In 1963 Pierson, under the stage name Gene Chandler, won a talent quest at Skelseys Hotel, singing "Mashed Potato",[2] in the western suburbs of Sydney, which was the beginning of his career in the entertainment business.

He was given a regular solo spot at the hotel, where he was approached by guitarist Graham Ford to become the fifth member of a Western Suburbs band, The Inturns.

The Inturns supported a number of popular local acts, including Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, and Ray Brown & The Whispers as well as headlining at Suzi Wong's The Beach House and Stagecoach venues.

[3] He was due to report to Duntroon military base within days however, following advice from the La De Da's guitarist Kevin Borich, he travelled to New Zealand, which had no passport requirement, thereby evading his conscription.

Running low on cash in Auckland, he bluffed his way into the Galaxie nightclub, saying he was Gene Chandler, a top performer from Sydney, and would do a guest spot for free entry.

[3] In the audience was Eldred Stebbing[7] who managed and recorded Ray Columbus, Max Merritt & The Meteors and the La De Da's on his Zodiac label.

[8][10] In 1968 Pierson released, "Toyland"/"Matchstick in a Whirlpool",[8] which originally recorded by UK group Alan Bown Set featuring Robert Palmer on vocals, which was then followed later that year by "If You Only Loved Me"/"Just One Tender Look",[8] neither of which had the same success as the earlier singles.

Pierson was featured in Playdate, Groove and a number of women's magazines, alongside the British and American pop stars of the time.

He was working four nights a week, regularly appearing on television and touring with artists including Tommy Adderley, Larry's Rebels,[11] Shane,[12] The Chicks,[13] Simple Image[14] and the La De Da's.

[9] During the recording of an album with producer and blind keyboard player Claude Papesch,[15] Gene Pierson learned of his father's death and returned to Australia for the funeral.

[17] For the publication he covered Elton John's first concert at the Troubador in Los Angeles, interviewed musicians Lou Rawls and Tina Turner, and promoted his version of "The Only Living Boy in New York", taking guest spots on the casino circuit in Los Angeles and San Francisco and appearing on Metro Media TV.

[citation needed] When interest in middle of the road artists began to recede, Pierson championed a move to bring rock and roll into the clubs.

During his time working with Sydney Bistros, Gene Pierson was introduced to British entrepreneur as an agent to rock bands including English band Black Sabbath, Don Arden, the father of Sharon Osbourne, who was at the time managing Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and booking acts through Chequers nightclub.

[33] Pierson established his own agency called Blue Heaven, booking top Australian bands around Sydney pubs and clubs.

It was here that the Living Sound[2] and Laser Records labels handled artists including Dark Tan, Geeza, Squeeze, Bobby Thomas, Trevor Knight, Julie Bower, Frankie Davidson, Australia and Southern Cross.

In the late-1970s he arranged a contract with established singer Judy Stone for concerts in Beijing resulting in strong record sales throughout mainland China.

Pierson produced two hit singles for singer Melissa Tkautz[2] from the TV series E Street, released on his Laser Music label through Polygram.

He had the single "Read My Lips" written for her by Roy Nicholson[37] which became an Australian Recording Industry Association's dance hit, reaching No.

[40] In 1995 Ladysmith Black Mambazo released their album Homeless in Australia on Pierson's Laser Music label in conjunction with distributor Dino Entertainment.

[43][44] Early in the 1980s Pierson, was inspired to delve into the relatively untapped comedy market after meeting Englishman Roy Nicolson in 1982, who was the songwriter for Toto Coelo's "I Eat Cannibals",[45] which reached No.

The result was the 1983 novelty album, Beatle Barkers, credited to The Woofers and Tweeters Ensemble, released on the Passport Records label and marketed by Demtel.

[50] The double CD was digitally remastered and released on Pierson's Lifestyle Music label in January 2011 as A Swag of Aussie Poetry.

[citation needed] In November 2007 Pierson was invited to perform at the Wild Things beat band event in Auckland, where he sang alongside Ray Columbus, The Pleazers, Chants R & b, The Breakaways, and Peter Nelson & the Castaways and the Underdogs.

In its first year Lifestyle Music Group recorded 50 albums including mellow jazz café titles and "romance therapy" where he re-mastered older love songs, mixed with relaxing ocean sounds in-between.