Michael George Gibbins (12 March 1949 – 4 October 2005) was a Welsh musician, most notable for being the drummer of

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock music, rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (musician), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for th ...

The Iveys

Michael George Gibbins started playing drums while in the

sea cadets Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...

. 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 Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

produced the song " Come and Get It" for The Iveys, who prior to its release, changed their name to

and replaced Griffiths with guitarist

Joey Molland Joseph Charles Molland II (21 June 1947 – 1 March 2025) was an English songwriter and rock guitarist whose recording career spanned five decades. He was best known as a member of Badfinger, the most successful of the acts he performed with. Mo ...

Badfinger

After the success of "Come and Get It", Badfinger enjoyed success with hit songs " No Matter What", " Day After Day", and "

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". From early on, Gibbins began to contribute songs to the albums, despite often being overshadowed by the compositions of the other members, particularly Ham. He also composed and sang the originally unreleased songs "Loving You" (from the unreleased sessions for the album ''

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''), "Rockin' Machine", and "Back Again" (from the unreleased album '' Head First''). All of these recordings have now been issued on CD. During his tenure with Badfinger, Gibbins - along with the other members of the band - contributed musically to the

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

album ''

All Things Must Pass ''All Things Must Pass'' is the third studio album by George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after Break-up of the Beatles, the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes th ...

'', and played at

The Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows we ...

. While working on ''All Things Must Pass'', producer

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

recognized Gibbins' talent at playing the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

, earning Gibbins the nickname " Mr. Tambourine Man" after the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

song. After

Pete Ham Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include "No Matter What (Badfinger song), No Matte ...

died by suicide in 1975, Badfinger broke up and Gibbins found work as a session drummer in Wales. One of the more notable songs that Gibbins played on during this time was " It's a Heartache" by

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

. 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 An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

in his sleep at his Florida home on 4 October 2005 at the age of 56. He was survived by his second wife Ellie and 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbins, Mike 1949 births 2005 deaths Badfinger members Musicians from Swansea Welsh male singer-songwriters Welsh singer-songwriters 20th-century Welsh musicians 20th-century Welsh male singers Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Welsh rock drummers Welsh expatriate musicians in the United States