DJ – Roland (Buster) Pearson “Andy Bowman”

 

Audio:

 

Years of involvement:  1967 – 1972
Alias:  Buster

Home Location: South Benfleet, Essex
Types of involvement:  Broadcast Monitor, Recording Studio, DJ, Meeting place with tea & Cakes
Comment / History:
  During one of our earliest telephone request shows (1967) broadcast from a location in South Benfleet, Essex, a well-spoken lady telephoned in asking us to play a dedication for Buster and his Auntie Cynthia. This request was followed by a string of similar requests throughout the day from the same household, which culminated in an invitation to tea and cakes at a well-kept 1930s-style bungalow located at 31 Avondale Road, South Benfleet.  Buster who was housebound had been brought up by his professional mother and Auntie, they both had lots to talk about and kept us entertained for hours making us feel very welcome indeed.

Buster always blamed the J.O. for getting him involved with Pirate Radio, but in reality Buster thrived on all his new-found contacts and friends – his whole world just opened up.

Buster soon became a major focal point and link to all the pirate stations both on-shore and off-shore. His meticulous program logs soon provided the starting point for his own radio magazine “Monitor”. Pam Bird helped Buster produce the very first edition and chose the name “MONITOR” for the new magazine.

In later years Buster would often listen to our FM 29.60MHz (SW) mobile transmissions as we regularly trundled to and from work on a daily basis. Jeff & Yvonne Levi from the Hadleigh Market Shop loaned us a nice Transit Motorhome so that Steve.T could take “Buster” to Southend-on-Sea college where he sat his own C&G Radio Amateurs examination, it wasn’t long before Buster legally joined in the daily radio net using his own radio amateurs callsign “G4OWP”. or as Don Scott reminded us “G4 Offshore Wireless Person”.

 

Buster was also a very keen photographer taking pictures of all those who visited his house, a lot of the photographs and audio tapes on this website are from Busters own collection.

 

Sadly Buster is no longer with us, but his memory will stay in our hearts forever, his funeral at Southend-on-Sea was very well attended and included members from the Radio Kaleidoscope team.      

                                                        RIP old friend

 

Stations & Other Involvements:
Radio Caroline

Radio Veronica

Radio NorthSea International

Radio Atlantis

Radio Lazer

Radio Kaleidoscope

Radio Recovery

Pictures & Documents:
 

DJ Andy Bowman – preparing shows at home using his Phillips Stereo 4500 – Reel 2 Reel tape recorder – 1971 (Courtesy Evening Echo Newspaper)

 

File1351File1354Press Cutting 15May

 

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Busters house – Busters Mother Gladys & DJ Andy Archer (Courtesy Pam Bird) – 1969

 

Recording Studio 1967-1972

Buster House (Courtesy Pam Bird)

 

Flood Benfleet 1968

The show must go on – South Benfleet 1968

 

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Buster and his mother Gladys – Back door 31 Avondale Road

 

Roland Pearson - FRC

Roland “Buster” Pearson – Free Radio Campaign

 

Buster - Home office

Monitor 1-d

Monitor Magazine No1

 

Busters Garden Party Aug 1983-2

Rendezvous at Busters house after visiting the Ross Revenge  – Jean always provided the largest mugs of tea you could ever hold – Don Scott, Theo Dencker, Chris Harris, John Payne, Buster, Keith King, Nobert Dengler, Steve T, Circa 1985

 

DJ “Andy Bowman” better known as Buster recording a Radio show at home – His visible music selection includes “The Crickets – Rockin 50’s”, “Hammond with the swinging Anna Degg” and Raymondes Magic Organ”.  (Courtesy Evening Echo) – 1971

 

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DJ Andy Archer – Recording at Busters 1969

 

Robin Banks at Busters-2

DJ Robin Banks Recording at Busters 1970’s

DJ Kathy Jeanette - 1968

DJ Kathy Jeanetta Recording at Busters – 1968

 

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Radio Log Book – QSO extract with Buster G4OWP – 1983

 

Roland “Buster” Pearson – 1977

 

Buster – Newspaper article – 1977 (Courtesy Evening Echo Newspaper)

 

Buster’s doctor was Doug Acres from Thundersley lodge next to the Runnymede council offices.

Steve Taylor and Doug’s daughter Jane Acres used to go around together where Steve got to meet Doug on different occasions, Doug was always a happy person with a brilliant sense of humour.

Doug once mentioned that the two large heavy concrete and blue metal signs outside of the Benfleet council offices, saying “RESERVED for COUNCIL” would look much better outside the gates of Woodside cemetery, funnily enough a few days later there they were !!

Doug Acres , Doctor & Magistrate (Courtesy Evening Echo) See also Benfleet Community Archive

On another occasion Chris McCarthy’s old Land Rover developed an electrical fault in Doug’s large driveway generating a lot of smoke. Doug came running out of his house shouting “Dont burn my house down just leave that rubbish (The Car) on the dump over there pointing to the bonfire at the end of his garden. The situation suddenly turned from panic into one of laughter.

In true form Chris quickly repaired the damaged wires and we all drove off again with the Shortwave transmitter Canadian WS No 43 still safely stowed in rear of the Land Rover.