Extra Scenes: Badfinger's "Magic Christian Music" (July 1969 - January 1970)

4 July 1969

The cover for the Iveys' (later Badfinger) Maybe Tomorrow album, released July 1969.

Badfinger had originally began in 1961 as The Iveys, fronted by lead guitarist Pete Ham. It had taken them seven years before they finally found themselves signed up onto the Beatles' Apple Records and released their first single, "Maybe Tomorrow", which was a Top 40 hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Eight months later, they put out their first album, Maybe Tomorrow, named for the November single. It topped out at #30 in the United Kingdom and reached a slightly higher #23 in the United States.

PETE HAM: "Maybe Tomorrow - both the album and the single - weren't quie the huge success we were aiming for, but it was still a good start for us when we signed up for Apple. The company was barely a year old, but hits were coming in like Mary Hopkin and Jackie Lomax, and many were being produced by the Beatles; we got their roadie, Mal Evans. Sweet guy, he is. By the end of '68, Ron [Griffiths] had become a father, but he stuck around for Magic Christian Music despite falling ill during the sessions. That was before Joey [Molland] came onto the scene and we re-branded ourselves as Badfinger." (1977)

The Magic Christian, based on the novel by Terry Southern and directed by Joseph McGrath, was due for a theatrical release by the end of 1969, and so Badfinger were commissioned to record three songs for the film. Paul McCartney was their producer, and he also wrote up the hit single "Come and Get It" for them to record. The other two tracks, both written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans (with Mike Gibbins co-writing "Rock of All Ages"), were also produced by McCartney.

9 January 1970

Badfinger - Magic Christian Music

Released: 9 January 1970

Recorded: 1968-1969

Producer: Paul McCartney, Mal Evans, Tony Visconti and Pete Ham

Track listing[1]

Side A

Come and Get It
Crimson Ship
No Escaping Your Love
Mrs. Jones
Midnight Sun
Storm in a Teacup
Rock of All Ages

Side B
Carry on Till Tomorrow
And Her Daddy's a Millionaire
Walk Out in the Rain
Arthur
Give It a Try
Looking for My Baby

"Come and Get It" had been issued as a single the week before The Magic Christian was released in theaters in the United Kingdom, and it marked Badfinger's first #1 single in said country. When it was later released in the United States the following month, it topped out at #5. Critics praised the Beatle-esque sound of the single, part of it due to McCartney's involvement in writing the single as well as producing it.

The film had been hit with a mixed to negative reception among critics, especially due to the extensive use of black comedy. However, there was plenty of praise given to the performances of Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, and although it was not produced by Apple Films, The Magic Christian was adopted as part of the canon due to the involvement of the people associated with Apple at the time, and the film has since then become a cult hit among audiences.

As for the Badfinger album, along with the three songs recorded for the movie, ten previously unreleased tracks produced either by Tony Visconti or Mal Evans (with "Looking for My Baby" produced by Ham himself) were packaged with the movie songs for an album release. It was given a more positive reception than Maybe Tomorrow, topping the charts in the United Kingdom but only hitting #8 in the United States.

Footnotes

1. The replacement tracks are sourced from the CD editions of Maybe Tomorrow (1992) and Magic Christian Music (1991). The track listing in general follows the latter.

Author's Comments

Ah, Badfinger; probably one of the most unlucky bands in rock music history. Despite being a part of the Beatles' Apple label, misfortune seemed to follow Pete Ham and co. wherever they went, eventually leading to Ham's suicide in 1975, followed by Tom Evans' in 1983. It's too bad that it's only now we realize how great they were musically.

With 20/20 retrospect, I can hopefully salvage their good name and give Pete Ham a better fate than he got in OTL, starting with a redo of Magic Christian Music. I couldn't believe I overlooked that when I wrote up Phase One. Hopefully this will fill up that gap; I wonder what other gaps I'll fill in during the 1966-1970 period that I can give a proper resolution to.