September 28, 1983
The Riverboat
Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

I still get goose bumps when I hear I Won't Forget You, just as I did on stage.

Here's a funny story that gives you an idea what kind of guy Tommy was to work with. The "drum solo" on the Rochester show was the only time I ever did one. What happened was, the drum riser started to come apart, with drums and stands falling into the growing crevice between the two halves. Well, Tommy turned around and saw what was happening and immediately yelled DRUM SOLO! and walked off stage The band had a great laugh watching the train wreck!

Lenny Campanaro (Badfinger drummer for this show)



During the performance of "Airwaves", Tommy suddenly sang the first verse of the Beatles' song "Help!", before resuming "Airwaves", then the whole band went into "Look Out California".

Bad attendance plagued the night. Tommy was clearly disappointed...he had spoken of being sued to a friend of mine. At the end of the night Tommy was so despondent, he was sitting on a stool apparently dejected, and no one was talking to him. He was clearly in a black mood from the moment I met him backstage and welcomed him to Rochester. Somebody showed Tommy a picture of Mal Evans before the show. Tommy got very upset and said "I don't like to look at dead people". The guy with the picture of Mal was convinced that Tommy would cancel the whole show. Tommy signed my "Baby Blue" picture sleeve that night... here's what he wrote: "This was Clearwell Castle, those were good days, these are not, but love is love". Tom Evans.

Joe Pellegrino


I saw Tommy's Badfinger here in Rochester in September, 1983. I had the opportunity to talk to Tommy. He was very pleasant and talkative. He tried to be optimistic, but you could see it in his eyes. Playing in front of 30-40 people in a small dive just wasn't cutting it. Even onstage, the show was good but you could still see it in his eyes.

It got late, so I only stayed an hour or so. They played: "Come And Get It", "Crocadillo" with a good long intro by Tony Kaye on piano; Tommy sang "Day After Day" and for "Baby Blue" he mouthed the words to someone else who sang the song. "No Matter What" also.

Louis Trotto

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