Joey Molland, the guitarist known for his role in the band Badfinger, has died at the age of 77.
The news was confirmed on the band’s official Facebook page, which stated that he passed away on Saturday (March 1) surrounded by his family. No cause of death has been provided, although he had dealt with pneumonia in recent months.
“Thank you, Joey…for keeping the band’s music alive for so long and for being a friend to us all,” the band wrote.
Welsh band Badfinger were one of the first artists signed by The Beatles to their Apple Records label and became known for their guitar-driven power pop sound. Molland joined the group in 1970, months after they released their second album ‘Magic Christian Music’.
Molland’s first record with the group was 1970’s ‘No Dice’, produced by Beatles road manager Mal Evans. It included two of the band’s best-known tracks: ‘No Matter What’ and ‘Without You’, the latter of which being immortalised in cover versions by both Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey.
The line-up of Molland, guitarist/singer Pete Ham, bassist Tom Evans and drummer Mike Gibbins stayed together until 1974, regularly having their music produced by George Harrison. They would have further hit singles such as ‘Day After Day’ and ‘Baby Blue’, which was later memorably used in the closing moments of the final episode of Breaking Bad.
Molland took songwriting and singing duties on a subsequent version of Badfinger in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, after which he formed Molland’s Badfinger, which remained active until recent years.
Outside of the band, Molland also played guitar on John Lennon’s classic 1971 track ‘Jealous Guy’ and appeared on George Harrison’s 1970 album ‘All Things Must Pass’.
Molland was the final surviving member of the classic Badfinger line-up, after Ham and Evans both took their own lives in 1975 and 1984 respectively and Gibbins died from a brain aneurysm in 2005.
