Nov. 19: Tom Evans of Badfinger died on this date in 1983.

He was 36 when he hung himself; the second suicide by a member of Badfinger;  tragic, tragic losses to the world of Rock n' Roll.  

Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, Tom Evans played bass, guitar, sang and was a song composer. He started his music career as a member of "The Inbeateens" in 1961. Tom was a regular at "the Cavern" where he watched The Beatles when they would play lunchtime shows. He then joined a Liverpool mod/soul group called Them Calderstones.

-- "Maybe Tomorrow" (The Iveys)

-- "No Matter What" (Badfinger)

-- "Come and Get It" (Badfinger)

-- "Day After Day" (Badfinger)

-- "Without You"

In 1967, he joined a Welsh band called The Iveys who changed their name to Badfinger after Paul McCartney of The Beatles gave the group his song "Come and Get It" which he produced for the band. It became a featured track for the film The Magic Christian, which starred Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers.

Many rock observers considered Badfinger as the heir apparent to The Beatles, partly because of their close working relationship with them and partly because of their similar sound.

Other successful Badfinger songs in the 1970s were "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue." Each featured Toms vocals, background harmony and dual lead. Tom's high-career moment was with his composition "Without You," co-written with bandmate Peter Ham. The song became a No.1 hit worldwide for Harry Nilsson and has since become a standard in the music industry.

Badfinger dissolved following Ham's suicide in 1975, after which Evans joined a group called The Dodgers with Badfinger bandmate Bob Jackson. Evans was eventually asked to leave the band, and he briefly retired from the music industry.

Evans resurfaced in 1977 to join Joey Molland for two Badfinger "comeback" albums. The second album, "Say No More" spawned the Evans single "Hold On," which reached 56 on Billboard in 1981. Evans and Molland went their separate ways after this second album was released, and the two put together rival "Badfinger" touring bands in the U.S.

In 1982, Jackson rejoined Evans in the latter's version of Badfinger. Original Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins was also enlisted for Evans' band for one tour.

 

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Supposedly, on November 19, 1983, Tom and Joey Molland argued on the telephone, reportedly about the publishing royalty of the song "Without You."

Following the argument, Tom hanged himself in the garden at his home, in an eerily similar fashion as his band mate Pete Ham in 1975.