The longtime drummer for power pop deities Badfinger, Mike Gibbins also recorded as a solo act years after the group's tragic demise. Born in Swansea, Wales on March 12, 1949, Gibbins was the product of a large family, and claimed he took up the drums at 14 simply to make himself heard over the din. In 1965, after stints with the local beat groups the Planet and Club Four, he joined the Iveys, an area combo led by singer/guitarist Pete Ham. By the time manager Bill Collins agreed to guide the group in 1966, the Iveys were a popular attraction on the London club scene. Collins encouraged the group to compose its own material and Ham proved a remarkably gifted songwriter, authoring bold, infectious melodies and creating luminous harmonies in conjunction with bassist Tom Evans, who joined the lineup in 1967. While his bandmates explored composition, Gibbins learned piano and guitar. He also spent some time in hospital after a post-show road accident, losing his front teeth in the process. The Iveys signed to the Beatles' fledgling Apple label in 1968, releasing their debut LP Maybe Tomorrow at year's end. The record was not a hit, but the Paul McCartney-penned follow-up single "Come and Get It" cracked the Top Ten in both Britain and the U.S. Confusion with fellow rockers the Ivy League ultimately forced a name change, however, and in mid-1969, the Iveys re-christened themselves Badfinger. With the addition of guitarist Joey Molland completing the classic Badfinger lineup, the group recorded its 1970 masterpiece No Dice, scoring a major hit with the crunching pop classic "No Matter What." The album also featured the luminous ballad "Without You," later covered by artists from Harry Nilsson to Mariah Carey. George Harrison produced much of the superb follow-up Straight Up, and Gibbins and his bandmates returned the favor by playing on the former Beatle's solo masterpiece All Things Must Pass, also serving as the backing unit at Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh. Gibbins' drumming on all of the aforementioned records is powerful yet tasteful and by this time he was also developing into a songwriter of distinction, contributing "In the Meantime" and "You're So Fine" to Wish You Were Here, Badfinger's 1974 debut for Warner Bros. Their exit from Apple was tumultuous. Not only was the label going through bankruptcy, tying up artist royalties for years, but the band's new manager Stan Polley alienated supporters like Harrison by negotiating the Warner deal even as Badfinger remained under contract to Apple. Polley--an infamously unscrupulous character--ended up siphoning untold sums of money from the group's coffers; worse, legal entanglements conspired to force Warner Bros. to pull Wish You Were Here from retail just weeks after its release. Badfinger forged on, working on a new LP provisionally titled Head First. At least five of Gibbins' original songs were recorded at the sessions, but the album was shelved and was not released in any form until 2000. Gibbins left the band in late 1974 following a spat with Evans, and the rest of Badfinger's sad tale is well-documented: a disconsolate Ham hung himself in 1975, and after a violent argument with Molland, Evans likewise committed suicide in 1983. In the interim, Gibbins toured with Welsh combo the Flying Aces and also supported Bonnie Tyler, appearing on the singer's breakthrough 1977 hit "It's a Heartache." He also worked on demos of his original songs, but a label deal was not forthcoming. Gibbins remained a respected session drummer, appearing on dates headlined by singers like Digby Richards and David Tipton before relocating to the south Florida area. In 1984 he joined Molland and latter-day Badfinger guitarist/keyboardist Bob Jackson as part of a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the British Invasion. Gibbins and Molland reconvened as Badfinger often in the years to follow; the former also built a home recording studio and in 1998 issued his first solo record, A Place in Time. More Annoying Songs and In the Meantime followed, but on October 4, 2005 Gibbins died of natural causes at his home in Oviedo, Florida. He was 56. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide