Peter Ham

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William Peter Ham (April 27, 1947 – April 23, 1975) was a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known as the leader of the ill-fated group Badfinger. A general lack of controversy and sparsity of interviews before his suicide at age 27 has left Ham an enigma in the annals of rock music's early demises.

Ham was born in the Welsh seaport of 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 entitled "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.

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, which was followed eight years later by the suicide of his friend and fellow band member Tom Evans. Together, Ham and Evans wrote the classic hit "Without You".

Ham left behind a pregnant girlfriend, his daughter being born one month after his death, and his personal estate was nearing foreclosure. His suicide note accused Badfinger's manager 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."

Two collections of Ham's home demo recordings have been posthumously released: 1997's 7 Park Avenue and 1999's Golders Green. The two releases provide insight into Ham's important role in the development of the genre of music known as power pop.