Born in Stoke Newington as Douglas Woods to a single mother, Buster was adopted and brought up by his great-aunt Mary Trendle and her husband, Edward. He did not know he was adopted until the age of seven, when he overheard his adoptive mother talking to a neighbour. He discovered that the woman that he knew as 'Auntie Lily', was really his mother. He never met his father.
Music career
He founded Bad Manners with friends at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School in north London in 1976. Bad Manners were a popular live attraction in North London, with their brand of humorous ska making them comedians of the ska revival scene, with Buster often wagging his large tongue at his audiences. Bad Manners earned nine Top 40singles between 1980 and 1983. However, the group originally split up in 1987, after their contract with Portrait Records finished and he eventually formed a new outfit called Buster's Allstars, performing at clubs and pubs in London, but he still played some concerts with Bad Manners at larger venues, along with some new musicians and a few other original band members. In 1988, Buster licensed the Blue Beat Records name and logo, and he ran the record label from an old houseboat that was stationed in Hackney. Blue Beat issued a number of releases, notably by Bad Manners, Napoleon Solo, Buster's Allstars and the Billies, but the label folded in 1990. Buster Bloodvessel also appeared in the films Out of Order and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid before landing a part in an episode of Boon in 1990. In 1998, he signed a solo deal with the Virgin Records offshoot label, Innocent Records, and recorded an album but the label decided to axe the project just before his debut solo single was to be released.
Personal life
Buster struggled with morbid obesity and underwent laparoscopicgastric bypass surgery in 2004, his weight dropping from 31 stone to 13 stone. He once owned a hotel in Margate called Fatty Towers, which specifically catered for larger customers, with features such as extra large beds and baths as well as fatty meals. The hotel closed in 1998 and Buster moved back to London. He often appears as a guest on various television shows, as well as in the tabloid newspapers. He was the main sponsor of Margate F.C. in the 1990s. In early 2001 he fell ill during a concert in Perugia.
