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Tom Evans (musician)
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Thomas Evans (5 June 1947 — 19 November 1983), was a musician who was most notable for his work with the band, Badfinger.
s was born in Liverpool, England. He started his music career as a member of "The Inbeateens" in 1961. Evans was a regular down at the Cavern to watch The Beatles when they would play lunchtime shows. He soon progressed to a Liverpool mod/soul group called Them Calderstones.
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Thomas Evans (5 June 1947 — 19 November 1983), was a musician who was most notable for his work with the band, Badfinger.
Early life
Evans was born in Liverpool, England. He started his music career as a member of "The Inbeateens" in 1961. Evans was a regular down at the Cavern to watch The Beatles when they would play lunchtime shows. He soon progressed to a Liverpool mod/soul group called Them Calderstones. Evans sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar for the group. In 1967, he was spotted by a Welsh band called The Iveys who were looking for a replacement. He was almost immediately asked by The Iveys to join their band and relocate to London, which Evans did shortly after.
Evans was a major songwriting contributor for The Iveys and added much to the group's persona and harmonies onstage. The Iveys were signed to The Beatles' Apple Records roster in 1968 and an Evans' composition, "Maybe Tomorrow," was the first single released by the band. The record reached 67 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, but failed to chart in the U.K. It did achieve Top Ten status in several European markets.
Badfinger
In 1969, The Iveys changed their name to Badfinger and Paul McCartney of The Beatles gave the group a boost by offering them his song "Come And Get It" which he produced. It became a featured track for the film The Magic Christian , which starred Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers. Evans was chosen by McCartney to sing lead on this track. It reached the the Top 10 worldwide.
Badfinger enjoyed more major successes in the early 1970s with singles such as "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue". Each featured some of Evans magical vocals; background harmony and dual lead. He also sang on Ringo Starr's massive hit "It Don't Come Easy." But Evans crowning career moment was writing the chorus of the all-time ballad standard "Without You," a co-written song with bandmate Peter Ham. The composition became a huge #1 hit worldwide for Harry Nilsson and has since become a standard with hundreds of cover versions over the decades following.
Badfinger dissolved following Ham's death in 1975, after which Evans joined a group called The Dodgers with Badfinger bandmate Bob Jackson. Evans was eventually asked to leave the band, and he briefly retired from the music industry.
Evans resurfaced in 1977 to join Joey Molland for two Badfinger "comeback" albums. The second album, "Say No More" spawned the Evans single "Hold On," which reached 56 on Billboard in 1981. Evans and Molland went their separate ways after this second album was released, and the two put together rival "Badfinger" touring bands in the U.S.
In 1982, Jackson rejoined Evans in the latter's version of Badfinger. Original Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins was also enlisted for Evans' band for one tour. But after Evans and Jackson signed separate ill-advised management contracts with a Milwaukee businessman, the trio of Evans, Gibbins and Jackson found themselves stranded in the U.S. without tour dates, food, money and much duress from physical threats. When the duo returned to England, they were sued for damages and claims Evans had signed over past royalties from Apple. (Evans for a ludicrous $5 million dollars).
Death
During the evening of November 18, 1983, Evans had a heated argument with Joey Molland of Badfinger on the telephone, chiefly regarding potential publishing/ASCAP divisions of the "Without You" song whose ASCAP royalties accumulating for airplay which had been funding Evans, and other publishing funds being held by Apple Corps Ltd. pending resolution of disbursement. Early the following morning, the 19th of November, Evans was found dead by suicide, his body hanging in his backyard on a willow tree. Allegedly, he left no note. Family and friends have speculated he was overwhelmed by the combination of his conflicts with Molland, ex-manager Bill Collins and ex-bandmate Mike Gibbins over the pending royalties, plus the U.S. lawsuit he felt threatened his livelihood further. But a major factor of Evans depression, alluded by many friends and family members, was that he was never able to get over his former bandmate's Pete Ham's suicide. Marianne Evans, his wife, was quoted in a documentary stating "Tommy said 'I want to be where Pete is. It's a better place than down here' ...." Thus the sad and final irony of the man who wrote the chorus of "Without You", "I can't live, if living is without you..."
Evans is also survived by a son, Stephen.
In 1993, a CD of recordings made in the early 1980s by Evans and musician friend Rod Roach was posthumously released in the U.K. under the title Over You.
Discography
(with Badfinger, except where noted)
Evans also appeared as a guest artist on
Compositions of note
External links
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