October 20, 1982
The Rose
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

I saw Badfinger in St. Louis in October of '82. The Cardinals were on the big screen TV playing in the 7th game of the World Series. Badfinger had to wait until the game was over before they were allowed to take the stage (the Cards won [beating the Milwaukee Brewers], by the way and the crowd was in a VERY good mood). I sat with my wife at a table at the front, with camera and cassette recorder hidden beneath a scarf. Just as the game was ending, I happened to turn around, only to see Tommy and Mike sitting at the table behind me- 2 feet away, (by themselves) drinking a beer. I couldn't believe it! The game ended and they got up to do the show.

When the show was over, all the band members came out to take down the equipment. I walked up to Tommy and had him sign a poster announcing the show that was stuck up on the wall. I told Tommy that Badfinger still had a lot of fans and that were a loyal bunch. He pointed to a rather large man in a yellow jacket who was standing around and said he was from a record company (Epic Records, if I remember correctly). He said they were being scouted for a recording contract and asked if I would go speak to him. I did. I gave Badfinger the best review that a fan could give. The man said he was following them around to see how the shows went and fan reaction. I told him he couldn't do better than sign them up.

I walked back over to Tommy, who was now a few feet from Mike, and told him that things were looking up. I told him to keep the faith and keep up the good work... that the fans would always be there for him. He told me that really meant a lot to him. We shook hands and I wished him luck. I got Mike and a few of the other band members to sign the poster. The cassette that I had somehow got stuck while recording and nothing came out, but I did get some good photos however. A few months later, I read that Tommy had taken his life and I couldn't believe it. He seemed so upbeat only a few short months before.

Gary Craden

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