Pete Leay,
Founder
member of Buster, met Kevin Roberts at school in 1971 when he was twelve. Both
boys shared an interest in music and were members of the local school music
group. The following year Peter met Les Smith at a Boys Brigade meeting. Les
owned a snare drum and was immediately 'drafted' to play drums in Pete & Kev's
new band 'The New Attraction'.
In 1973, the young trio were performing regularly in social clubs throughout the
North West of England. The line-up was: Peter (Lead & Rythmn) Kevin (Bass) and
Les (Drums). It soon became apparent that they needed a full time rhythm
guitarist (making the line-up a full 4 piece group). After a 'tip-off' from a
musician friend Pete met Rob Fennah. A brief audition followed at Rob's home and
he was asked to join the band. The group was complete.
The New Attraction performed continuously throughout 1974 honing their musical
skills and becoming an extremely tight rock outfit. In 1975, they were spotted
by established songwriters Ronnie Scott & Steve Wolfe. A major contract with RCA
followed and the band, with an average age of 17, were re-branded as teeny
sensations 'BUSTER'.
In May 1976, the band released their debut single
"Sunday" in England. The
record was an immediate success with their young fans although as rock musicians
the boys felt uncomfortable with their 'teeny' image. Sunday raced into the UK
charts reaching No46. Radio 1, refused to play the single due to the fact that
they were getting a little tired of "Teeny" bands and a new sound was on its way
in...PUNK!
RVC (present BMG) which is the Japanese division of RCA released "Sunday" in
Japan in January 1977. The single was an immediate top ten hit and the boys
turned their attentions to the Japanese markets. Five further singles followed
and all were top twenty hits. Christmas 1977 saw the band touring Japan,
Philippines, Australia & Germany. In Japan 'Buster-mania' had taken a firm grip
on the young Japanese public.
