Biography
Although Joey Molland entered Badfinger only after the power pop outfit had prepared for takeoff, he ultimately became the figure who sustained both its identity and catalog across loss and afterward. His route proved uneven from the start. He first partnered with Tom Evans on the 1978 reunion, after which the pair simultaneously fronted separate lineups of the band. Rival Badfinger configurations became commonplace throughout the 1980s, Molland’s edition standing against the one steered by keyboardist and guitarist Bob Jackson; even so, Joey Molland set himself apart by issuing fresh original recordings at least once per decade. While many such projects appealed chiefly to devoted power-pop listeners, a few reached wider ears, among them 1992’s The Pilgrim on Rykodisc and the career-capping Be True to Yourself in 2020, produced by Mark Hudson for Omnivore.
Joey Molland first touched piano at age five or six inside his Liverpool residence before taking up guitar at eleven. The Assassins marked his initial group, enduring between three and six months, after which he joined the Profiles. He recalled, "I learned to play guitar on a street in Liverpool called Penny Lane, it's a famous place, and me mate Pigeon, we used to go and hang around the corner there and learn Chuck Berry songs. Peter Edge was his real name and he had an amplifier. I didn't have an amplifier. I had a homemade guitar my brother had made." Pete Wiggins, an acquaintance of Edge, located Molland at a shipping firm and, during a lunch interval, inquired whether he still played guitar. Upon an affirmative reply, Wiggins escorted him to a pub for a performance. "I was 16 or 15 at the time, I went to the club, and I played a bunch of Chuck Berry songs with this band, and they gave me a pound!" Molland remained with the Profiles for six to eight months.
He subsequently joined the Masterminds, regulars at the Blue Angel club. In 1965 the Rolling Stones’ original producer Andrew Loog Oldham cut a Bob Dylan composition, “She Belongs to Me,” with the ensemble. Molland next passed through successive outfits. "I joined the Merseybeats, the Fruit Eating Bears, the Cryin' Shames, and then Gary Walker & the Rain." That ensemble also recorded; Molland’s tenure ran from 1967 to 1968. When the Iveys secured a deal with Apple Records they adopted the name Badfinger, and Paul McCartney supplied them with “Come and Get It” for the Peter Sellers film The Magic Christian. "I didn't play on "Come and Get It," Molland declared, yet once the decision was made to shift Tom Evans to bass—thereby displacing the Iveys’ original bassist—Joey Molland was recruited on guitar and appeared on 1970’s No Dice, supplying the signature guitar tone that powered the Top Ten hit “No Matter What.”
Molland stands as a survivor in the fullest meaning of the term, not merely because he remained after the turmoil subsided, but because authentic ability placed him alongside the celebrated figures whose company and friendship he shared. In 1999 he issued Basil, a collection of demos spanning 1972 to 1999 and sold directly via his website through e-mail. "A lot of songs, most of them, hadn't been released at all," the artist told the Visual Radio-Television program. Molland delivered the fresh album This Way Up in 2001. Over the ensuing decades he kept touring as Joey Molland’s Badfinger and released occasional new recordings such as 2013’s Return to Memphis. In 2020 Omnivore brought out Be True to Yourself, produced by Mark Hudson and featuring appearances by Julian Lennon and Micky Dolenz.
Joey Molland first touched piano at age five or six inside his Liverpool residence before taking up guitar at eleven. The Assassins marked his initial group, enduring between three and six months, after which he joined the Profiles. He recalled, "I learned to play guitar on a street in Liverpool called Penny Lane, it's a famous place, and me mate Pigeon, we used to go and hang around the corner there and learn Chuck Berry songs. Peter Edge was his real name and he had an amplifier. I didn't have an amplifier. I had a homemade guitar my brother had made." Pete Wiggins, an acquaintance of Edge, located Molland at a shipping firm and, during a lunch interval, inquired whether he still played guitar. Upon an affirmative reply, Wiggins escorted him to a pub for a performance. "I was 16 or 15 at the time, I went to the club, and I played a bunch of Chuck Berry songs with this band, and they gave me a pound!" Molland remained with the Profiles for six to eight months.
He subsequently joined the Masterminds, regulars at the Blue Angel club. In 1965 the Rolling Stones’ original producer Andrew Loog Oldham cut a Bob Dylan composition, “She Belongs to Me,” with the ensemble. Molland next passed through successive outfits. "I joined the Merseybeats, the Fruit Eating Bears, the Cryin' Shames, and then Gary Walker & the Rain." That ensemble also recorded; Molland’s tenure ran from 1967 to 1968. When the Iveys secured a deal with Apple Records they adopted the name Badfinger, and Paul McCartney supplied them with “Come and Get It” for the Peter Sellers film The Magic Christian. "I didn't play on "Come and Get It," Molland declared, yet once the decision was made to shift Tom Evans to bass—thereby displacing the Iveys’ original bassist—Joey Molland was recruited on guitar and appeared on 1970’s No Dice, supplying the signature guitar tone that powered the Top Ten hit “No Matter What.”
Molland stands as a survivor in the fullest meaning of the term, not merely because he remained after the turmoil subsided, but because authentic ability placed him alongside the celebrated figures whose company and friendship he shared. In 1999 he issued Basil, a collection of demos spanning 1972 to 1999 and sold directly via his website through e-mail. "A lot of songs, most of them, hadn't been released at all," the artist told the Visual Radio-Television program. Molland delivered the fresh album This Way Up in 2001. Over the ensuing decades he kept touring as Joey Molland’s Badfinger and released occasional new recordings such as 2013’s Return to Memphis. In 2020 Omnivore brought out Be True to Yourself, produced by Mark Hudson and featuring appearances by Julian Lennon and Micky Dolenz.
Albums
Singles
