The Dead Musician Directory

[DudeAsInCool]

A decent list, with comprehensive info on the individuals they focus on:

http://elvispelvis.com/fullerup.htm

[KiwiCoromandel]

very interesting site dude..i`ve been stuck on it for hours this morning..... :good job:

[method77]

great link dude

[rainbowdemon]

I want the Mercury book. I've read two about him. But I never knew about that one.

:read this:

The first one was called "The Show Must Go On". It was a pretty good factual rendition of Freddie's life.

The second one was called "Mercury And Me". Suppodedly written by a former "companion". Nothing but bullshit sensationalism.

[KiwiCoromandel]

i`m still stuck on this site dude...this has been my whole day...i have done nothing else...up to the suicide page now..reading about the suicide by hanging of tom evans of badfinger..and followed the link to the book " without you " by Dan Matovina..about how badfinger were fucked over and destroyed by shitbags in the music industry in the uk...what a story..i`ve got to get my hands on a copy..both tom evans and pete ham hung themselves within 8 years of each over financial pressures associated with the running of the band badfinger......

" This exhaustively researched book gives a full picture of the band during their peak. The word tragic shows up in descriptions of Badfinger quite a bit,but it doesn't begin to do justice to this terrific band's sad story. This second edition of the book cleans up a handful of minor errors and misstakes that appeared in the text of the original version. It also includes an additional chapter on the recent court case that involved the original members (and the estates of two decease members). There are also a number of photographs that didn't appear in the original edition and a complete discography that includes the latest reissues of the band's material.

Nevertheless, the inside look at the manipulators and sharks in the music business is a very good cautionary tale for modern musicians. Ultimately, this is a tale all too common in the music business. Although all four members of Badfinger were talented songwriters and singers, Matovina focuses accurately portrays Pete Ham as the driving force behind the band. The unique chemistry of the four members was still an important factor in this fine band and Matovina doesn't sell the other members short. If there is a villian in this story it was the short sightedness of the band and the person they chose to manage them in the United States. If the band had a flaw it was its inability to look past the bs of the business and their trusting nature.

Matovina does a terrific job of drawing a full picture of all the members of the band. He manages to provide the best insight into Pete Ham (the most talented singer/songwriter in the band). Ham is a complex figure who, when under emotional distress, habitually puts out cigarettes on his hands. Ham commuicates his emotions through his songs, and is a good friend to everybody but, unfortunately, no one is able to get close to Ham and help him with the enormous burden of trying to keep Badfinger together.

Matovina also manages to capture the other members of the band with the same detail. The chapters on the band's post-Ham years are both as tragic and compelling as those written about the first incarnation of Badfinger. Evans and Molland's struggle to revive the band and the indifference they faced is particularly interesting given the band's previous success.

Eventually the pressures caught up with everyone in Badfinger. It's impact was sharp and explosive for two members of the band resulting in their suicide. In many respects the aftermath of the implosion of this great band resembles a messy divorce; all the participants had their own agenda and couldn't get past their own personal issues.

The inclusion of the 71 minute CD provides a series of snapshots of the band from beginning to the very bitter end. Most of these tracks haven't been available before (with the exception of poor sounding bootlegs). We get to hear one of Pete Ham's first demos for the band along with their first offical studio recording made under the supervision of the Kinks' Ray Davies.

Matovina provides more than one smoking gun in the book demonstrating that the forces that tore this band apart wasn't jealousy as much as the vultures in the music industry. Without You is both a powerful reminder of the evil in the music industry and the talented individuals that are victimized by these vultures. "