Pete Ham

Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born 27 April 1947 in Swansea, Wales, UK - Died 24 April 1975 in Woking, Surrey, England, UK. Best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for 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 that has become a standard covered by hundreds of artists. He formed a local Swansea rock group called The Panthers circa 1961. This group would undergo several name and line-up changes before it became The Iveys in 1965. In December 1966 the band relocated to London. He eventually became the prominent songwriter for the band that changed its name to Badfinger in November 1969. He was granted two Ivor Novello Awards related to the song "Without You" in 1973. Ham took his life in 1975 at the age of 27, pursuant to depression stemming from band mis-management and label issues.