Tom Evans (musician)

Occupation(s)InstrumentsYears active1963–1983LabelsFormerly ofBadfingerWebsitetomevans.info

Thomas Evans (5 June 1947 – 19 November 1983) was an English musician. He is best known for his work as the bassist of the band Badfinger. He also co-wrote their 1970 song "Without You," which has been recorded by over 180 artists — most notably Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey. Evans died by suicide in 1983, one of two members to do so (the first being Pete Ham in 1975).

In November 1969, the Iveys changed their name to Badfinger, and Paul McCartney of the Beatles gave the group a boost by offering them 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. Evans was chosen by McCartney to sing lead on this track. It reached the Top 10 worldwide. The B-side, "Rock of All Ages", co-written by Evans with Pete Ham and Mike Gibbins, features Evans singing lead. Paul McCartney also produced this, and sang scratch vocals with Evans on the basic track. A third Magic Christian song, "Carry On Till Tomorrow" was co-written by Evans and Ham.^[2]

Badfinger enjoyed more major successes in the early 1970s with singles such as "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". Each featured some of Evans' vocals; background harmony and dual lead. Evans' high-career moment was with his composition "Without You", a song co-written with bandmate Ham. The song became a No. 1 hit worldwide for Harry Nilsson and has since become a standard in the music industry.^[2]

Badfinger dissolved following Ham's suicide in 1975, after which Evans joined a group called the Dodgers with Badfinger bandmate Bob Jackson. The Dodgers released three singles produced by Muff Winwood and toured Britain before recording an album, Love on the Rebound, with producer Pat Moran. Evans was eventually asked to leave the band midway through the recording sessions and he briefly retired from the music industry.^[2]

Evans resurfaced in 1977 to join Joey Molland for two Badfinger "comeback" albums. The first single of two from the first album Airwaves was an Evans composition – "Lost Inside Your Love", but it failed to chart after its release in March 1979. The second album, Say No More, spawned the Evans and Tansin single "Hold On", which reached No. 56 on the Billboard chart 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 US.^[2]

In 1982, Jackson rejoined Evans in the latter's version of Badfinger. Original Badfinger drummer Gibbins was also enlisted for Evans' band for one tour. But after Evans and Jackson signed separate management contracts with a Milwaukee businessman, the trio of Evans, Gibbins and Jackson said they found themselves stranded in the US without tour dates, food, or money, and under much duress from physical threats. After returning to Britain, Evans was sued for $5 million in damages for abandoning his touring contract.^[2]

Evans was married to Marianne Evans,^[3] and together they had a son, Stephen.^[2]

Evans hanged himself in his garden on 19 November 1983, at the age of 36. He got into a dispute with former bandmate Joey Molland over royalties for the song "Without You" the previous evening.^[4]

(with Badfinger, except where noted)

• Maybe Tomorrow (1969 as "The Iveys", Apple Records)
• Magic Christian Music (1970, Apple Records)
• No Dice (1970, Apple Records)
• Straight Up (1971, Apple Records)
• Ass (1973, Apple Records)
• Badfinger (1974, Warner Brothers Records)
• Wish You Were Here (1974, Warner Brothers Records)
• Airwaves (1979, Elektra Records)
• Say No More (1981, Radio Records)
• Over You: The Final Tracks (1993 as "Tom Evans with Rod Roach", Gipsy Records)
• Head First (2000, Snapper Music)
• 94 Baker Street (5 tracks by the Iveys) (2003, RPM Records)
• An Apple a Day (4 tracks by the Iveys) (2006, RPM Records)
• Treacle Toffee World (2 tracks by the Iveys) (2008, RPM Records)
• I Am Myself (2024, Y&T Music)

Evans also appeared as a guest artist on

• The Concert for Bangladesh (album)
• All Things Must Pass by George Harrison (album)
• "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr (single)
• Imagine by John Lennon (album)

• "Maybe Tomorrow" (U.S. Billboard No. 67, Cash Box No. 51 by the Iveys^{[citation needed]})
• "Carry On Till Tomorrow" (album track, co-written with Pete Ham, Magic Christian Music)^[5]
• "Without You" (Billboard No. 1 by Harry Nilsson, No. 3 by Mariah Carey, No. 28 by Clay Aiken^{[citation needed]})
• "Better Days" (album track, co-written with Joey Molland, No Dice)^[6]
• "I Don't Mind" (album track, co-written with Joey Molland, No Dice)^[6]
• "When I Say" (album track, Ass)^[7]
• "Shine On" (album track, co-written with Pete Ham, Badfinger)^[8]
• "Lost Inside Your Love" (by Badfinger, failed to chart^{[citation needed]})
• "Hold On" (Billboard No. 56, Cash Box No. 67 by Badfinger^{[citation needed]})

• Tom Evans Library
• Tom Evans at IMDb