Head First, Badfinger’s final album with original singer/guitarist Pete Ham, will get its first official release on December 13. The album will be available on CD and as a limited-edition vinyl LP from the Y&T Music label.
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Head First, which was recorded in 1974, was initially shelved because of legal issues between the band and its label, Warner Bros. Records. In 2000, a version of Head First was released that utilized a rough mix of the tracks made in 1975. At the time, the whereabouts of the original master tapes were unknown. The 2000 release also included a disc of bonus demos.
The original multi-track tapes recently were rediscovered. That paved the way for a newly mixed and mastered official version of Head Start to be prepared for release.
Head Start features 10 tracks, and includes an extended, almost-two-minute version of the song “Savile Row” that was discovered on the master tapes. The 2000 edition of the album featured a version that was just 36 seconds long.
Background Information About Head First
Badfinger recorded Head First in December 1974 at The Beatles’ Apple Studios on Savile Row in London. The album featured co-founding members Ham, Tom Evans, and Mike Gibbins joined by guitarist/keyboardist Bob Jackson. Jackson had recently replaced longtime member Joey Molland, who quit Badfinger over conflicts with the band’s management in late 1974.
Head First was the only Badfinger album to feature Jackson, who is the last surviving member of the group to take part in the recording.
Jackson issued a statement expressing his excitement about the impending release of Head First.
“On behalf of my bandmates—Pete, Tommy, and Mike—I am thrilled to say, ‘We did it, guys!’” he wrote. “This marks the culmination of a 50-year journey and it’s an honor to complete the vision we had all those years ago. The last piece of the puzzle is finally in place.”
More About Badfinger
Badfinger originally were called The Iveys, and were signed to The Beatles’ Apple Records label in 1968. After releasing their debut album, Maybe Tomorrow, in 1969, The Iveys changed their name. Their first album under the Badfinger moniker, Magic Christian Music, arrived in early 1970. It featured the hit “Come and Get It,” which was written by Paul McCartney.
During the next couple of years, the band scored hits with the Ham-written songs “No Matter What,” “Day After Day,” and “Baby Blue.”
Sadly, the story of Badfinger is filled with tragedy. Ham, the band’s co-lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter, died by suicide in April 1975, just a few days before his 28th birthday. Ham had been depressed about Badfinger’s legal and financial issues, stemming from conflicts with the band’s management and then-new label, Warner Bros.
Evans, the group’s co-lead singer and bassist, also took his own life in 1983 at age 36. Gibbins, the band’s drummer, died of a brain aneurysm in 2005 at age 56.
Meanwhile, Molland and Jackson both continue to lead their own versions of Badfinger.
BADFINGER's Long-Lost Album Head First Set For First Official Releasehttps://t.co/9ExWjwwTlt
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