Buster - Buster (1977)

In 1977 Buster (Pete Leay, Rob Fennah, Kevin Roberts, Les (Brians) Smith) released their first LP

Buster (1977)
- We Love Girls
- Saturday Night
- I Was Born To Sing Your Song
- Pretty Legs
- Daybreak
- Born To Be Wild
- Love Rules
- She's My Girl
- I'm A Fool
- Listen To What The Man Said
- Sunday
- We Love Girls


According to sources, Buster released other 2 albums (Buster 2, and Buster Live), but they seem to have been released only for the Japanese markets. In 1978 interest around the band started to fade and by 1979 Buster ceased to exist as a band. After a short period as The Jax, Pete Leay quit, Rob Fennah started to write with younger brother Alan and perform as a duo, and also managed to get Merseyland Alternative Radio (MAR), a local radio station, to play some of their demos. In 1981, Buster's original members Les Smith (Baines) Kevin Roberts joined the line-up and the band took the name of the Alternative Radio, which in the meantime had been closed down (see relevant post).


buster (1977)

(Ripped from the original LP for the PPC Blog)

(see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_(band)
http://www.myspace.com/busteruk
http://www.myspace.com/peteleay )

Buster - Singles 1976

Buster was first heard of in late 1974 ad consisted of Pete Leay (lead guitar), Rob Fennah (rhythm guitar, later Alternative Radio), Kevin Roberts (bass, later Alternative Radio) and Les Brians (a.k.a. Les Smith, drums). Buster originated from The New Attraction, a trio formed in 1973 consisting of Leay, Roberts ad Smith, which performed regularly in the cabaret circuit through the North West. In 1974 Fennah was added to the line-up on guitar and the four-piece (with average age of 17) renamed Buster. In 1975, they were spotted by established songwriters Ronnie Scott & Steve Wolfe who penned their first single Sunday. According to some sources the band recorded and released two singles in 1974 (Superstar b/w Ring Around and Motor Machine b/w Rainbows and Colours) - but this might be another band altogether since the songs are credited to Baker/Morgan. The first ‘official’ single was released in May 1976:

Sunday (1976)
- Sunday
- Salt Lake City (Silver Gun)

The record was an instant success but it was not meant to stay given the sudden rise of the punk movement. The Buster turned to the Japanese market. The same year they released other two singles:

Beautiful Child (1976)
- Beautiful Child (b/w Daybreak)

Love Rules (1976)
- Love Rules
- Who Told You

buster - singles (1976)

The Front Room - Joe Public (1981)

Obscure band which collaborated (consisted of?) such figures as Mike Percy (later Moderates, Dead or Alive), Dave Griffiths, Kevin Marr, Bolly, Mooey, Joe Riley, David Alton, Al Moneypenney, David Mathiesan. The band apparently recorded one only single in August 1981:



Joe Public (1981)
- Joe Public (b/w Camera)


Merseysound reviewed the single as follows:
‘If title like ‘Joe Public’ suggests a down-right-sounding People’s Protest then the first single by The Front Room will come as a surprise. A continuous mesh of voices over a synthesized riff suggests nothing so much as The Games’ ‘Planet War’ from the recent Street to Street album. My complaint is that ‘Joe Public’ (‘written for the benefit of the kids in Liverpool’) seems to have something to say and this sophisticated treatment obscures most of it. The recent ‘We Want to Work’ single proves that you can be clear without being disastrously clumsy, and The Front Room should bear this in mind. The sound isn’t unattractive although it works less well on ‘Camera’, the B-side, where the synthesizer gets in the way of some Bowie-ish vocals and deadens the whole song. Well-meaning though.’ (Merseysound 18, September 1981)

In 1982 The Front Room changed their name to A Second Language.


front room


(thanks to our friend Multihit)

Steve Torch

Steve Torch, after working as an engineer for Open Eye records, became actively involved with the music scene in 1979 when he released his first single:



Live in Fear (1979)
- Live in Fear
- Fear
- Smoke Your Own

Sounds reviewed the issue as follows:
‘Steve Torch is a 22-year old Liverpudlian singer-songwriter who does a good line in singer-songwriter-style riffs but then proceeds to stamp his own personality over the top with his hoarse, straining voice. Even with the demo-quality on this small label the song has class and more than a hint of commercial potential so what he’d do with a major company behind him is anyone’s guess.’ (May 5, 1979)

In the same year, Torch joined Victims of Romance, with Hambi (former Tontrix), and on that occasion he met Roy White (former Berlin, Fun) with whom he also collaborated to other musical projects, like Jayne Casey’s (former Big in Japan) Pink Military (White and Torch are among the personnel playing on the Pink Military’s Blood and Lipstick Ep, Sept. 1979, see relevant post), and later (1980) formed the duo White and Torch (see relevant post).

steve torch

(thanks to our friend Bas for the audio files)
(see also http://www.stevetorch.co.uk/ )