal overdubs and drum samples. At one point we met a manager by the name Stan Polley. He told me that night he was going to kill himself. Think about that: We were selling millions of records and were on the radio all day, all over the world. American bands played really well and could sing their asses off. It was good for rock n roll guitar.. Recognizing the Iveys talent and potential, he signed them to a management deal and moved them to London, where he installed them in a house that he rented in the suburb of Golders Green. Even Paul McCartney assured the band the song would be a hit, but the single only peaked at No. But he said: "Ron Griffiths [who he replaced] had joked in a magazine it hadn't done much good [being signed to The Beatles' label]. Signed by the Beatles The Iveys were the first band signed to The Beatles' Apple label in 1968. This celebrity has also been counted as part of famous people who are born on April 7. His clients included rock band Badfinger, musician Al Kooper, singer Lou Christie, singer-producer Hank Medress, arranger Charles Calello, composer Sandy Linzer, WABC disc jockey Bob Lewis, among others. I think we would have gone a long way with that. 126.04. Evans was the victim of more mismanagement and was sued for $5-million. With no viable path to a serious career, most of Swanseas bands were content to remain semi-professional. Did you have any inkling that Pete Ham would commit suicide? I will take him with me.. I cant get away from it, but I dont really dwell on it. The additions of bassist Ron Griffiths in 1964 and drummer Mike Gibbins in 1965 helped the Iveys to achieve new levels of musical proficiency and professional presentation. Bill Collins, a session musician, was impressed with the Iveys performance, and took them under his wing. Husband of Joan (Scott) Polley for 64 years. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Bath A contract was drawn up that essentially called for the band to deliver six albums over a three-year period. The Beatles werent really hanging around or anything. GREAT NEWS! P.S. We did 50 or 60 dates on our first tour, and then a year later we did another tour. The song reached the Top 10 in several European countries but, despite some BBC airplay and a promotional push in America, it stalled at Number 67 in the U.S. and failed to chart altogether in Britain. Mollands departure, and the fact that Wish You Were Here had been pulled from record-store shelves, didnt stop the band (which now included new keyboardist/guitarist Bob Jackson) from rushing into the studio in early 1975 to record yet another haphazardly-assembled album, Head First. P.S. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Be respectful even if you disagree. I couldnt believe the luck we were having. Nationality: American: Occupation: Entertainment Manager: Stanley Herbert Polley (April 7, 1922 - July 20, 2009) was an entertainment manager active in the 1960s and 1970s. Id been to England and tried to get the money. Tom Evans worked for awhile as a pipefitter and cab driver in England, while Joey Molland spent a period living in L.A., laying carpet and doing various odd jobs, eventually selling off many of his guitars to make ends meet. A Badfinger act has also recently been re-launched in the UK by Bob Jackson and has completed a theatre tour. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, We were all quite freaked out about even seeing him. Dropping the Iveys moniker for Badfinger (a reference to Bad Finger Boogie, the working title of the Beatles With a Little Help from My Friends), the band saw the albums lead single, Come and Get It, a Paul McCartney-penned ear-candy gem that could have easily figured on Abbey Road, hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic in the spring of 1970. The Iveys had put out some records before Come and Get It that didnt really take off, Molland says. With the release of Ass delayed by Polleys wrangling with Apple, Ass and Badfinger ended up being released almost simultaneously, virtually guaranteeing that neither album would find a large audience. Badfingers roots date back to the early 60s, in the close-knit music scene of Swansea Wales. What Polley did to those guys is unforgivable. Swanseas importance as a port city and industrial center had made it an attractive bombing target during World War II, and many of the buildings in Swanseas city center had been destroyed during the Nazis three-night Blitz in February 1941. Although many details remain unclear, it was widely alleged that he had been a bagman for the Mafia. New York City, New York, U.S. Died: July 20, 2009 (aged 87) Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. EMI, in return, were allowed to release Beatles compilations, which Brian Epstein had always resisted.. Eight years later, in an eerily similar and no less tragic manner, Evans also hanged himself following a dispute about unpaid royalties. He financially ruined a bunch of others, too. "But on the whole, the same fans come. No Dice also featured the heartbreaking Ham/Evans ballad Without You, which would become a Number One smash for Harry Nilssonwho initially thought that it was a Beatles songin 1972, and a worldwide hit for Mariah Carey in 1994. The Rascals were amazing.. It was surreal. Bill Collins, related to classic-Kinks manager Grenville Collins of Robert owes half to Grenville? The album wasnt released in America until years later. For a time, everything was great.. In the 90s, Molland angered some fans by recording remakes of ten vintage Badfinger tunes, which were then released on CD by a series of low-rent labels, often with photos of the original band misrepresenting the musical contents. THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BRAWL BETWEEN JOHN LENNON AND CHRIS MONTEZ IN 1963! He had an aura about him. The vacancy was filled by another Liverpool native, Joey Molland, whose guitar, vocal and songwriting skills were well matched to those of Ham and Evans. Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California, USA. They were really nice, and they wanted to play some beat songs. The band was barely getting any money out of Polley and Ham was at odds with his bandmates. We have set your language to Ham left a note behind that said I will no longer be allowed to love and trust anybody. Although initially skeptical of Polley, Collins admired his successful mindset. Their new Warner Bros. contract called for Badfinger to deliver a new album every six months. As the first non-solo act on Apple Records, Badfinger had remarkable chemistry, huge hits on the charts, and theyd be critically acclaimed as natural successors to The Beatles. The failure of Maybe Tomorrow in the U.S. and U.K. hit the Iveys hard, and Apples organizational problems created an additional level that frustrated the bands efforts to come up with a new single. It was Tom, who had hanged himself from a tree in their backyard. Another inhabitant of Bill Collins house was Dave Duffield, the Kinks road manager. American businessman Stan Polley, who had taken over their affairs from original manager, Bill Collins, defrauded the band out of millions, leaving them all but broke. Father of Lorraine & Blair Burns of Listowel, Glenn & Diane Polley of Pickering, Bryan & Fiona Polley of Brampton, and Dean & Diane Polley of Ajax. Try again later. By the time Badfinger hired Polleywithout having a lawyer look at the contract that he offeredsome of his other clients had already come to suspect that Polley was mishandling their finances. The story of the British power pop phenomenon is one of hits, Beatles, music industry sharks and tragedy. Thats what I call him the crook. It was just blatant. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Although the fallout from the Warner Bros. lawsuit led to his exit from the music industry, Polley apparently never lost his gift for larceny. "But he was spinning us a line. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. I dont remember if it was John or Phil Spector who suggested me and Tom for the album; I just recall Johns driver calling me and saying, Johns doing some work in the studio. On April 25, 1975 . Ham died at the age of 27. From left: Pete Ham, Tommy Evans, Mike Gibbons, Joey Molland. While Polley had a lot of control over the band, if he was able to negotiate a deal with a different label, he could exert even more control over the group. I had an argument the night before he died; he was talking about getting that money from the cohorts. Why MTV Banned Nine Inch Nails From the MTV Movie Awards in 2005, Mother Love Bone and The Tragic Death of Andrew Wood, Pearl Jams Disastrous Fight With Ticketmaster, The Cults Making of Love and She Sells Sanctuary. It was through his association with Christie that he met and began working with other artists in the New York and Los Angeles entertainment fields. Although Stan Polley may of done many unethcial things during his tenure as manger, Badfinger never had any release go anywhere near the top-forty globally after 1973. From that moment on, I wanted to be a guitar player. He's also written several music-related books and liner notes for numerous CD reissues and box sets and has contributed essays and other pieces to other books, including all six editions of The Trouser Press Record Guide. But why did they take it out on the band? "In 1974, I left for America with 700. It is a story with its roots in Swansea and Liverpool involving The Beatles, a love song and a tragedy. What was he like to work with as a producer? I will take him with me." News of Ham's death was not widely disseminated at the time, as no public comment was made by The Beatles, Apple Corps Ltd, or Warner Bros. Records. It was song six on album No Dice and Molland said they had no idea about its potential until 1971 when Harry Nilsson walked into a recording session. Alan T, Oct 26, 2009 #110 wildstar Senior Member Location: ontario, canada Alan T said: Badfinger were on a downward spiral in record sales after the last Apple LP. He encouraged the band to focus on songwriting and Pete Ham took that to heart, demoing tons of original songs using the houses makeshift studio. But Harrison was busy planning his all-star Concert for Bangladesh benefit showsin which Badfinger would participateand dropped out of Straight Up after completing four songs and playing the distinctive slide guitar hook on Hams Day After Day. The album was completed with Rundgren, who recorded some new tracks with the band, mixed the tapes from the Harrison sessions and recut some of the material that the band had recorded with Emerick. Ive heard this story many times and being a musician as well, I know about struggles and if its too good to be true, it probably isnt. We were astounded when we heard Harrys version. [Keyboardist] Nicky Hopkins was there, [drummer] Jim Keltner was there. Also in 1982, Evans, Gibbins and Bob Jackson somehow fell in with John Cass, a shadowy Milwaukee entrepreneur with minimal music-industry experience, who nonetheless promised to relaunch Badfingers career with a lucrative tour and a high-profile record deal. By the spring of 1975, Pete Ham learned he was penniless. Stan notoriously crippled the band financially by stealing funds for himself. Polley had gained a positive reputation with musician clients. Gary Thain I said, 'Well, whats the point in this?'. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. The hippies were all over the place it was cool. That you're taking all my money but I don't.") presciently predicted Badfinger's dealings with their shady manager, Stan Polley, that led its doomed lead singer/songwriter, Pete Ham, to write on his suicide note: "Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. Impressed, Evans passed copies of the Iveys demo tape to John, Paul, George and Ringo, ultimately gaining all four Beatles approval to sign the band to Apple. Even when pushing 70, he conned $1 . The band were excited about the opportunity, but it didnt come without its problems. So I went down and met the band. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Badfinger further established their own credentials with the release of their second album No Dice, in November 1970. In January 1968, Bill Collins invited the Beatles longtime personal assistant Mal Evans, along with Apple Records A&R head Peter Asher, to see the Iveys play at Londons Marquee Club. He soon formed an instrumental combo called the Panthers, quickly emerging as an adept guitarist and disciplined bandleader. The band left Apple in the spring of 1972 and signed with Warner Brothers, a contract that required them to produce a new album every 6 months for 3 years. Do you remember what kind of guitar and amp setup you used on that? Please enter your email and password to sign in. John was quite different. [Laughs] But what was funny was, youd do a couple of takes of the tune, and then Phil would play you back a two-track mix with echoes on it and everything. Scott Schinder has written about music and popular culture for various publications, including Creem, Billboard, Time Out New York, Rolling Stone, New Musical Express andMelody Maker. Badfinger gave me the opportunity to do everything a musician could want. This is a carousel with slides. So they said to the people at Apple in the U.K., Can you maybe redo the stuff? They didnt like all the songs, and they hated the sound. Career At around the time of its release, the details of Polleys complex financial schemes began to surface. Pete. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. "Pete had an affair with a roadie's wife, which caused a lot of not good feeling. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. He was one of the best slide players ever. I didnt really know any kind of buzz on them. We were jamming more. Although it would take another five years for Capitol Records to actually release it on CD, Badfingers albums have been reissued multiple times in the years since, and the bands songs remain beloved staples of oldies and classic-rock radio.