Remembering Pete Ham: The Late Badfinger Vocalist's 76th Birthday

Today serves as a very important day for Badfinger fans, as it not only marks the birthday of former frontman Pete Ham, but the day that the blue plaque outside of the High Street Train Station in Swansea, Wales was erected in his honor. This comes three days after the anniversary of his death.

Credit: Fin Costello

Ham was born in 1947 in Swansea, and formed his first band, The Panthers, around the age of 14. This group ended up going through various names and lineups through the years, and eventually became The Iveys, which eventually turned into Badfinger after they  released their single, "Come and Get It." They would also sign with Apple Records before the release of their debut album as The Iveys, Maybe Tomorrow.

Just three days before his 28th birthday in 1975, he took his own life in his following major financial troubles with Badfinger. He received a call from the US the previous night notifying him that his money had disappeared. With no way to cope with the major loss, he and bandmate Tom Evans drove out to the White Hart Pub located in Surrey, England, where he drank 10 whiskies before returning home around 3:00 the following morning and hanging himself in his garage. 

Badfinger's business manager, Stan Polley would be blamed for the suicide, as Warner Bros. Records sued him for a missing advance, causing their then-recent album, Wish You Were Here, to be pulled from retail shelves and their follow-up to be rejected. The band tried to move on and find other people to help them with their work, however, they kept getting declined due to restrictive contracts that tied them with Polley. In the suicide letter addressed to his girlfriend, Anne Herriot, and her son, Blair, he wrote: "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." 

The blue plaque erected in Ham's honor was put up in 2013 outside of the High Street Station in his hometown of Swansea. The location was chosen due to its close proximity to Ivey Street, which Badfinger's earlier incarnation was named after.