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Pete Ham
Pete Ham
Background information
Birth name	Peter William Ham
Born	27 April 1947(1947-04-27) Swansea, Wales
Died	24 April 1975 (aged 27) Surrey, England
Genre(s)	Rock music
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Piano
Years active	1964-1975
Label(s)	Apple, Warner Bros. Records, Rykodisc
Associated acts	Badfinger, The Iveys
Website	Pete Ham's Official website (English)

Peter William Ham (April 27, 1947 – April 24, 1975) was a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known as the leader of the group Badfinger.

Ham was born in Swansea, and formed a local rock group called The Panthers around 1963. This group would undergo several name and lineup changes until it became The Iveys in 1965. The band relocated to London in 1966, where they performed in local clubs and distributed demonstration recordings to several record companies. In 1968, the group came to the attention of Paul McCartney and were signed to the Beatles' Apple label. McCartney reportedly was impressed with the amount of original material the group produced, and especially a Ham composition titled "They're Knocking Down Our Home."

After several mis-starts as The Iveys, the group changed its name and sound, while enjoying several years of chart success (see Badfinger for details). During the band's tenure at Apple, Ham also performed guitar and vocal session work for ex-Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr. On a personal and social level, Ham expressed concern over environmental issues and poverty, although he never actually participated in organized political endeavors.

After releasing six albums and four hit singles, Badfinger became embroiled in financial and managerial problems. By 1975, without an income and contractually confined, Ham hanged himself in the garage of his Surrey home, three days shy of his 28th birthday. He left behind a pregnant girlfriend (his daughter was born one month after his death) and his personal estate was nearing foreclosure. His suicide note accused Badfinger's manager, Stan Polley, of stealing the band's royalties. It read: "Anne, I love you. Blair, I love you. I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete. P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me." Most of Polley's artist-clients also accused him of corruption, and Polley much later pleaded Nolo contendere to unrelated embezzlement and money laundering charges.

Although Ham is often credited as being one of the earliest purveyors of the Power pop genre, his most widespread effect in popular music is a ballad. "Without You," written by Ham and Badfinger bandmate Tom Evans (who also later committed suicide), was taken to the Billboard charts several times by various artists. Two collections of Ham's home demo recordings have been posthumously released: 1997's 7 Park Avenue and 1999's Golders Green.

(with Badfinger, except where noted)

• Maybe Tomorrow (1969 with "The Iveys")
• Magic Christian Music (1970)
• No Dice (1970)
• Straight Up (1971)
• Ass (1973)
• Badfinger (1974)
• Wish You Were Here (1974)
• 7 Park Avenue (1997 as "Pete Ham")
• Golders Green (1999 as "Pete Ham")
• Head First (2000)

Ham also appeared as a guest artist on

• The Concert For Bangla Desh (the concert, the album, and the film)
• All Things Must Pass by George Harrison (album)
• "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr (single)

• "No Matter What" (Billboard charting #8, by Badfinger)
• "Without You" (Billboard charting #1 by Harry Nilsson, #3 by Mariah Carey, #28 by Clay Aiken).
• "Day After Day " (Billboard charting #4, Cashbox charting #1, both by Badfinger)
• "Baby Blue" (Billboard charting #14 by Badfinger)

• Pete Ham's Official website