Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). Initially known as the Iveys, the band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie"). From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple Records and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple's dissolution. They are recognised for their influence on the 1970s power pop genre and are estimated to have sold 14 million records.

Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), "No Matter What" (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), "Day After Day" (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Their song "Without You" (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a UK and US number-one hit for Harry Nilsson in 1972 and a UK number-one for Mariah Carey in 1994. In 1972, "Without You" saw co-writers Ham and Evans receive the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the Songwriters Guild of Great Britain.

After Apple Records folded in 1973, Badfinger struggled with a host of legal, managerial, and financial problems mostly due to their fraudulent manager Stan Polley, leading to Ham's suicide in 1975. The surviving members struggled to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits which tied up the songwriters' royalty payments for years. Their subsequent albums floundered, as Molland and Evans alternated between co-operation and conflict in their attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. Evans died by suicide in 1983, Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005, and Molland died from complications of diabetes in 2025. At the time of his death, Molland was the last surviving member of the group’s classic lineup.

"Baby Blue" featured in the finale of the American television series Breaking Bad, reviving its popularity amongst a new generation of listeners.

The Iveys formed in 1961 in Swansea, Wales from the Panthers, whose line-up consisted of Pete Ham (lead guitar), Ronald "Ron" Griffiths (bass guitar), David "Dai" Jenkins (rhythm guitar), and Roy Anderson (drums). After playing under various names, including the Black Velvets and the Wild Ones, by 1964 they had settled on the Iveys, after a street in Swansea called Ivey Place.

In March 1965, drummer Mike Gibbins joined the Iveys. The group secured concerts around the Swansea area, opening for prominent British bands such as the Spencer Davis Group, the Who, the Moody Blues, and the Yardbirds.

By June 1966, [1]William Daniel "Bill" Collins (the father of actor Lewis Collins) had started to manage the group. In December 1966, the group moved into Collins's home at 7 Park Avenue, Golders Green, London, sharing space with an act called the Mojos. The house was terminally overcrowded, so the only place to find any privacy was in a room equipped with a two-track recording machine.

The group performed a wide range of cover tunes on the London circuit, from Motown, blues, and soul to Top 40, psychedelia, and Beatles hits, which garnered interest from record labels. Ray Davies of the Kinks auditioned to produce them, recording three of their songs at a four-track demo studio in London's Old Kent Road on 15 January 1967: "Taxi" and "Sausage And Eggs", songs by Ham; and Griffiths's "I Believe in You Girl". On 8 December 1966, Collins and the group signed a five-year contract giving Collins a 20% share of net receipts, the same as the individual group members, but only after managerial expenses had been deducted. Collins said at the time, "Look, I can't promise you lads anything, except blood, sweat and tears." The group performed occasional concerts backing David Garrick while performing as the Iveys across the United Kingdom throughout the rest of the decade.