0:00:03 > 0:00:06MAN ON PA: Today is a really important day for this city.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Today is a day we honour one of our sons.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11APPLAUSE
0:00:12 > 0:00:14In April 2013,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18people from all over the world came to Swansea in South Wales to
0:00:18 > 0:00:23pay tribute to Pete Ham, an unsung hero of British pop music.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Today I believe is a long overdue event in Swansea.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30It's recognising Pete, Pete Ham, and what he did,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32not only for Swansea but for the music scene in general.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36When we unveil the plaque, we'll honour Peter,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39but we put on record that if you are a kid from Swansea,
0:00:39 > 0:00:44you can still do something amazing and you can change the world!
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Amongst the guests were Pete's partner Anne and his
0:00:46 > 0:00:51daughter Petera, who grew up in Glasgow without knowing her father.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is Peter's daughter, Petera.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56It is very emotional for me,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59especially when I hear the Welsh accent.
0:00:59 > 0:01:05Petera, my daughter, is unveiling the plaque, which is lovely for me,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07for her to be doing that.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Although I didn't know my dad, I still feel very close to him
0:01:10 > 0:01:14through all of his music and everything my mum tells me about him.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Many people don't get to hear things about their father after
0:01:18 > 0:01:22they go, at least I've got his music and I'm just very, very proud.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25APPLAUSE
0:01:26 > 0:01:32This is the story of Pete Ham and his band, Badfinger.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41# No matter what you are
0:01:42 > 0:01:45# I will always be with you
0:01:47 > 0:01:50# Doesn't matter what you do, girl
0:01:50 > 0:01:53# Ooh, girl, with you... #
0:01:54 > 0:01:58In a business where tales of rip-offs and shattered dreams
0:01:58 > 0:02:02are ten a penny, the story of Badfinger is the stuff of legend.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, I think.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13In their short time together,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Badfinger made some truly great music.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20# Be a part of it all
0:02:20 > 0:02:25# Nothing to see, nothing to say
0:02:25 > 0:02:26# Nothing to do. #
0:02:26 > 0:02:32They were a highly respected band from the masters at that time.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The band's leader and creative driving force was Pete Ham.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43Together with band-mate Tommy Evans, he wrote the classic Without You.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48# I can't live
0:02:48 > 0:02:51# If living is without you... #
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Many people I have worked with since, guys who write songs
0:02:55 > 0:02:57that are very successful, to a man they all say,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00"I wish I'd have written it."
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Most of the stories you ever hear about the band really are all
0:03:03 > 0:03:06pretty sombre but there was so much good stuff
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and happiness as well, it wasn't all doom and gloom.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14# I am a joker, just a joker
0:03:14 > 0:03:21# I make people laugh and they see the half that is happy... #
0:03:24 > 0:03:27BEVERLEY TUCKER: He kind of felt as though it was his duty
0:03:27 > 0:03:33to cheer everyone up, be the joker.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37He cared as much for people around him,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39more so than he did for himself.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The band started out in the mid-1960s, they originally called
0:03:46 > 0:03:51themselves the Iveys after Ivey Place in Swansea where they rehearsed.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Peter was born and brought up on Townhill in Swansea.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00The Swansea scene was like Liverpool without the record interest.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03You could play seven nights a week, twice on Sunday
0:04:03 > 0:04:07if you wanted to, the scene vibrated with energy.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10We would play all South Wales down to Pembroke, Pembroke town,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Haverfordwest up to Cardiff, Newport, up the valleys,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17then the bigger bands would come in and we would support them.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18We supported The Who.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The Yardbirds, the Merseybeats.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd at Swansea University.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28The only ones we didn't support where the likes of the Beatles
0:04:28 > 0:04:30and the Stones, I suppose.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35One night in 1966, at the Regal Ballroom, Ammanford,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39they met the man who would set them on the road to stardom.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43We noticed an elderly gentleman with a moustache and a black corduroy
0:04:43 > 0:04:46jacket stopped in his tracks, turned round and stared at us.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Then he came to the dressing room and said, "I like what you do, lads."
0:04:51 > 0:04:55"I really think you are a good band, you could go far."
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Bill Collins became the band manager and took them
0:04:58 > 0:05:02to London to live with him in his house in Golders Green.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Before we moved away, he had a meeting with all the parents
0:05:06 > 0:05:12and said that he can't promise anything but hard work
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and blood, sweat and tears, I think he called it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Churchill's...
0:05:20 > 0:05:24It was everything it was purported to be in London, at that time.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25I am so glad I was part of it.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27It was a struggle to start with in the house
0:05:27 > 0:05:30because there were two bands living there, he had the Mojos,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33which occupied part of it, and we were crammed into the loft.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36We used to sleep on camp beds the first nine or 12 months
0:05:36 > 0:05:38we were there!
0:05:38 > 0:05:42For two years, the band travelled the country gigging solidly.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Whenever they were more at home at Golders Green, Pete spent
0:05:45 > 0:05:49every minute in a makeshift studio Bill had put in the house.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53It was a sweatbox in there, it was 10x10, a soundproof cube.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Pete used to spend most of the night...
0:05:56 > 0:05:58He did most of his songwriting overnight.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It is incredible what he used to put down, and he used to speed up
0:06:02 > 0:06:05the guitar solo and slow it down and play it back
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and it would sound like Pinky and Perky.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Always experimenting and looking for something new.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Literally at the age of 19 and 20, for a year and a half,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24he created all kinds of mini masterpieces with
0:06:24 > 0:06:28tonnes of background vocals and it is astounding stuff.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31No-one at that time of that ilk was doing anything like what
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Pete Ham was, but he was doing it alone in this room.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45BEVERLEY: Pete was very shy when I first met him.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47It was only after I had known him
0:06:47 > 0:06:49for a couple of weeks
0:06:49 > 0:06:54that his sense of humour really came out, which...
0:06:56 > 0:06:58..was what drew me to him, really.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04Pete always found it easier to express his emotions
0:07:04 > 0:07:08through his music, so if there was a particular situation,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12maybe we'd had an argument or something, his way of
0:07:12 > 0:07:18apologising to me or stating his side of the case would be through songs.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33The hard work was starting to pay off, but there were changes in the air.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Dai Jenkins was replaced by Tommy Evans from Liverpool who
0:07:36 > 0:07:39became Peter's main songwriting partner.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Pete was writing about his life
0:07:43 > 0:07:45and the way the world was changing around him.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Knocking Down Our Home was his response to the urban
0:07:48 > 0:07:51redevelopment of his hometown of Swansea.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55# I heard the news today
0:07:55 > 0:08:00# They're going to move us far away
0:08:00 > 0:08:03# Seems that our home must go
0:08:03 > 0:08:08# They're going to build a motorway. #
0:08:08 > 0:08:11The song was one of several demos Bill Collins sent to the
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Beatles' record company, Apple. Paul McCartney heard it and loved it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21And The Iveys became the first band signed to Apple.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25I suppose you could say it was like all our Christmases coming at once.
0:08:26 > 0:08:32Of all the labels to get offered a record deal with, Apple. Come on!
0:08:34 > 0:08:37By the late '60s, music and fashion were changing
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and Apple felt the band needed a make over, so The Iveys became
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Badfinger, named after a Beatles song, Badfinger Boogie.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48To help them along, Paul McCartney gave them a song
0:08:48 > 0:08:50he'd written for a film called The Magic Christian.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54# Make your mind up fast
0:08:54 > 0:08:59# If you want it any time I can give it... #
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Next thing they knew, they had a top five hit single
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and were on Top Of The Pops.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Come And Get It on Top Of The Pops, I think
0:09:07 > 0:09:09that was the peak time for Pete and the rest of the members,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13the smiles, the excitement is written all over their faces.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15It is pure ecstasy.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23But one person didn't make it to Top Of The Pops. Ron Griffiths,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25who had been with the band from the start and played on
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Come And Get It, was replaced by Joey Molland.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33My demise from the band was simply because I was married
0:09:33 > 0:09:35and it went against the grain.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38My little boy Jason was in the house, Tommy would
0:09:38 > 0:09:41put his stereo on in the early hours of the morning and wake the baby up.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46Maureen, my wife, obviously wasn't best pleased because the baby
0:09:46 > 0:09:52was being woken up and it seemed as if I was being edged out.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I wasn't happy about going, certainly I wasn't.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I came up to live in Hemel Hempstead and ended up doing a production
0:09:59 > 0:10:03line job at a farm in Hemel, driving to work on a push-bike,
0:10:03 > 0:10:076-2 and 2-10 shift while Come And Get It was in the charts.
0:10:07 > 0:10:16# You'd better hurry cos it's going fast. #
0:10:16 > 0:10:19CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Next stop - America.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36We picked up the tour bus in New Jersey,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and we kicked off in New Jersey.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44It was endless, endless,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46500 miles a day sometimes on a...
0:10:46 > 0:10:48on a Greyhound bus.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53Pete had his Super 8 camera running the whole time.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56# So listen to my song
0:10:56 > 0:10:58# Of life... #
0:10:58 > 0:11:01America seeped into Pete's writing and inspired
0:11:01 > 0:11:04one of his most powerful pieces of social commentary.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Pete had a very strong sense of justice.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13As he saw it, so many in America had so much,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and then there were so many that had virtually nothing.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20He found it very disturbing and said,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23"There could be a revolution, they must do something,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27"and it's up to the youngsters..." the people of our age then,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31"..to try and turn this around and make the whole thing fairer."
0:11:31 > 0:11:34# There's no good revolution
0:11:36 > 0:11:39# Just power changing hands
0:11:41 > 0:11:44# There is no straight solution
0:11:46 > 0:11:49# Except to understand... #
0:11:51 > 0:11:52The first thing people have to do
0:11:52 > 0:11:55before they try and do anything about the world
0:11:55 > 0:11:58is admit that they've got a lot of faults themselves,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and admit that there is no real perfection.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03People get too obsessed with ideals,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06the perfect world or the perfect human being,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and there's no such thing.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13So all, basically, that song says is realise our imperfections
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and talk about them and then try and do something about it.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22The band returned to Britain and went into Abbey Road Studios
0:12:22 > 0:12:25to record their new album, No Dice.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Hidden away at the end of side one
0:12:27 > 0:12:30was a song which would change their fortunes for ever.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35The boys had been in the studio for quite a few nights,
0:12:35 > 0:12:41and Pete said, "Right, I'm not going in the studio tonight,
0:12:41 > 0:12:42"we're going out for the evening."
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Just literally as we were walking out the front door,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Tom popped his head round and said,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52"I've got an idea for a song, come in the studio."
0:12:52 > 0:12:56And Pete said, "No, I promised Bev, we're going out tonight."
0:12:56 > 0:12:59I said, "No, it's fine," and he said, "No, I promised you,"
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and I said, "Look, I don't mind, I'm smiling."
0:13:02 > 0:13:06And he said, "Your mouth's smiling, but your eyes are sad."
0:13:06 > 0:13:12# You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows
0:13:14 > 0:13:17# Yes, it shows... #
0:13:17 > 0:13:19As soon as I heard that line,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23"You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows,"
0:13:23 > 0:13:25there were quite a few tears shed.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30Pete had got this verse and a chorus that he'd written.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34He wasn't very happy with the chorus, and Pete...
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And Tommy, conversely, had the opposite thing, you know,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40he had this chorus, wasn't very happy with his verse,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and, at Pete's suggestion, said,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45"Why don't we just amalgamate these two bits?"
0:13:46 > 0:13:47# I can't live
0:13:50 > 0:13:53# If living is without you
0:13:53 > 0:13:55# I can't live
0:13:57 > 0:14:00# I can't give any more.... #
0:14:00 > 0:14:04The two songs were joined together, and Without You was born.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08A few weeks later, the band were back in the studio.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12In the room next door, singer Harry Nilsson was recording his own album.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15He called Badfinger in to listen to his new single.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17# I can't forget this feeling... #
0:14:17 > 0:14:19They were chuffed to meet this fellow,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21you know, and Pete did admire him,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23he loved Harry's solo records that he had done,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25so he said, "Would you come in the studio
0:14:25 > 0:14:26"and just listen to this track I'm doing?"
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And they were just sitting there listening,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33and they're hearing Harry Nilsson covering Without You,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and then you can imagine, when the chorus came in,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37everybody struck, I mean...
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And he sings that big note, they said they were floored,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44they were like pinning themselves against the wall.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48# I can't live
0:14:48 > 0:14:51# If living is without you
0:14:51 > 0:14:55# I can't live
0:14:55 > 0:14:58# I can't give any more... #
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Immediately, it became a worldwide sensation.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Everybody was covering it - Shirley Bassey, Andy Williams,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Engelbert Humperdinck, Frank Sinatra.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10I mean, everybody was covering it or doing it live.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15# I can't give any more.... #
0:15:15 > 0:15:21They achieved the goal of every self-respecting songwriter
0:15:21 > 0:15:25in that they wrote a standard, you know, which is...
0:15:25 > 0:15:28I mean, that's up there with White Christmas, isn't it?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31George Harrison took an interest in Badfinger,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33producing them in the studio
0:15:33 > 0:15:35and asking them to play on his own records.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38George was particularly impressed with Pete.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Pete was still quite in awe of George
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and couldn't quite believe that he was good enough to play with George,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49even though everyone kept saying to him,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53"He would not ask you if he didn't think you were good enough."
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I met George Harrison some years later
0:15:56 > 0:16:00and was having a conversation with him,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and he told me how in awe of Pete he was,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and Pete never knew that.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08George produced songs for Badfinger's next album,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11including the hit single Day After Day.
0:16:11 > 0:16:17# I remember finding out about you... #
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And on one song in particular,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24a slide guitar thing that Pete had come up with,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26George was so keen that in the studio
0:16:26 > 0:16:29he said, "Look, why don't we just do this together?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31"I mean, this would be great double tracked."
0:16:31 > 0:16:34So he got really involved - not only in the production,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36but also sort of playing on the record.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39SLIDE GUITAR PLAYS
0:16:45 > 0:16:49George chose Badfinger to be part of his backing band
0:16:49 > 0:16:51at the legendary Concert for Bangladesh
0:16:51 > 0:16:53at Madison Square Garden in 1970.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Pete was just so excited.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59It's one thing going in the studio with George,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00but to be on stage with George,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05and for George to have asked him, erm...was...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11..the highest compliment he could have got from anyone.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15By now, Badfinger should have been very comfortably off,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19but the money was not coming through to the band.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23He was changing for the gig and had on what I thought was a pair of...
0:17:23 > 0:17:29I don't know, comic shoes - the soles were coming away,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33like the old vaudeville comedians or something like that.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36And I said, "Oh, part of the act, do you do a comedy number?"
0:17:36 > 0:17:39He said, "No, those are my stage shoes."
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I said, "Well, you can't wear those on stage,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45"you're the local idol coming back."
0:17:45 > 0:17:47He said, "They're the only ones I've got."
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Badfinger's eccentric manager, Bill Collins,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53had encouraged the band to put their finances
0:17:53 > 0:17:56in the hands of an American businessman named Stan Polley.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01When the band started to get successful,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Bill kind of got out of his depth.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09He did things that he thought were right for the band,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11but...they weren't.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16# Money... #
0:18:16 > 0:18:19I believe that Polley meant well,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22although he was a very astute businessman, you know,
0:18:22 > 0:18:23he knows all the tricks,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25and he told us, he said, "I know all the tricks,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27"but if you play ball, I'll play ball,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30"and we'll all get along fine, and we'll all finish up millionaires."
0:18:30 > 0:18:35He was the archetypal manager with a big cigar
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and, you know, "I'm going to take you guys to the stars,"
0:18:38 > 0:18:43all that sort of business, and it seemed OK at first.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Polley's first move was to get Badfinger away from Apple Records
0:18:47 > 0:18:51and signed up to a new deal he'd negotiated with Warner Brothers.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54He dazzled Bill and the band with talk of huge cash advances
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and said that, for tax reasons,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59the money should be paid into a series of different bank accounts
0:18:59 > 0:19:01which he himself would control.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05He said, "We'll put it all in a pot,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09"and by the time we've reached the end of the album deals,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11"you know, you'll all be very rich people.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16"But in the meantime, we'll just be on a basic salary, I'm afraid."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And of course, not knowing any better
0:19:18 > 0:19:21and wanting to think the best of people,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23the band went along with it, you know.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26All around New York in a big limo,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and he said, "And it's no good you reading this contract."
0:19:29 > 0:19:30It was three inches thick.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33But he said, "Basically, you've got to understand..."
0:19:33 > 0:19:36And he talked and talked and talked and drummed into my mind
0:19:36 > 0:19:40that we had a 3 million deal to make six albums in three years
0:19:40 > 0:19:41and, uh...
0:19:41 > 0:19:45This was all in the back of a limousine in New York City?
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Yeah, riding around in the dark.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53# Well, I'm sorry, but it's time to make a stand
0:19:55 > 0:19:59# Though we never meant to bite the loving hand... #
0:20:01 > 0:20:08Pete was a very loyal guy and didn't want to split away from Apple.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12You know, that was like leaving part of the family again.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17And I think that was a terrible strain on Pete.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Pete was so grateful for the opportunity they gave him
0:20:21 > 0:20:26and his band and he wrote a song called Apple Of My Eye.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29How many artists write a song about their record label?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Usually when they're about to leave, they're angry, but that was Pete Ham.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39# But now the time has come to part... #
0:20:42 > 0:20:45There were changes too in Pete's personal life.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49After his relationship with Beverly ended, he had several girlfriends.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52He was a man who very much needed to be in love.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Finally, he got together with Anne, and she soon discovered
0:20:56 > 0:20:58she was pregnant.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01This was heaven for Pete, you know, family man,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and suddenly he was going to have his family
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and he'd lived for all these years, you know,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09in essentially a bedsit in Golders Green. I mean, that's
0:21:09 > 0:21:13what it was, living on very little money, even during all the successes.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16# MUSIC: "Matted Spam" by Badfinger
0:21:16 > 0:21:19# Can you feel the change?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21# It's coming
0:21:21 > 0:21:22# Can you feel it?
0:21:22 > 0:21:24# Yeah... #
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Pete set up a home with Anne in Weybridge, Surrey,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30just a mile down the road from Tommy Evans and his wife Marianne.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34He was just a lovely, lovely guy.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Beautiful nature, you couldn't have asked for a better partner,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39he was so kind, loving.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44He wanted to be left alone to go out and play his music but he was...
0:21:45 > 0:21:48You have to be hard to be in the music business
0:21:48 > 0:21:50and Pete was not like that at all.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Pete was very happy, you know,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55he wanted to do loads of stuff with the house.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Everything seemed OK until the cheques stopped coming.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04The cash advances from Warner Bros had disappeared.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07So too had Badfinger's American manager, Stan Polley.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Loyal and trusting to the end,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Pete refused to believe Polley was ripping them off.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Then Warner Bros sued the band for the return of their money
0:22:16 > 0:22:21and Badfinger were effectively shut down by their own record company.
0:22:21 > 0:22:22I remember myself, Tommy
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and Pete going to the management companies in London saying,
0:22:25 > 0:22:30"Look, we're in this terrible situation and we'd really just like
0:22:30 > 0:22:34"to continue our career, we just want to play."
0:22:34 > 0:22:37And the companies were sort of saying,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40"Well, who are you with?" And we'd mention the set-up
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and they'd say, "Well, when you get out of that, come and see us."
0:22:44 > 0:22:48We could have written all that off if we could have just
0:22:48 > 0:22:51carried on and started again, do you know what I mean?
0:22:56 > 0:22:59But it was difficult to start again.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02MUSIC: "Hey, Mr Manager" by Badfinger
0:23:02 > 0:23:03# Hey, Mr Manager
0:23:03 > 0:23:07# You're messing up my life
0:23:07 > 0:23:10# Hey, Mr Manager
0:23:10 > 0:23:16# Don't think I need that kind of strife... #
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Pete felt like he was a big brother.
0:23:18 > 0:23:25When life got in the way and things happened with Pete
0:23:25 > 0:23:27and he took a step back and looked at where his life was going,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29he thought, "I'm letting everybody down."
0:23:29 > 0:23:31He'd have a smile on his face
0:23:31 > 0:23:38but he put cigarette...stubs out on his hand. It was like self-harm.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Yeah, I mean, this shows the extent to which he was burning
0:23:41 > 0:23:44up inside, really. I mean, he felt awful, obviously.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49And he played me some tapes...of new stuff.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55One song really kind of stuck with me, it was a song called Ringside.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59# Take a seat by the ringside... #
0:23:59 > 0:24:02# MUSIC: "Ringside" by Pete Ham
0:24:02 > 0:24:06# Watch them scrapping for your blood... #
0:24:06 > 0:24:09If you listen to that lyric, it's such a sad thing
0:24:09 > 0:24:13because he's likening his situation to, yeah,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16gather round at the ringside and watch me going down.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21# I can't bear to feel the sorrow
0:24:23 > 0:24:29# Of the evil that you've shown... #
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Pete had been making these calls to try
0:24:31 > 0:24:35and ascertain what was happening at the American end, could never get
0:24:35 > 0:24:38through to Polley, but in the end, one guy worked there,
0:24:38 > 0:24:44Stan Poses, who had a bit more of an empathy with us.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50He spoke to Pete and, unfortunately, he revealed that...
0:24:52 > 0:24:57He basically said outright that yeah, Stan Polley isn't very wholesome,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00he's not a good person, he is ripping you off.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04He said all the things that Pete didn't want to hear, really.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08It was the last straw for Pete.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10All he'd ever wanted to be was a musician.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Now, he felt that everything he and the band had worked for had
0:25:13 > 0:25:15come to nothing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17He went to see Tommy.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20They went for a few drinks at the pub,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22drowned their sorrows a little bit, I guess.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Tommy drove Pete back to his house and Pete got out and said,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31"Don't worry, mate, I've got a plan.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33"I know what to do.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36"I've got a way out of this, don't worry. Bye."
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Later on in the morning, there was
0:25:38 > 0:25:43this panicky phone call from Anne and she spoke to Marianne
0:25:43 > 0:25:47and Tommy and said, "There's something awful happened,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49"something terrible."
0:25:49 > 0:25:53So, Tommy rushed round there
0:25:53 > 0:25:58and found Peter hanging in the garage.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Pete was just 27 years old.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04He left a suicide note which read,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08"I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13"PS, Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me."
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Anne returned to her home town of Glasgow and five weeks after Pete's
0:26:18 > 0:26:22death, she gave birth to their daughter who she called Petera.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26People had said to me after it, "It was terrible what he did,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29"leaving you with the baby." I could never say that.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I wish I could but I could never say that about Pete
0:26:32 > 0:26:36and I know that he wasn't himself when he did that.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41The doctor had explained to me that his mind had probably just gone.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I understand that Polley, who had actually taken life insurances
0:26:45 > 0:26:49out on everyone, was trying to cash in a policy on Pete, you know.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Even after this terrible event,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56he was still trying to make money on it somehow, you know.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Meanwhile, Pete's band-mate
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and best friend Tommy Evans was slowly falling apart.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08When he died, Tommy didn't have anybody he could talk to,
0:27:08 > 0:27:14write songs with, his other half was gone so he felt lost and lonely.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Many times he said, "I want to be there where he is."
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Everything went wrong for Tommy as well - tax problems,
0:27:21 > 0:27:26taxman after him, somebody sued him for five million -
0:27:26 > 0:27:28so everything just collapsed.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33Tom tried really hard after Pete died.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35He kind of tried to make it better, not just for him
0:27:35 > 0:27:41but for Pete, but they got set back after set back.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Eight years after Pete's death, Tommy also hanged himself.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51I was angry with Tommy when he took his life.
0:27:52 > 0:27:58Too many people had gone through enough with Peter's death
0:27:58 > 0:28:02cos you don't tend to bury friends before you're 30.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07One's...one's bad enough.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13Two's too many.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18MUSIC: "Coppertone Blues" by Pete Ham
0:28:24 > 0:28:29It all happened a long time ago but for those who lived through it,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34the story of Badfinger, the friendships and the music, live on.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40# No matter what you do... #
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Now, it's time for a new chapter to be written.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49On the 20th of August, 2013, Petera gave birth to Pete's first
0:28:49 > 0:28:54grandchild, who she called Luca William Ham.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59# No matter what you are
0:28:59 > 0:29:02# I will always be with you
0:29:03 > 0:29:07# Doesn't matter what you do, girl
0:29:07 > 0:29:11# Ooh, girl, with you. #
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd