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 Wales ...

band, formed on

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the Ri ...

, near

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Europe and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Australia and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and performed live at the

Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts ...

, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. 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, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

) 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 she ...

s) (Rob Fennah (

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

) 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 music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of f ...

in January 1974. They signed to RCA immediately on leaving school and changed their name to 'Buster'. In May 1976, Buster released their debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Sunday", which reached #46 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. RVC (presently

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

) which was the

ese division of RCA released "Sunday" in Japan in January 1977. The single was a

Top 10 A top ten list is a list of the ten highest-ranking items of a given category. Top Ten or Top 10 may also refer to: Media *Top 10, a common record chart for the ten most popular songs of the week in the musical chart of a country *''America's Top ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

. Four further singles followed and all were Top 20 hits in Japan. At Christmastime in 1977, the band toured Japan( Koriyama,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Kurashiki,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, 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 ancie ...

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 h ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

), the

and

. Buster played live on Japanese television and performed two sell-out concerts at the

arena in one day. The band also picked up a gold disc 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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, 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 served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

. 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 an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

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 a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''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 and enterprises ...

as the

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

Rob and Alan Fennah and built up a substancial 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 Musical groups from Liverpool English musical quartets