Mike Gibbins, Welsh drummer with Badfinger, the first band signed by the Beatles' Apple Records, has died at 56.
Gibbins, was a mainstay of the group formed in Swansea in the 1960s who wrote Without You, a worldwide hit for both Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey.

But Badfinger had a tragic history, and both main songwriters Pete Ham and Tom Evans hanged themselves amid turmoil in the group's finances.

Gibbins died in his sleep at his Florida home on Tuesday.

His official website says: "To all of Mike's fans, it is with deepest regret to inform all that he passed away 4 October, in his sleep by natural causes. He will be terribly missed by all."

Keith James, who edited the band fanzine Badfinger File, said Ringo Starr was an admirer of Gibbins, adding: "I think he was one of the great rock drummers."

"Mike got nothing like the money he should have done, but he was quick to blame it on the band's naivety," said James.

"He said once, 'What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away'."

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