Badfinger ~ I'd Die Babe

Straight Up is the third album by British rock band Badfinger, released in December 1971 in the United States and February 1972 in Britain. Issued on the Beatles' Apple record label, it includes the hit singles "Day After Day", "Baby Blue", "I'd Die Babe" and the similarly popular "Name of the Game", all of which were written by singer and guitarist Pete Ham. The album marked a departure from the more rock-oriented sound of Badfinger's previous releases, partly as a result of intervention by Apple Records regarding the band's musical direction. Although Straight Up received a mixed response from critics on release, many reviewers now regard it as the band's best album. Rolling Stone critic David Fricke has referred to it as "Badfinger's power-pop apex".

Production on what became Straight Up lasted nine months, at the start of which the group made an album's worth of recordings with producer Geoff Emerick, in between their touring commitments. Once Apple had decided to shelve these recordings, George Harrison took over production, only for him to become indisposed with events associated with the Concert for Bangladesh, at which Badfinger also performed. Harrison then handed the project to American producer Todd Rundgren, who oversaw recording for most of the album.

Apple released Straight Up on 13 December 1971 in America (with Apple catalogue number SW 3387) and on 11 February 1972 in Britain (as Apple SAPCOR 19). The album's lead single, "Day After Day" backed with "Money", was issued on 10 November 1971 in the United States, but the single was delayed until 14 January in the UK, where the B-side was "Sweet Tuesday Morning". The album's art design was credited to Gene Mahon and Richard DiLello, the last of whom took the group photographs used on the front and rear of the cover. A note on the sleeve offered "special thanks" to Geoff Emerick.

In America, Straight Up peaked at number 31 during a 32-week run on Billboard‍ '​s Top 200 LPs, while it placed inside the top twenty on albums charts in Canada and Australia. "Day After Day" became Badfinger's highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 4, and was certified gold by the RIAA on 4 March. Although the album failed to place on the UK's top 40 albums chart, "Day After Day" was the band's third top-ten hit there, peaking at number 10.

As the follow-up single, "Baby Blue" peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100, and "Name of the Game" became another popular track on US radio. The album's success was marred by a lack of promotion by Apple, which had scheduled "Baby Blue" as a single in the United Kingdom but then cancelled the release. Straight Up was reissued on CD in 1993, with bonus tracks, and remastered again in 2010.