Badfinger Convention
Pembrey Suite at The Dragon Hotel
Swansea, Wales
May 13, 2006

The Badfinger convention consisted of one large room filled with numerous pictures, articles, pieces of memorabilia, and a collection of videos playing repeatedly throughout the day. Most of the surviving Iveys & Badfinger members, family and friends made an appearance at one time or another during the day. The convention portion lasted from 12 Noon until about 7PM.

A partial list of special guests:
Ron Griffiths
Ron Griffiths (Iveys: 1964-1969, Badfinger: 1969)

Petera Ham
Petera Ham (daughter of Pete Ham)

Beverly Ellis Tucker (former girlfriend of Pete Ham)
Bob Jackson (Badfinger: 1974-1975, 1982-1984)
Marianne Evans (widow of Tom Evans)
Ellie Gibbins (widow of Mike Gibbins)
Adam & David Gibbins (Mike Gibbins' sons)
David "Tag" Hall (Badfinger roadie)
Nicky Bell (Badfinger roadie: 1970-1973)
Tim Boyle (Badfinger agent, roadie, & road manager)
Roy Anderson (bandmate of Pete Ham in early '60s)
John Horrel (bandmate of Pete Ham in early '60s)
David Evans (brother of Tom Evans)
Gaynor Gibbins (ex-wife of Mike Gibbins)


Tom Evans and Ron Griffiths photosMike Gibbins photosBob Jackson photos
One side of the convention room (by the outside wall) consisted of various newspaper articles about Badfinger and a section each of photos representing the lives and careers of each Badfinger member: Tom Evans, Ron Griffiths, Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Bob Jackson, and Joey Molland.

Picture books tableIveys/Badfinger songwriting sheets
As you entered the room, there were two tables (one on each side) with numerous picture books with rare Iveys photos, articles, concert ads, and even a copy of Mike Gibbins' unfinished autobiography. In the center display wall were drawings of individual Badfinger members made by fans (Mark Perkins, Marie Johnannessen, and Sarah Morris), and the on the back side were vintage pictures of the Swansea area and a large collection of songwriting sheets from Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Bob Jackson, including many unreleased songs.

Badfinger albums and Iveys photosIveys and Pete Ham photos
As you entered the room, on the inner wall to the right were Badfinger albums, and early pictures of Pete Ham & The Iveys. Most of these items were also included in the picture books at the tables. There were also some concert photos and ads next to the entrance on either side.

drumsticks, boots, songbooksIveys Revox tape machine
On the far right of the room was a table displaying original memorabilia including: The original Iveys Revox tape machine used for recording demo tapes, shoes, drumsticks and t-shirts used by Mike Gibbins, The Apple Records songbook, the No Dice album songbook, and original concert ads. There were also copies of Keith James' Badfinger fanzines.

Badfinger video watching area
On the far left of the room was a viewing area which showed DVDs of Badfinger TV appearances, promo videos and documentaries. Amongst the things to see were the entire "Set Of 6" live performance, the rare "Love Is Easy" promo clip, and "Day After Day" from Rollin' On The River hosted by Kenny Rogers. A lot of amazing rare footage which makes one hope for a compilation DVD someday.

Tom Brennan, Keith James, Janet Sears
Tom Brennan, Keith James, Janet Sears

Tom Brennan, Mark V. Perkins
Tom Brennan, Mark V. Perkins

tribute to Badfinger by Dan Matovina
The 2nd portion of the convention began at approximately 9:15PM with Badfinger author Dan Matovina giving a heartfelt tribute to each member of Badfinger and recognizing all the various family members in attendance and those that were unable to make it.

Bob Jackson, No Matter WhatBob Jackson, Day After DayBob Jackson, Baby Blue
Then the main attraction began... Bob Jackson performing a solo concert of Badfinger classics and some new material from a solo project he's currently recording. Bob Jackson demonstrated his versatility musically as well as vocally by performing solo versions of various Badfinger classics on keyboards, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar. Aside from a little nervousness and some technical glitches, the performance went off very well, with a standing ovation from the assembled fans and family members.


Bob Jackson solo concert, set list:
01. No Matter What [electric guitar]
02. Day After Day [piano]
03. If You Were Here* (tribute to Tommy Evans) [acoustic guitar]
04. Moonshine [piano]
05. Name Of The Game [piano] {Bob talked about how he thought Pete Ham's lyrics for this song were cryptic}
06. Dennis [piano]
07. Carry On Till Tomorrow [acoustic guitar]
08. Shine On [acoustic guitar] {the ending of this one was tricky - Bob said, "Hold on, rewind", and then he pulled off the ending guitar lick on his 2nd attempt}
09. Positive Thinking* [piano]
10. Baby Blue [electric guitar] {no guitar solo was played - rhythm only}
11. The Boys Down In New Orleans* [piano] {Bob mentioned Hurricane Katrina and his hope that New Orleans would recover; song influenced by Professor Longhair and Dr. John}
* These 3 songs are due to be released on Bob Jackson's upcoming solo CD release

Notes:
"I Won't Forget You" was planned but not performed due to time limitations. The show started late due to problems setting up the keyboard effects and getting the guitars in tune.
Bob did not rehearse any Dodgers songs for this performance.

Ron introducing Ron singing Ron singing
12. Come And Get It [piano + Ron Griffiths-vocal]
For the last song, Bob said that Ron Griffiths should be up here playing. He called Ron out of the audience to perform on "Come And Get It." Unfortunately, he didn't bring a bass guitar and efforts to find him one all day failed. So, without any instrument, Ron introduced the song by telling the story about how Paul McCartney had all the members of The Iveys audition to be the lead singer on "Come And Get It". Tom ended up the winner of course, with Ron being rejected for sounding like Reg Presley of The Troggs! Ron did an excellent job singing with Bob, even playing air-bass at various points during the song! And of course, Ron got the audience to sing along, especially on the "Sonny" parts. After the performance, the audience demanded more but unfortunately there was no more time left on the reservation of the room.

Convention crew
The Badfinger Convention crew: Keith, Marilyn, Ruth and Laurence

A huge thanks goes to Keith James for organizing this entire event, and also Ruth James, Marilyn Jones (Swansea Central Library), and Laurence Haynes.

© Copyright 2006 Tom Brennan's Badfinger Library (TBBL). All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.
All trademarks used on TBBL are the property of their respective owners.