Ex-pat Aussie Rick Springfield has appeared singing lead on a new track by the legendary British ‘70s band Badfinger. Badfinger were a popular band internationally in the ‘70s and are revered to this day for their affiliation with the Beatles Apple label (originally signed as The Iveys, they were the first act other than The Beatles to have releases on the label, and both Paul McCartney and George Harrison played notable hands in their development) and for the original of the Nilsson hit “Without You”. They also had a number of hits themselves, including “No Matter What”, “Baby Blue” and  “Day After Day”, and released a number of classic albums (including Straight Up, which was produced in part by both Harrison and Todd Rundgren), and their subsequent influence over generations of classic rock and power pop fans is enduring.

The track “Love Is Gonna Come at Last“ is a new recording of a track Badfinger originally recorded in 1979, for the album Airwaves. The current entity of Badfinger is a vehicle for sole surviving long-term member of the original group, Joey Molland. As is sadly well known to fans, Iveys/Badfinger co-founders Pete Ham and Tom Evans both committed suicide (in 1975 and 1983 respectively) after the band’s initial success had faded and their manager had effectively robbed them of all their earnings. Molland continues to use the name in tribute to them and their music.

“Badfinger has always been one of my all-time favorite bands," Springfield has said in a statement. "In fact, I am often asked by journalists, ‘What is the one song you had wished you had written?’ And my answer is ‘Baby Blue.' What a perfect song! Their music was and is immortal."

The pairing of Rick Springfield and Badfinger is a perfect one – Rick is not just a Badfinger fan, he is of the same era, and was hugely influenced by the Beatles and all the other music that Badfinger were into. Rick was playing in Zoot around the same time that Badfinger were hitting their straps on Apple, and he moved to the States to pursue his solo career around the same time that Badfinger signed to Warner Brothers in their own attempt to break over there. And like Badfinger, Rick remains an icon in international power pop circles.

The pairing is a perfect one sonically too, as this fabulous new version of “Love Is Gonna Come At Last” clearly reveals. Check it out here, along with the original from 1979 and a couple of early poptastic classics apiece from Badfinger and our Rick (with and without Zoot).

Badfinger with Rick Springfield

Badfinger

Zoot 

Rick