Mike Gibbins

Michael George Gibbins started playing drums while in the sea cadets. He played around South Wales for a time with a group called "The Misfits" before auditioning for the rival Welsh band The Iveys in 1964. The Iveys had a minor hit with "Maybe Tomorrow". In 1969, Paul McCartney produced the song "Come and Get It" for The Iveys, who prior to its release, changed their name to Badfinger and replaced Griffiths with guitarist Joey Molland. ==Badfinger==

After the success of "Come and Get It", Badfinger enjoyed success with hit songs "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". From early on, Gibbins began to contribute songs to the albums, despite often being overshadowed by the compositions of the other members, particularly Ham. During his tenure with Badfinger, Gibbins - along with the other members of the band - contributed musically to the George Harrison album All Things Must Pass, and played at The Concert for Bangladesh. While working on All Things Must Pass, producer Phil Spector recognized Gibbins' talent at playing the tambourine, earning Gibbins the nickname "Mr. Tambourine Man" after the Bob Dylan song. After Pete Ham died by suicide in 1975, Badfinger broke up and Gibbins found work as a session drummer in Wales. After Evans and Molland split in 1982, Gibbins joined Tom Evans and Bob Jackson to create another Badfinger to rival that of Molland. Gibbins soon quit, and Evans died by suicide in 1983. A year later, Gibbins, Jackson, and Molland toured as Badfinger for a brief period. ==Later years and death==

He recommenced touring in the late 1990s, starting his own band Madfinger which featured ex-Iveys bassist Ron Griffiths. Gibbins released four albums later in his life, A Place in Time, More Annoying Songs, Archeology and In the Meantime featuring his own compositions. Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in his sleep at his Florida home on October 4, 2005, at the age of 56. He was survived by his second wife, Ellie; their sons, David and Adam; and Owen, a son from a previous marriage Speaking of his bandmate, Molland (who was the last surviving member of Badfinger's classic line-up) said: ==References==