Added: 4 years ago
From: ozarkdem
Views: 107,461
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (249)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Sad history of one of the greatest bands ever. Always loved this song.

  • un grande de verdad!!! que lastima que se fue antes de tiempo!

  • Three dislikes? How the hell could anybody dislike this song? It's a freakin' masterpiece!

    Those must be the same people that think Lady Gaga is a great singer and an "important" artist. Jiminy Christmas.

  • What a great band! a lot of people like to say they were a Beatles spin off. They weren't they were there own band with enough talent for for a super-group as they call it.Joey Molland ,Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibson were all great musicians. Alone the fact that they played with George at the Bangla Desh concert lets you know the caliber of mucisianship.Also great song writing. I listen to Bad Finger alot.

  • Comment removed

  • i always preferred this version over the album track. it sounds so much like the beatles. i do think the outro is better on the other one though. just a great great song.

  • Fantastic song-one of my faves!!

  • It's always nice to hear such comments in support of this very underrated and unfortunate band.

  • Check out my version with Bob Jackson from Badfinger on piano;

    Anthony Harty Name of the Game

  • @AnthonyHartyBaggage - Hey, Anthony, I checked it out. Great job!

  • @ozarkdem Thankyou! It was a labour of love! Check out my website anthonyharty.co.uk and it's on itunes too!

    Cheers!

  • Great song. Saw them live in 1970. So good then,so good still, brings back so many memories as well as "Without You"

  • clearly,, so talented than most of any period,,

  • the ultimate swan song of a band is Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/should I smoke off of Wish you were by this great band. An incredible Jam at the end.

  • Badfinger are the most underrated band in music history. Listen to the closing vocals on Maybe Tomorrow from the Magic Christian.

  • This may be Badfinger's masterpiece, although they did so much great stuff!

  • @smilinstevie88 Yes! This is definitely one of my favorites - never get tired of listening to Pete sing this song.

  • WHAT A GREAT SONG NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE

  • @mattbing1971 - It's great isn't it? I've only recently started to look into Badfinger beyond their radio hits, and wow! There's a treasure trove of stuff. I also really like "We're For The Dark" and "Know One Knows". The latter can't be found on youtube. I made a video for it, but Warner Records won't let it be published. It was from the "Wish You Were Here" album, Badfinger's last as a unit which included the amazing Pete Ham.

  • A classic Badfinger piece, How I wish today's generation would discover this song

  • @maxbatch70 totally agree

  • Best song ever! I like especially this faster version.

  • I love to come back every once in awhile to hear Pete play the acoustic and sing this masterpiece. It's soothing...and I love it.

  • I love Pete Ham's voice. Gorgeous.

  • I may be less than 20 years old, but after listening to my Dad's music, I realized that music died with my generation. Died.

  • Great song!! Thanks for posing. 

  • The best vocals of any rock band ever. The proof is Maybe Tomorrow(Iveys) the most beautiful rock song ever made. Vocally perfect!! Dan Dell

  • @DanDelvis Maybe Tomorrow - yes! Maybe the greatest single rock performance ever, and alone at the top of my list.

  • Comment removed

  • @vwtch There's no way the only reason Pete Ham killed himself just because of Polley. Other things in his life had to be issues, too. Likely situations with the Mollands, who left when they all needed to stay together and fight. Pete came back to help the others so Joey then quits - because he lost his stranglehold he had taken when Pete left. Ever see Joey Molland's 80% (him) new set list in the book! And Bill Collins diary bit that Joey doesn't want Pete back! Joey wanted to control band.

  • This is my favorite song by this amazing band. I wish things could have been different for these guys. In thier pictures they look like best friends and brothers. I still remember the first time I heard them on the radio, Day After Day, and thinking to myself how different from the rest of the bands they were. They were original in thier music. Just beautiful music. I miss them.

  • Harrison también colaboró con Ham para "Name of the Game", gran canción del líder de Badfinger que ya había sido grabada con la producción de George Martin, pero el arreglo que el ex beatle y Pete hicieron fue la versión de la canción que vio la luz.

  • George Harrison colaboró con Badfinger en esta canción, anteriormente había escrito "Day after day" la cual fue el éxito más conocido de esta banda inglesa, sus mejores compositores se suicidaron al encontrarse hasta el cuello por las deudas conseguidas con las productoras. A principios de 1975 Warner canceló el contrato con Badfinger, y la crisis económica llevó a una serie de demandas. El 23 de abril de 1975 Peter Ham se suicidó en su garage. Evans se ahorcó el 19 de noviembre de 1983.

  • @IansWatch Well maybe he could go back to laying carpets or insulating pipes. Whatever, he should have just left the name Badfinger alone and let Pete's soul rest in peace. Everytime he sang a Pete's song, Pete would have probably tumbled in his grave.

  • @ozarkdem I fully support you. I dont understand why people still speak up for Joey. If I could turn back time I would rather see Joey dead than Pete. He was a gift to the music industry. What a difference it would have made today.

  • incredible..i can play this over and over again...ive loved this band since i was a kid in the early seventies...pete and toomy still just break my heart...it hurts..STRAIGHT UP is one of the all time great albums..as great as any beatles,dylan,stones etc..

    and NO DICE.ASS and WISH YOU WERE HERE ARE ALSO SENSATIONAL

  • i read about the history of this ban and what a tragedy. sadly im too young to have had the chance to ever hear them on the radio or live

  • I just loooooved this song back in the ... would it be late 60s or early 70s? anyway I used to call the radios stations when it was playing to find out which band was that.. and never found out, till many years later. Well, in Brazil that time was not so easy to discover the name of a new rock band.. This song reminds me a girl friend I was madly in love with... well, forget it. The song is really beatiful..

  • Haunting, almost pleading... and oh so tragic. I forget which one in LynnrdSknnrd it was who said if you lose two or more members in a band, it can never be call the "original" band again. So, to the "new and improved" Badfinger, all I can say is, the joke's on you. I wouldn't go see them either given their history. I loathe thieves but what Joey did by omission is unconscionable. After all these years, I still miss them. :(

  • @vwtch You need to read the book on Badfinger and listen to the songs. It was more about his faith in humanity being destroyed, the fact he was so sensitive and pure he could not handle this world. Of course, that was distorted, but he seemed to have a nervous breakdown, burning himself with cigarettes and drinking himself into oblivion at the end.

  • That's what I thought I was saying. I've been listening to Badfinger since 'Come and Get It', have the book, the DVD, play/sing the songs as best I can. I have been through enough to be able to comprehend their frustrations and disappointments as well as anyone. My friend and I jammed with Badfinger in Depew, NY, November 1970. badfinge.ipower.com/Badfinger/­BadfingerinConcert/Badfingerin­ConcertND.html We did the brass for this song on stage.

  • Pete Ham is way too fucking underrated. Today's rappers and artists have nothing on this genius.

  • Comment removed

  • @ozarkdem yes..ive yet to hear other version!

  • Does anyone have the original version of this from the "straight up" album (uk version)??? I seem to remember it being a lot better! Love Badfinger

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • happygleason: my info they committed suicide, was from the cover of the , cd, " best of badfinger" ,regarding the reason, i got it from the comments in the you tube, that they have been double-crossed financially by their producers, i believe there's truth in it, as the two end their lives, which is unbelievable, RIP my fav rock band, they'll live forever in my generation.

  • great alltime fav wish someone had studio version w/ piano intro

  • readings the comments re. the death and tom and pete, now i know the cause of their self-inflicted untimely death, to the producers who double-crossed those great composers/singers, may you rot in hell, you cannot escape the law of karma, R.I.P tom & pete, the angels welomes you, i'm sure of that

  • @maxbatch70 producers? polley was management..pls explain

  • happygleason - In response to your e-mail to me. I don't have the book anymore (to my extreme regret), but from what I do remember Tom killed himself directly after a phone discussion with Joey. Joey hung himself from a tree in his backyard.

    RIP Pete, Tom and Mike.

    Rot in hell Stan Polley.

  • at 3.50 the pic on the side says ' badfinger enterproses, central park south' disgusting if you know the truth about the ' enterprises'

  • can anyone post the rest of ' STRAIGHT UP ' please?

  • @ozarkdem Not silly at all! I love himn too! Haven't seen anyone to equal him or Badfinger!

  • Not silly at all! I love him too!! He was just phenominal. Haven't seen anyone like him or Badfinger since. Honestly, WHO sounds as good as they did LIVE? 

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • They were Super Stars. Pete was Amazing. I wish the Story of Thier Manger some day gets Told and he gets sued and put in Jail. They Just Could not make it through that dark spot in life when we learn not all people are honest.

  • just a note 4 all u badfinger fans todd rungren produced one of . their albums , and also auditioned 4 my band after nazz

  • Can you post ALL of STRAIGHT UP/

  • Marc bolan was cremated at golders green!

  • This song is almost unbearably moving yet so uplifting. It makes me yearn for something....

  • @markjosephcharles IVE LISTENED TO IT SINCE 1972..one of my fav songs alltime

  • Yes...and after you read Matovina's book, you can't help but have a great love and respect for Pete and Tom.

    - Google *Sean Siever's interview with Mike Gibbins*....a must!

    - Also...google: "behind the music vh1 report matovina" ...and scroll down about 20 paragraphs til you find the heading: Footnote on ASCAP*

    -

    Great insights into what Badfinger was going through before and after Pete Ham's death.

  • Read the bio "Without You" it tells the whole story.....

  • all our sins must be confessed...damn right!

  • thanks for putting this up.....

    what about the rest of ' STRAIGHT UP'?

  • Comment removed

  • QUESTION: WHY in the world couldn't THE BEATLES themselves have helped BADFINGER with the finances when it got so bad? Just a thought! I mean they must have known that Pete was so bad off I would think! Could not J,P,G and R have taken up a collection between them to bail them out since BADFINGER was cranking out so many hits for APPLE at the time?

  • Pienso q' esta cancion tiene mejor arreglo musical q' la otra en streight up album. pero anyway at the end is so great song. I love my wife and this song is for you baby

  • Ozarkdem: If it is silly, then I am too because I also love Pete Ham forever.

  • My God they were good.

  • The history of this great band is very sad and unfortunate. Many bands from the sixties and seventies especially were taken to the cleaners by their managers,accountants,etc. Had Pete and Tom persevered they would have benefitted from and realized how much the world ultimately loved them. This song is a masterpiece in my estimation, thanks for posting it.

  • Pete Ham was the brilliant songwriter of the most underrated band of the last century "Badfinger". He died tragically by suicide, without the acclaim that he and the band deserved.

  • Its all over now Baby Blue was a Dylan song wasn't it?

  • unbelievable song - makes me feel good and want to kill myself at the same time - wish they were still around - RIP

  • setthexserpent - Walk in the Rain gives me that feeling too, but I have too much to live for. As long as I have YouTube I can wait to see the guys in concert.

  • Peter, You Knew The Answer To Life!

    Peace be with You!

    Your Words Will Never Be Forgotten!

  • un muy buen grupo de Pop, que mal que las cuestiones economicas hayan hecho que un gran grupo no se alzara como otros grandes.

  • For Pete & Tom,the you left us was not "The Name Of The Game",but I still MISS both of you.The world is a much more sadder place without your prensence.Hope you are peacefull now.Miss your music & voices too damn much.Thanx for writing some of the best music that will always be part of the soundtrack of my life

  • I love this song, but it's better on their live album.

    I wish that performance were here on YouTube.

    They're clearly one of the most underrated bands of the era, on great tune after the other.

  • The more I think about the badfinger story the more I wonder if they were victims of masonic ritual abuse.

  • @judasplow25 ...sorry... Occams Razor rules..callous, uncaring manager wins out...

  • Pete Ham was too trusting but thats not a crime. The world would be so much the better if more people had his moral fibre.

    I've been a Badfinger fan since I heard Day After Day on the radio as a kid. This song I've only just discovered thanks to Youtube. Its brilliant! Thanks for posting Ozarkdem!

  • @vwtch : what a great group....Badfinger....one of rocks tragic legendary groups. I was in high school when they hit it big....I liked them almost as much as the beatles

  • Extraordinario grupo de esa época!!!!!

  • vwtch - Just a minor detail, but Pete was not married at the time of his death. Ann was his girlfriend and they were living together with Ann's son.

  • They did not have had to leave Apple for Warner at all if it was in order and walk right into polley's flithy trap. Get what I mean? God Bless

  • They sort of did have to leave Apple, after the Beatles Apple fell apart when the bad music economy hit them. And Badfinger was the only band on their label at that point. That would've been waayy too much pressure for a newer band.

  • They should have signed with the then record companies like Decca, Pye or CBS who were also interested in signing them rather then Apple. Maybe they would have managed and marketed this guys as they should have been it would have been different story altogether and just maybe Pete would not have had to die. Let all those people who messed with their lives rot in hell.

  • Actually they left Apple before Pete killed himself.

  • @nicky196427 Well, weren't they discovered by Paul McCartney while the Beatles had their own record label?

  • Yes

  • @WFOX44 Actually they were discovered by George Harrison not Paul. Read the book "Without You" as it is the most factual book written about Badfinger.

  • George loved Badfinger. He referenced them in his song "When We Was Fab" and played with him a few times.

  • I meant to say that Badfinger played with George at a few concerts.

  • I grew up listening to the Beatles. Love them still. But Badfinger came along when I was just starting to discover what I really liked about music. They were the first band I consciously chose as a favorite. Pete Ham was a tortured genius, and the demise of this band makes them them biggest "What If?" in rock music after Buddy Holly. We'll never know what they would have done under better circumstances. RIP Pete and Tommy!

  • You are so right...I kinda think it was unfortunate that the were so linked to the whole Apple fiasco...if they maybe would've been on a different labal...but at the time, who wouldn't have sold their souls to the powers that be...Pete Ham is that pour loving soul that got gound up in the machine...

  • hey this is my opinon but i think badfinger could have been just as big (or even bigger) then the beatles if they got the right maketing and if they did not have all there personal problems. i think there the most underrated band in music history

  • @lennonlegend1 by the way discovered by Mccartney

  • @lennonlegend1 I rememeber when the beatles broke up, and they came out, a lot of people thought they were the beatles, and that they had just changed their name.I'm a huge Beatles fan...But i think you might be right, Now I don't know about "as big as the Beatles", but would of been a lot more successful, and YES definitly underrated band's in history

  • @ozarkdem I love him, too. :-)

  • Its not silly.. Peter and the band were brill!

  • Its not silly..Peter was a genius and the band were brilliant.. Keep loving this music.

  • as in brill building ny? if so...nice one rodcat!!!!

  • What we do for a living dictates saving lives as paramount. When BF was leaving Apple for Warner they were handed to the devil in a golden platter unprotected. They were young. Couldnt anyone have done something. When Pete died no one made any comments and they refused to be interviewed. Pete died for nothing and his death was brushed under the carpet. Harrison kept his silence to has death. Another way of showing love perhaps. Pete was such a talent. We feel it was such a waste and a shame.

  • I speak for myself and my friends here who are a bunch of badfinger fans. We agree to the fact that the beatles were the one who gave this boys their big break why even the fact the Mccartney gave them what could have been a no 1 hit for him to BF. We also appreciate that they had their own lives and problems. They were the IT thing then didnt they have some power or say to intervene in the bands problems. Sure is a strange way to show their "Love".

  • I'm not superstitious but at 4:06 as the picture is fading into the sunset scene it looks as though a cross appears between the two guys in the doorway.

  • nicky196427 - No one is responsible for anyone comitting suicide, but if anyone is responsible it would be Stan Polley in the case of Pete. As far as Tom is concerned, Stan Polley played a big part in Tom's suicide due to the financial situation he put Tom in, but it was someone else, someone even closer Tom who caused him to go over the edge. I won't say who, call me chicken, but I feel it is too controversal, but I really don't understand how that person can remain living with themselves.

  • I know who that someone else is and I agree with you.

  • Me, too.

  • Ozarkdem:  Thank you too. I am familiar with you and the great videos you have posted on Youtube.

  • Bunglejyme: Thanks for agreeing with me.

    I saw the cross too.

    Are you familiar with Hurricane Smith (you can find videos of him here on Youtube)? Do you think he is the guy on the right in the doorway?

  • I remember Hurricane Smith. He had a nice sound.  That may be him in the doorway.

  • BUNGLEJYME: I don't know where, when or what the circumstances are regarding the picture, but I would bet money that is Hurricane Smith. Both of them (Badfinger and Smith) had close ties with the Beatles.

  • We wouldnt call you a chicken. Joey stopped Tom from playing the other BF and Tom got sued for 5 million bucks. Thats humongous.Tom made his last call to Joey and said he was going to take his live. Tom was hopelessly reaching out and he did nothing to help. He was responsible for sending Tom to his early death. He is happily playing away BF now. Well there is no BF without Pete and Tom. We wouldnt see you or listen to you.

  • I love all of you who know the real history of this band.

    That is all I can say, but know that anyone who posts here has sanctuary.

    I love Pete and Tommy forever.

  • @nicky196427 i never heard this story and love them where did u get this story

  • @SuperDrummer2012 You can watch the 6 part documentary that is here on youtube. It is all in there.

  • @nicky196427 It's pretty good, but MUCH more in the book on Badfinger. Story is far more intense than that doc.

  • @powerpopsmith Ya I suppose you can get more information if you could get hold of the book. But from where come from you get nothing at all on anything from the 70's especially on my fav band BF. I have tried searching for the book and all their records in the shops but in vain. I finally bought all their songs from the Internet but not the book. I've listened to this band since I was 6 they have left such a huge impact on my life and other music from the 70's that I can listen to none other.

  • @nicky196427 I wouldn't say that. Tom and Pete were like brothers and when Pete killed himself that really devastated Tom and sorta that was the beginning of the end for him. If anybody is to blame for both Tom and Pete's deaths it would Stan Polley. So fuck you Stan Polley you killed two of the best musicians to ever live.

  • @dbraska Ya, its true that Tom was devastated with Pete's death, but he did carry on with his fragile life for the next seven of so years. By then Polley was out of their lives, also. Then he met Joey again. All Tom needed was another reason to end his fragile life and Joey gave it to him. Other then Polley the others who screwed with Pete and Tom's life were Apple Records, Warner, Joey and his wife Kathie. I hope Polley is being screwed max from behind by his evil roomies in hell.

  • @Benayrunyon i dont have dans book..is the info in it? was it over money?

    remeber TE killed himself nowing his wife and son would find his remains so he was really troubled.

  • This is true joeyc09. The Beatles did love Badfinger. George Harrison especially who had Pete perform with him in Madison Square Garden. He even made reference to them in When We Was Fab.

  • anyone who has his/her facts straight on this band would never say anything idiotic like they were screwed by the beatles....this is nonsense and bullshit the beatles loved them and had their own lives and troubles durring this time....

  • I rediscovered BadFinger again in youtube 2 months ago to my delight. Have listened to all their song. This song among others would have been no 1. They would have had more no 1's than any other Artists (Elvis, MJ, even the Beatles themselves) if they had been managed and marketed properly. Then Pete and Tom would have no reason to die so young. Whoever introduced Poley spelled DOOM for these guys. Probably this is why the Beatles washed their hands of this band. They would have been better.

  • wat makes u think that their songs would have been #1 just cuz u like them a lot. the truth is, ppl at this era didn't like this anymore. this is beatles shit. they liked prog rock and other bands like zeppelin and queen.

  • This would have been out early 1971, if as planned by Apple Records, and there were sweeping songs like this as hits, including Neil Diamond. We're talking Top 40 of that era, not albums. Queen weren't even around 1971.

  • You should get your facts right first queen was not even around at that time. If you think this people are shit then get out of this site stick to the beatles This site is almost sacred to Badfinger fans. Ham/Evan had the substance to be no 1 if they had not been so naive and let them be screwed by Poley and the beatles themselves. Get out of here dumbass.

  • one of my favorite songs from the old days...so haunting and memorable

  • Awesome version of an awesome song!

  • Who said they're alike The Beatles.. they're actually totally difference! Good in their own ways that's what I mean :-)

  • Comment removed

  • Pretty song!!!

  • Thank you posting this song :D

  • Though,I have always liked Badfinger,I was never so fascinated, untill I read their tragic story.Pete Ham and Badfinger truly rank up there with the best. And congratulations Petera!

  • Hauntingly awesome song!

  • Thank you. Its a true masterpiece, isn't it?

    Pete was a true poet in the Welsh tradition.

    Let's also congratulate Pete's daughter Petera on her recent marriage.

  • Always loved this song...Im sure that if Pete could have overcome the trauma that he came to experience he would today be regarded as a living legend much as James Taylor is now, I say this because I dont think he would have become an oldies act, he was much too talented and would have remained highly productive and relevent.

  • Awesome song....the other version is excellent also. 5 stars

  • Había Badfinger para más, es una lástima, pero aún despues de muchos años siguen siendo favoritos

  • This was supposed to be single follow-up to No Matter What. Oh, what could have been,,,,,,

  • One of their best.

  • º°¨ ¸„ø¤º°¨„ø¤º°¨°º¤ø„¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ º¤ø„¸

    ¨°º¤ø„ ¸BADFINGER FOREVER!! :Dº¤ø„¸

    ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ ¸„ø¤º „¸¨° from Canada

  • Cheers for posting, some Good pictures here from the early days of The Panthers the Iveys and Badfinger Great posting

    Thanks

  • Thankyou for posting 5***** Nice to see Roy Anderson with the Panthers back in the 60s, a Class pete Ham song

  • of the album straight up from 1971

  • I like this song, except for the second verse. The line, "all of our sins should be confessed" sounds so Catholic, and a bit preachy. Not every religion practices confession.

  • Maybe he's Catholic ! It's just a song.Religion is just religion.

  • FIRST RIP PETE & TOMMY hey awesome post ty 10********** then some wow AWESOME SHARE LAURA blew me away ty girl

  • thank you for posting this under-rated and under-played classic...

    Ram on,

    Joe.

  • You're right, this is a song for true BF fans, who appreciate the great music they created.

  • When I was 15 I really wanted to go to England because I found this band. Now I decided to go to England. I think I have to seek & chase Pete, Tom and Mike's footsteps. It might be little too late though. though....

  • I'd love to join you. Swansea and Golders Green are my next vacation destinations. How great it would be to explore the roots of Badfinger's music legacy.

  • What music they made, we can treasure forever.., what music they could of made in later years, we will never know. R.I.P. Pete,Tom,and Mike.

  • For Pete...

    The wrong of unshapely things is a wrong too great to be told;

    I hunger to build them anew and sit on a green knoll apart,

    With the earth and the sky and the water, re-made, like a casket of gold

    For my dreams of your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.

    W B Yeats

  • This Pete Ham song touches me like very few songs do. Together, the sound of the acoustic guitar and Pete's voice is just beautiful. Nice video.

  • nice song

  • This acoustic version is a very good one--although I prefer the stately piano and guitar slower paced version..but it's Badfinger and Pete, so it's all good!

  • just a good fuckin band

  • I prefer the slower piano version as well. So heart felt. I think this one is the original version. My favorite Badfinger song....hands down.

  • timeless art of perfection, from 1968 to present day i never grow old of such great music. BADFINGER LIVES ON !! P.S. go to the web site "Badfinger to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame" sign the petition

  • Thanks, they deserve to be in it much more than Metallica as these guys were true artists and not a bunch of sellouts. They lost everything and two of them even killed themselves out of despair. It's about time they get the recognition they deserve!

  • Comment removed

  • Let's please limit the posts on the merits of psychiatry, natural medicine, etc. and focus on the great musical legacy of this group. Ok? Thanks for your cooperation.

  • With all the studies and scientific babble, still one can never understand all the mysteriers of the human heart.. Rest in Peace Pete and Tom, see you in heaven!

  • I was at Badfinger concert at Agora in Columbus, Oh and it was the closest I willl ever come to seeing the Beatles in concert.  Awesome talent and many times forgotten in the Cap City of Ohio. What a treasure.... Thanks BaDfinger!

  • Wish I was there!!!!

  • Comment removed

  • "Name of the Game" is perhaps my favorite Badfinger song...Pete Ham was one of the finest songwriters I've ever known of. Of course, he was also one of the best guitarists I've heard.

    If only more people knew about Badfinger and ALL of their great songs. Or, you know--at least if people who didn't know Badfinger's version of "Without You" would realize that Pete Ham and Tom Evans wrote it...I love that song!