The band released a limited edition 7" EP in January 1975. By the Autumn of 1975, the band had become an extremely tight rock outfit and Fennah/Leay were showing strong song writing ability. They signed to RCA immediately on leaving school and changed their name to 'Buster'.
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In May 1976, the band released their debut single "Sunday" in England. The band were marketed as the new 'teeny bop' sensations and 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 on 25th March 1977. The single was an immediate top ten hit and the boys turned their attentions to the Japanese markets. Four 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.
Buster played live on Japanese television and performed two sell-out concerts the prestigious BUDOKAN arena in one day. The band also picked up a Gold 'Best Seller' award for record sales in Japan. In Japan Buster was often compared with the Beatles as the band was from Liverpool, and played well 'live' as a teenage band.
In Australia the band performed as part of the Festival of Sydney 1977 to 250,000 people on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
In January 1978 the band arrived back in Britain. They had achieved 5 hit singles and 4 best selling albums, expectations were high but 'Punk Rock' had taken a firm hold on the UK music industry whilst they had been away and Buster's image was outdated. RCA were no longer supportive of the band and the two parties parted the company in 1979.
Their new manager suggested they changed their name to 'The Jax' and in 1980 they released one single under this name, (on a small independent label ) a cover version of 'Bits & Pieces' by The Dave Clark Five. The single did not make any impression, and the lads decided that the name of the band and the style of songs were not right for them. They parted company with their new manager and decided to start from scratch.
Rob Fennah had started to write with younger brother Alan and had managed to get a local pirate radio station, Merseyland Alternative Radio (MAR), to play some of their demos. The MAR had been broadcasting from a ship moored in the Mersey estuary and was playing music that none of the other stations would play. Rob and Alan also began performing as a duo in local pubs and clubs as Rob & Alan Fennah.
Pete Leay, Lead guitarist with Buster, decided that he would also like to pursue other musical interests and left the band to concentrate on studio recording. During 1981, Buster's three original members Rob, Les & Kevin became "Alternative Radio". Rob and Alan had decided to use the name when they discovered that the MAR pirate radio station had been 'Busted' and had had their equipment confiscated by the Police. Alan at this time was involved in song writing and performed as part of the duo but was not yet part of the band.
In 1982 they decided to enter the Liverpool 'Battle of the Bands' competition and they won. Drummer Les Smith decided to leave the band at this time to pursue other activities. With only two of its original members left Buster was officially disbanded in Oct 1982 ........ Alternative Radio was about to begin...!
