It’s been 3 years since the release of my dream project, “Shine On – A Tribute to Pete Ham” and the response from the Badfinger community of family, fans and journalists was extremely heartwarming to say the least. In fact, the album directly led me to get to know and work closely with representatives of the Ham, Evans & Gibbins Estates ever since. It has truly been a whirlwind these past couple years with Y&T being a part of historic releases by Badfinger, The Iveys, Pete Ham and Tom Evans.
For the past year, I have been working on a second Pete Ham tribute, featuring songs that only existed as home demos. I got the inspiration from the 2 songs on “Shine On” that were only released as demos, “No More” by Mary Lee Kortes and “Dear Father” by Tobin Sprout. Those two wonderful recordings showed me how many of Pete’s unreleased demos could be brought to life with new studio interpretations.
The result is a 22 track album called “Just Look Inside The Cover – Songs Of Pete Ham” and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. Like “Shine On,” the album features some great artists who had creative license to produce their tracks in any manner they wanted. Thanks to everyone who was a part of the process in bringing this project to life and it will be available for pre-order with a release date of June 19th.
Here are the details of the artists and songs!
Cover painting by the brilliant Lesley Daunt!
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1. Mike Delevante – A Lonely Day – This lead track features Eddie Perez of the Mavericks on guitar, Garry Tallent on bass and Bryan Owings on drums. Mike’s beautiful vocal and the lovely pop production made it a no brainer for the opener!
2. Pezband – Tulip – Long time Chicago based power pop band brought this Pete Ham song to another level. Pure pop perfection! The vocal by Mimi Betines is quite powerful.
3. Sharp Pins – Just How Lucky We Are – Thrilled to have Kai “Sharp Pins” Slater on our tribute. Kai played all the instruments on this beautiful ballad. Keep your eyes out for this fabulous new band as they tour the country!
4. Eric Dover – Leaving on a Midnight Train – Former member of Jellyfish and Imperial Drag, Eric kills it on this fabulous rocker!
5. Arlan Feiles – You’re Such a Good Woman – When I knew this beautiful song needed to be on the album, the only person who I wanted to record it was Arlan and my faith was more than justified! Stunning!
6. Bill Lloyd – Our Song – Power pop icon, Bill Lloyd delivers a masterful interpretation of this Pete Ham gem!
7. Rob Bonfiglio – Hand in Hand – Once again, Rob contributes a track to a Pete Ham tribute and wait till you hear this one. Truly fabulous as is Rob’s new solo album, “The Over Under!”
8. Mary Karlzen – Dawn – When I sent this gorgeous song to Mary, I was thrilled that she loved it and her poignant arrangement and vocal is truly special.
9. The Fraternals – Catherine Cares – Based in Orlando, The Fraternals are an indie rock band led by fraternal twins, Cian and Cole McDemott. Adam Gibbins (son of Mike Gibbins) produced this Iveys era song and it sounds spectacular!
10. Fernando Perdomo – Time is Mine – This gorgeous instrumental track showcases the multi-talented Fernando Perdomo at his best.
11. Mic Harrison And The High Score – A Little Bit of Rock and Roll – I felt that this very short Pete Ham demo needed to be recorded for the tribute and I knew the perfect band to pull it off was Mic and company….and man does it rock!
12. Tobin Sprout – Keep Your Country Tidy – When Tobin asked to record this song, I knew it was the perfect track for him as his beautiful vocal makes this poignant recording truly special. Thanks to Jansen Press for the help on this!
13. Humbert – Little Mary – I loved “Little Mary” from the first time I heard it off “Gwent Gardens,” and I had the perfect band in mind to record it, South Florida indie icons, Humbert! Their arrangement is truly special with wonderful harmonies and I will tell you, there is a surprise in the song…See if you catch it!
14. Steve Barton – Ringside – As a long time fan of Steve’s band Translator, I was thrilled when Steve agreed to be a part of the tribute. He immediately asked to record this somber song written in 1975. Steve’s emotional arrangement and vocal gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. wow just wow.
15. The Parlophonics – Makes Me Feel Good – Another band that has contributed to both tributes and their pure pop magic sound truly brings this gem to life. Fernando Perdomo’s lead guitar part is exquisite!
16. Richard Barone (featuring the Midnight Callers) – I’m Only Human. I’ve been a long time fan of Richard’s early power pop band, The Bongos, and he does not disappoint with his rocking version of this great early track.
17. Darren Hayman and Robert Rotifer – Love Will Be. Darren is a truly special artist, whose late 90’s band Hefner, happens to be my favorite UK band of the last 30 years. I got to meet Darren in London in 2024 and was thrilled to know that he was a Pete Ham fan. So I asked him if he would consider recording a song for our tribute and he chose Love Will Be (and recorded it with guitarist Robert Rotifer.) I LOVE this very cool “low-fi” recording!
18. Mark Healey – It Doesn’t Really Matter – Mark was a long time member of Joey Molland’s Badfinger starting in 1986 and does a wonderful interpretation of one of Pete’s most beautiful ballads.
19. Jeff Alan Ross – The Day Begins – Jeff was also a member of Joey Molland’s Badfinger (with Mike Gibbins) and now tours with the Lovin’ Spoonful. I felt Jeff was the only artist who could bring Pete’s lovely song off “Gwent Gardens” to life. He hit it out of the park with a powerful arrangement and production!
20. Ron Griffiths – Take Good Care of My Baby – To have a founding member of The Iveys and Badfinger be a part of our tribute is truly an honor and I am eternally grateful for his support. Ron and Fernando Perdomo collaborated on this early Iveys demo.
21. Bob Jackson – Just Look Inside The Cover – It was Bob Jackson who had to be the one to record the title track for our tribute and his version with Andy Nixon shows that this could have been a Badfinger classic! It has been a career highlight to work with Bob on “Head First”and now our new tribute!
22. Tobin Sprout – Keep Your Country Tidy (Reprise) – I “borrowed” the idea for a reprise from the Wings album, Venus & Mars, where it ends with a short instrumental, “Crossroads.”
Glass Onyon PR 