Peter Ham

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Peter 'Pete' Ham (born April 27, 1947 – died April 23, 1975) was a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was most famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a member of the band Badfinger, and he cowrote the song "Without You", which was an international hit record for Harry Nilsson in 1971.

Most of Ham's success came through his songs recorded with Badfinger, who were signed to Apple Records. Apple Records was a record label started by The Beatles, and former Beatles road manager Mal Evans was Badfinger's manager. While their first hit, "Come And Get It", was written by Paul McCartney, their other hits were written by Ham and Tom Evans, another band member. The two men were close, through their music.

The songs Ham and Evans wrote together included "Carry On Till Tomorrow", "Rock Of All Ages", "No Matter What", and "Day After Day". The first two (and "Come And Get It") were used in a movie, The Magic Christian, featuring Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers. The other two were hit singles. George Harrison played slide guitar on "Day After Day".

"Without You" was an album track for Badfinger, but when Harry Nilsson released a cover version on a single and album, both he and the song became world famous. Nilsson reached a peak in his career, and the song became a standard, recorded and sung by countless other artists in the years since, and loved by their fans. Ham and Evans also reached a popular peak, and wealth through royalties from "Without You".

Apple Records became less important after the Beatles disbanded in 1970, and their artists one by one went to other record companies. Badfinger felt the pull, and after releasing "Baby Blue" in 1972, signed up with Warner Bros.. Badfinger's hits had run their course, though, and by 1975 Ham's good fortune seemed gone.

Ham died by suicide (hanging) in April 1975. Among those hurt emotionally by his death was May Pang, who dated Ham years before her relationship with John Lennon. Tom Evans also died by hanging, seven years after Ham's death.

Badfinger's music was mostly forgotten by the 1980s, because their old records were no longer for sale. Some reissues in the early 1990s brought back interest in Badfinger, and in its members. Two compact discs of Ham's song demos were issued in the late 1990s. Ham is remembered fondly, as a talented, well-liked musician and writer.