Buster were an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band, formed on the Wirral, near

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, in 1972. Buster sent one song "Sunday" to the UK Singles Chart, and the band were popular especially in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Europe and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the late 1970s. At Christmastime in 1977, the band toured Japan, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, Australia and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and performed live at the Budokan, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. The band had a number of hit singles and albums. As of 2022, almost all songs are available on major music distribution sites.

History

Formation and early years (1972–77)

Buster was formed in March 1972 on the Wirral, near Liverpool, England. Its original members included Pete Leay (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

), Kevin Roberts (

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

) and Les Brians (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s) (Rob Fennah (

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

) joined a year later). They were originally called 'The New Attraction', and began playing the cabaret circuit in north Wales. The average age of the members was thirteen. The band released a limited edition 7-inch EP in January 1974. They signed to

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

immediately on leaving school and changed their name to 'Buster'. In May 1976, Buster released their debut single, "Sunday", which reached #46 in the UK Singles Chart. RVC (presently BMG) which was the

ese division of RCA released "Sunday" in Japan in January 1977. The single was a Top 10 hit. Four further singles followed and all were Top 20 hits in Japan. At Christmastime in 1977, the band toured Japan( Koriyama,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Kurashiki is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 478,651 and a population density of 1300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kurashiki is located in the south-central part of Okay ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

), the

and

. Buster played live on Japanese television and performed two sell-out concerts at the Budokan arena in one day. The band also picked up a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for record sales in Japan. In Australia the band performed as part of the Festival of Sydney in 1977, on the steps of the

Returning to Britain and Alternative Radio (1978–82)

In January 1978, the band arrived back in the UK. They had achieved five hit singles and three best selling albums overseas and expectations were high, but Buster's teenage image was outdated, and RCA and the band parted the company in 1979. Their new manager suggested they changed their name to 'The Jax'. In 1980, on a small

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, they released one single under this name with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of " Bits and Pieces", which was originally recorded by

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

. The single did not make any impression, and the band split from the manager and re-grouped. At this point, Pete Leay left the band to concentrate on

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

recording. Rob Fennah had started to write songs with his younger brother, Alan. The twosome also played in local

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

and

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

as the duo Rob and Alan Fennah and built up a substantial following in the Merseyside area. During 1981, Buster's three original members Fennah, Brians and Roberts dropped the name 'Buster' and used the band name 'Alternative Radio' which was also the title of a song written by Rob & Alan Fennah. In 1982, they decided to enter the Liverpool 'Battle of the Bands' competition, which they won. However, shortly after, Brians left the band. Rob Fennah retained the name Alternative Radio, forming a new band line-up around the acoustic duo with brother Alan. In 1983, The Fennah brothers (Alternative Radio) signed to EMI (Parlophone) and released their debut single 'Valley Of Evergreen'.in January 1984. started the band activit
Alternative Radio-YouTube
.

Recent years (2008–present)

When footage of Buster turned up on the internet, there was interest in the group and demand for the re-release of old recordings. They were able to buy back the rights to the recordings, and Buster's records were produced again for the Japanese market, as CD formats. They also showed some of their early footage on their website. In 2014, an album containing 10 new songs recorded intermittently by members was released as a CD version in Japan. In 2021, the early albums(CD version) were released on major music distribution sites, and almost all songs are available by digital download, streaming. In 2008, Fennah, Leay, and Roberts were invited to the Liverpool Museum at the opening of The Beat Goes On, an exhibition of Liverpool popular music and culture. Buster are featured in the "Global Impact" section of the exhibition, in recognition of the band's success in Japan. In 2014, The British Embassy in Tokyo published a list of the most successful top 25 UK bands in Japan since the Beatles. Buster was one of them. Pete Leay died on 26 December 2013 at home on the Wirral.Tribute to Pete Leay-YouTube
Les Brians died on 11 November 2016 in Germany.
Tribute to Les 'Brians' Smith-YouTube
In addition to music(band, solo, stage and video music, Guitar Lesso
Fennah Rob-YouTube
, Fennah continues to be active in a wide range of activities such as writing and stage production.

Band members

*Rob Fennah - vocals, rhythm guitar
Rob Fennah Official Website
*Pete Leay - lead guitar, vocals *Kevin Roberts - bass, vocals *Les Brians - drums, vocals

Discography

Albums

*''Buster'' (UK & Japan) 1977 / 2008 CD format *including 4 bonus tracks (Japan) / 2021 digital download *''Buster 2'' (Japan) 1977/ 2008 CD format *including 4 bonus tracks (Japan) (Japan) / 2021 digital download *''Buster Live'' (Japan) 1977/ 2008 CD format *including 3 bonus tracks (Japan) (Japan) / 2021 digital download *''Diary: Best Collection'' (Japan) 1978 *''Best & New'' (Japan) 2014/ 2017 digital download *album title "Here and Now", 10 new songs only

Singles

*"Sunday" / "Salt Lake City - Silver Gun" (UK) RCA 1976 – #49 ( UK) *"Beautiful Child" / "Daybreak" (UK) RCA 1976 *"Sunday" / "Daybreak" (Japan) RCA 1977 *"Love Rules OK" / "Who Told You" (Japan) 1977 *"Dance with Me" / "Salt Lake City - Silver Gun" (Japan) 1977 *"Beautiful Child" / "But If It Happens" (Japan) RCA 1977 *"She Ain't My Baby" / "Certain Kind of Feeling" (Japan) 1978

References

External links

* - There are videos related to Buster and interview videos of members who talk about the time. * * * - Alternative Radio by Fennah Brothers(Rob&Alan) * - YouTube Guitar Lesson by Rob Fennah * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buster (band) Musical groups established in 1974 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 English power pop groups Rock music groups from Liverpool English musical quartets