Buddy was born William George Gask on 18th December 1945 in Leicester and grew up on the Stocking Farm Estate. He formed his first band called Billy and the Fenders and in 1963 he met Malcolm Allured, with whom he formed the Golden Hammers, a group which spent time touring in Germany and then he returned to play the local pub and club circuit in Leicester. At the Fosseway pub in 1973, the Golden Hammers, which had reformed and now included Russ Field and Rod Deas, and another local band, The Choise, were playing together and the two groups eventually merged to become Showaddywaddy. In 1973 they won a local talent contest and went on to appear on the TV show New Faces, where they came second, but which launched the band’s highly successful career. The band had 23 top-forty hit singles in the UK, as well as many hits across Europe and beyond. Buddy shared lead singing duties and sang the lead on the band’s first two singles, “Hey Rock n Roll” and “Rock and Roll Lady”. He also sang the lead on the singles “Heartbeat” and “Good Timing”, shared the vocals on other singles, sang lead on many of the band’s B-sides and album tracks and also contributed superb bass and backing vocals to both singles and album tracks. Buddy also played lead, bass and rhythm guitar. Buddy’s favourite Showaddywaddy track was “Smiling Eyes”; he also loved “I Don’t Like Rock n Roll No More”, and the idea for the album track “Windows” was his. In 1981, he released a version of “I Don’t Like Rock n Roll No More” as a side-project with a band named Burglar’s Dog, which also included Malcolm Allured and Al James of Showaddywaddy. Buddy left Showaddywaddy in September 1987, after relationships within the band became strained. After leaving the band, Buddy lived in several locations around Leicestershire. He owned a pub at this point; he had previously owned a music shop called Sound Pad in Leicester, and a farm in the 1970’s. He also performed as part of a duo called “Double Bill”. In 1994 he and Malcolm Allured formed a group called the All Stars and for a while performed under the Showaddywaddy name before they were prevented by legal action from doing so. The band was renamed The Teddys and Buddy performed with them until 2004. Buddy had been suffering from poor health for some time and in 2005 he retired to Torrevieja in Spain. He died of cancer on 7th June 2011, and had also been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. His funeral took place in Spain but a memorial service was held in Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire, on 9th July 2011, for friends, family and fans to pay their respects. Buddy left a wife, five children and 13 grandchildren. He is greatly missed.