Pete Ham

Pete Ham
Ham on tour with Badfinger in 1972
Background information
Birth name	Peter William Ham
Born	(1947-04-27)27 April 1947 Swansea, Wales
Died	24 April 1975(1975-04-24) (aged 27) Surrey, England
Genres	Rock power pop pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Years active	1961–1975
Labels	Apple Warner Bros. Records Rykodisc
Associated acts	Badfinger The Iveys
Website	http://www.peteham.net/
Notable instruments
Gibson SG Gibson Les Paul Martin acoustic guitars Eko Guitars Fender Rhodes

Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the lead vocalist/composer of the 1970s rock band Badfinger whose hit songs include "No Matter What", "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue." He also co-wrote the ballad "Without You", a worldwide Number One hit for Harry Nilsson and it has become a standard song as covered by hundreds of artists consistently throughout the years since. Ham was granted two Ivor Novello Awards related to the song in 1973.

Ham committed suicide in 1975, when he became depressed while embroiled in band-related issues, such as label and manager problems, as well as a lack of funds.

Ham was born in Swansea, Wales. He formed a local rock group called The Panthers circa 1961. This group would undergo several name and lineup changes before it became The Iveys in 1965. The band was relocated to London by The Mojos manager, Bill Collins, in 1966, and they continued to perform for three years throughout the United Kingdom. As it was, Ham eventually became the prominent songwriter for the band, as a Revox tape recorder was made available by Collins to encourage him. Ray Davies of The Kinks took an initial interest in the group, although tracks produced by Davies did not surface commercially until decades later. In 1968, The Iveys came to the attention of Mal Evans (The Beatles' personal assistant) and were eventually signed to the Beatles' Apple Records label after approval from all four Beatles, who were reportedly impressed by the band's songwriting abilities.