Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger

By: Dan Matovina

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A thoroughly engaging biography of an incredible band who was so impressive they became favorably compared to the Beatles. Ironically, they were discovered by the same Fab Four’s roadie, Mal Evans, then mentored by Paul McCartney. Subsequently they were hired to session for all four Beatles members. Ultimately, they were controlled in release by the entire Apple Corps Ltd. empire. The group even started to surpass commercially the Fab Four’s solo successes with their major worldwide hits such as “Come And Get It,” “No Matter What,” “Day After Day,” “Baby Blue” and a cover version by Harry Nilsson of “Without You,” written by group members Pete Ham and Tom Evans, but were never given much promotional support, as The Beatles interest in them continued to wane.

Once the band launched off to another record company, Warner Brothers Records, late in 1972, the rot had been set internally toward eventual group dissolution because of deceptive business practices by their various management teams and the splintered group politics holding them back.

Dan Matovina’s deep research of documentation and hundreds of thorough interviews sets up this tome of absolute devastation leading to two suicides of group members. The band’s music becomes more and more iconic over time with the eventual explosion of interest coming from the use of the group’s recording of Ham’s “Baby Blue” for the final song heard in one of the all-time television series Breaking Bad in 2013.

Since this book’s first publication in 1997, it has proven virtually faultless in accuracy. Now, with the first Kindle version in 2022, along with a .pdf made available, it will live on for future study and continual re-discovery of this amazing band’s story and their classic catalog.

The Story that needs to be told

As one of my favorite bands, it was challenging yet necessary to listen and learn. I appreciated the band's origins and their signing with the Beatles' Apple Records, which helped launch their career with McCartney's assistance, albeit at the cost of hindering their individual identity. The author attributes a significant amount of blame for the band's troubles not only to the well-known issues involving their manager, Bill Collins, and Stan Polley, but also to the intrusive presence of Joey Molland and his wife, Kathy, in the band's dealings. I do not have other sources to corroborate this perspective.

I found the digital voice narrator unsatisfactory; it was glitchy and abrupt at times. I hope this trend does not persist, although I fear it may.

Such a sad history of Badfinger

I have 4 hr left in the book and it's heartbreaking. I might finish it but if you live with a melancholy mind, that may be difficult.

The band's agent, Stanley Herbert Polley (April 7, 1922 – July 20, 2009), should have been held responsible for the suicides of Pete Ham and Tom Evans. Throughout his career, Polley defrauded a number of clients and associates, most notably Badfinger.

The Virtual Voice narration isn't too bad. I wish some of my audiobooks, like Cosmos and Stan and Ollie, had that narration instead.

The information how their career started with Apple Records and the involvement with the Beatles, makes this additional insight to the Fab Four. I recommend Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger although it's tough on your heart. The bios of Nick Drake and Townes Van Zandt are that way too.