Alfonso Buller

Alfonso Lecruit Waters Buller also known as "Fonzo" (January 1960 – 2 February 2026) was an English MC, dancer, and music promoter, best known as the co-founder of the sound system MVITA (Manchester Vibes In The Area). A key figure in the Madchester scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Buller and MVITA provided sound systems and performed at events for bands including The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and 808 State. He has been credited as an influence on the performance styles of Ian Brown and Liam Gallagher.

Early life Buller was born in Withington, a suburb of Manchester, to a Belizean immigrant father and a Romany Gypsy mother. Speaking to The Guardian in 2017 about The Reno, Buller said: "The police, the establishment and what felt like the whole world were against us... But the Reno was the one place where we could feel special." Singh had previously worked with Mike Pickering on Factory Records release FAC 169, "So Good" by The Pleasure Crew (1987). MVITA were noted as "the first soundsystem to have a live Sikh percussionist." In April 1990, Christian featured MVITA in his column, describing the scene at The Midland pub where "a crowd that look like refugees from the last episode of The Bash St Kids out of the Beano comic are raving on the dance floor, swinging from the light fittings and stomping on the tables." He described the nights as having "a reggae blues party atmosphere fuelled by euphoria" and called Buller "MC extraordinaire Phonso." The column noted that MVITA had been turned down by Factory Records and The Haçienda before signing with Stockport label Cut Deep Records. The tracks were never commercially released; a planned release on Cut Deep Records did not materialise after the label ceased operations.

Madchester scene MVITA became closely associated with the Madchester movement, providing after-show party sound systems for Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, and 808 State.

On 1 June 1991, Buller served as MC at the Happy Mondays concert at Elland Road, Leeds, alongside Paul Oakenfold and Mike Pickering as DJs. Buller was known for joining the Happy Mondays on stage, and former Happy Mondays singer Rowetta later shared a photograph of herself performing onstage with Buller in Dublin. MVITA manager Alan Ingram later told the Manchester Evening News that Buller had been "on the Pyramid stage for six years running, not officially, but with Stone Roses, Joe Cocker, Finley Quaye, Simply Red – he was on stage with all of them together with Himat Singh the percussionist in MVITA."

Buller continued performing and attending events in Manchester throughout his later years, despite having moved to Cornwall. The project, led by playwright Linda Brogan and supported by a £65,000 National Lottery grant, combined oral history with archaeology to document the cultural significance of The Reno nightclub. Buller travelled from Cornwall for the entire three-week excavation, helping to coordinate attendance and MCing the events.

Personal life and death Buller had ten children and fifteen grandchildren. Buller lived in Cornwall for the last 30 years of his life while maintaining regular connections to Manchester. and Liam Gallagher, who wrote "RIP FONZO MVITA REWIND." The Daily Express and Daily Mirror also reported on his death.