Pete Ham - Perfection (demo) - Badfinger

This is the original demo Pete Ham recorded in December 1970 at his brother's shop in Swansea while on Holiday after Badfinger's first U.S. tour. Pete was struck by the political unrest and poverty he saw in the States. Always socially conscious and a humanitarian at heart, he was inspired to write this and lay down the song down on a Revox Sound-On-Sound. He first laid a track singing and playing an acoustic guitar. Then he plugged in an electric guitar direct signal to the recording deck and played a one-take track of lead guitar throughout. A gem was born!

Pete Ham, Joey Molland, Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

There is no real perfection
There'll be no perfect day
Just love is your connection
The truth in what you say

There's no good revolution
Just power changing hands
There is no straight solution
Except to understand

CHORUS:
So listen to my song of life
You don't need a gun or a knife
Successful conversation will take you very far

There is no real perfection
There'll be no perfect man
Just peace is your connection
Forgiving all you can

There's no good kind of killing
Just power taking life
It's all good blood that's spilling
To make a bigger knife

CHORUS:
So listen to my song of life
You don't need a gun or a knife
Successful conversation will take you very far
Successful conversation will take you very far

[guitar solo (Pete)]

CHORUS:
So listen to my song of life
You don't need a gun or a knife
Successful conversation will take you very far
Successful conversation will take you very far
Successful conversation will take you very far

[guitar solo (Pete)].

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Iveys
• Badfinger
• Eric Clapton
• Paul Kossoff
• Mick Taylor
• Led Zeppelin
• Yardbirds
• Stevie Ray Vaughn
• Crosby Stills & Nash
• CSNY
• Robert Cray
• protest song
• John Mayer
• Robert Randolph
• guitar
• Dan Matovina
• Without You
• No Matter What
• Day After Day
• Baby Blue
• Straight Up classic rock
• live
• band
• blues
• rock
• psychedelic
• concert
• progressive
• folk
• music
• punk
• alternative
• cover
• glam

[powerpopsmith]

Pete Ham was just too good for this world. It is fitting , yet so sad, the Beatles said nothing when he died. He was a Paul, John and George all wrapped into one. He probably would have been a great drummer too, if he put his mind to it. it took years for Apple (Beatles label) to put out the albums on CD's. They were way behind on downloads. And I also learned the Badfinger albums were kept out-of-print for 18 years after Pete died. I'm sorry, but let's face it. They really didnt give a ...

[Kristenbillick]

Wow! He wrote this in 1970? This was composed before the Bangladesh concert, before John Lennon's "Imagine", before CSNY's "Ohio" ...... A sincere heart of a special human being

[mlkbeat]

Thanks for posting this... it's a powerful song!

[loZoneranger560]

R.I.P. Sweet Soul. Your Music blessed us and helped us on our way through this world.

[petiedink]

Thanks for the lyrics and the demo post! So wonderful to hear it this way...... always loved this song!

[SydnRain]

loved this. thanks.

[russtyler]

So much talent. Thanks for another glimpse into Petes music Dan.

[wwekane2468]

@powerpopsmith Well Paul was the only one stil in the publics eye when pete died. The other 3 were still making music, but they were more low key by that time. They probably just didnt give an interview about pete because they werent around the media at the time as much.

[211FairyTale]

He was just a kid, really, and did not understand how great he was. Enormous talent and enormous self doubt... a lethal combination. Ah, but the music lives on!

[powerpopsmith]

@MsKath1eena Sorry about the personal loss. You missed the point. It's the way The Beatles contributed to burying his memory and legacy from the time of his death. That is obvious. Pete's depression was much more involved than just Stan Polley, too. You should read the book on Badfinger by Dan Matovina. I'm sure there's stuff in there you didn't know about at the time.

[MsKath1eena]

@powerpopsmith When news of Pete's death reached me, part of me died--my innocence. My mother had been house mother at 7 Park Ave in London--this was personal. But don't blame the Beatles. Paul and George were among their greatest fans. As Apple and the Beatles fell apart, Badfinger was at a loss. Stan Polley, a NY thug, was the "soulless bastard" as Pete wrote in his suicide note, who used them to death. For those of us closest, the sun never shined as brightly again, We cared; we always will.