Ray Russell
Raymond Russell (born 4 April 1947) is an English session musician and experimental jazz rock guitarist. He is also a record producer and composer. Russell made his professional debut as Vic Flick's replacement as lead guitarist in the John Barry Seven.
Ray Russell
Kurt Adkins (WebHamster) · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Ray Russell
- Birth Name
- Raymond Russell
- Born
- 4 April 1947
- Birthplace
- Islington, North London, England
- Occupation
- * Musician
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- jazz fusion
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q2133954
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ray Russell • Birth Name — Raymond Russell • Born — 4 April 1947 • Birthplace — Islington, North London, England • Genre — Jazz rock • Occupation — * Musician • composer • educator • TV producer • film producer • Instrument — Guitar • Years Active — 1963–present • Label — * Cuneiform • Angel Air • Associated Acts — John Barry Seven Mo Foster and Friends Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames Rock Workshop Nucleus Smith & d'Abo Chopyn The British Orchestra Mouse Bill Fay RMS • Website — rayrussell.co.uk
Documentary record
Ray Russell (born 4 April 1947) is recorded as a composer and musician. Ray Russell was born on 4 April 1947.
Session guitarist
Session guitarist
In 1973 he was a member of the band Mouse, which released a progressive rock album entitled Lady Killer for the Sovereign record label.
Composition in TV/film
In 1963, Russell assumed Vic Flick's position as lead guitarist of the John Barry Seven. He played on the soundtracks for James Bond films - Moonraker, You Only Live Twice, Octopussy, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, and The Spy Who Loved Me. Russell was later employed by George Harrison's company HandMade Films and played for the film scores of Monty Python's Life of Brian, Water and Time Bandits. Russell's TV compositions have included A Touch of Frost, for which he won a Royal society Television Award, Bergerac, Plain Jane, A Bit of a Do, Rich Tea and Sympathy, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Dangerfield and Grafters, as well as The Murder of Meredith Kercher and BBC's Hooded Men. He also played in the DVD Simon Phillips Returns with Simon Phillips and Anthony Jackson. Russell was composer for British TV Detective series A Touch of Frost - series 6-15 between 1999-2010.6 He released an album A Touch of FrostT in 2003 which featured David Jason as Frost on the cover. In 2008 Russell, drummer Ralph Salmins, and sound engineer Rik Walton created Made Up Music, a music library that distributes music on its web site and by sending portable hard drives to music editors. In March 2020, Russell featured on an episode of the BBC Television programme Antiques Roadshow, in which his fretless six-string electric guitar, made by Bartell and gifted to him by George Harrison, having originally belonged to John Lennon, was valued at £300,000-£400,000.
Discography
• Turn Circle (CBS, 1968) • Dragon Hill (CBS, 1969) • June 11, 1971: Live at the ICA (RCA Victor, 1971) • Rites & Rituals (CBS, 1971) • Secret Asylum (Black Lion, 1973) • Ready or Not (DJM, 1977) • This Side Up (B&W, 1989) • A Table Near the Band (Angel Air, 1990) • Guitars from Mars (Virgin, 1990) • Why Not Now (1988) • Childscape (1990) with Gil Evans and Mark Isham • June 11th 1971: Live at the ICA / Retrospective (Mokai, 2000) • A Touch of Frost (Universal, 2003) • The Composer's Cut (Angel Air, 2005) • Goodbye Svengali (Cuneiform, 2006) • Myths & Legends (Strip Sounds, 2007) • Now, More Than Ever (Abstract Logix, 2013) • The Celestial Squid with Henry Kaiser (Cuneiform, 2015) • Fluid Architecture (Cuneiform, 2020)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ray Russell (musician), revision 1365469618 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Farbey, Roger. Nucleus Live in Bremen. Ian Carr + Nucleus Website. March 2003.
- 2.RTS Yorkshire Awards 2006. Royal Television Society. 2011-01-31.
- 3.Ray Russell Guitarist and Composer.
- 4.Moonraker Soundtrack Album B000008HTH Recorded April 1979 - EMI
- 5.Brett, Paul. Finding Fretless the Story of George Harrison Mad Guitar. This Day in Music. 2021. 9781838379889.
- 6.Royal Television Society Award Yorkshire area 2006. 31 January 2011.
- 7.Battle Abbey 1. 1. 1 March 2020.
- 8.Brett, Paul. Finding fretless : the story of George Harrison's 'mad' guitar. 2021. 978-1-8383798-8-9.
- 9.The Vortez Jazz Club. Ray Russell Quartet - Turn Circle review.
- 10.Farbey, Roger. Turn Circle. All About Jazz.com. 20 October 2007.
- 11.Bivins, Jason. Goodbye Svengali review. Dusted Magazine. 9 April 2006.
- 12.Fordham, John. Ray Russell: Now, More Than Ever – review. Guardian Media Group. 16 May 2013.
- 13.Ray Russell Album Discography AllMusic. AllMusic.
References
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authority record
General reference
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People, houses and institutions
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Born at
1- London Borough of IslingtonPlace
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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