April 2, 1971

Foster Auditorium

Welsh act Badfinger appeared at Foster Auditorium performing its biggest hits, including Beatles-induced power-pop songs like “Come and Get It,” which was written and produced by Paul McCartney and appeared in the motion picture, “The Magic Christian” starring Ringo Starr. “No Matter What” was another Badfinger hit, produced by Apple’s Mal Evans, and “Day After Day,” which was produced by George Harrison.  “Baby Blue” was another chart-topper that would eventually find its way into the final scene of contemporary TV’s “Breaking Bad” in 2013. The University of Alabama springtime concert in the school’s original basketball facility was sparsely attended, even after a series of radio promotions and on-campus poster distributions fell flat even though the album “No Dice” sold well. The band’s next album, “Straight Up” and a spotlight appearance at George Harrison’s “The Concert for Bangladesh” later that year would result in a film and box set of albums, was another tremendous showcase for the band. Guitarist-singer-songwriter Pete Ham was the center point of Badfinger, with long reddish hair and a nice stage presence. Tragically, Ham would take his own life in 1975 at age 27 after a series of financial setbacks. As for the show in Tuscaloosa, according to a story by Crimson-White writer Mickie Blair, the journalist accepted an “invitation” from the Student Entertainment Committee for a “personal interview” with the band after fighting through an “adoring crowd of ‘boppers’” to corner the group with a series of questions. Blair said, “I discovered that the group would rather be famous without cashing in on the success of someone else,” meaning their close association with The Beatles, who “discovered” Badfinger and signed them to Apple (James Taylor was the first artist signed to Apple Records). Blair wound down the review by calling Badfinger “the best group that has been to the University,” and went on to say that “it was disappointing that only 500 people came to the concert. The lack of  huge crowd did not dampen their performance, so I don’t feel sorry for them, I just feel sorry for those who missed the show.”