SO NEARLY A BLOCKHEAD
Born in Huntingdon, Russell’s mother was Rhoda Burman. He never knew his real father. Rhoda worked with the RAF during the Second World War.
In 1942, she married Cyril Hardy, an airman, and he adopted Russell.
Cyril was posted as ‘Missing in Action’ in 1944.
Russell was subsequently sent to Rooks Hill School in Sevenoaks, which was an RAF Benevolent School.
Aged just eight, his mother transferred him to a children’s home.
When he was fourteen, Russell was sent to work in a factory. There was a piano on the factory floor and during his break times, Russell taught himself to play, trying to join in with songs featured in the BBC Light Programme on the radio.
As soon as he could afford it, Russell treated himself to formal piano lessons. His tutor told him that he had genuine talent.
Russell got a job working as a radio and television technician for the South East Essex Technical College. He decided to start the ‘Russell Hardy Jazz Trio’ with two students from the Walthamstow College of Arts, which was next door.
This meant Russell made frequent visits to their college – which is where he met another student called Ian Dury. The two became close friends.
By the late 1960s, Russell had left the jazz trio and joined Mike Figgis’ free jazz collective, called ‘The People Band’
In 1970, Russell and Ian Dury rented a former vicarage in Wingrave, Buckinghamshire. By now, Dury was a lecturer at the Canterbury College of Arts.
At a very drunken college Christmas party, Dury and Russell were encouraged to go on stage and perform a few songs. They were awful but decided to persevere and form a band.
They called themselves ‘Kilburn and the High Roads’ and added another five members. Russell started writing songs. His first one was ‘There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards’.
Years later, this song was the B-side to Dury’s biggest success, ‘Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick’.
The Kilburns were quite successful, opening for The Who on their 1973 Christmas tour.
Although Russell was the main songwriter, he grew to hate this style of music. His true love was jazz. He was friendly with Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones, and the two of them spent hours jamming together.
Russell left the Kilburns in 1974 and had a change of direction in his career, becoming a carpenter.
He quickly built a good reputation. Russell made the frames for artist Ben Nicholson’s paintings and worked with David Hockney.
In 1977, Russell married Angela Workman, who worked for the National Union of Students, and they moved to Beckenham in Kent. They had one daughter called Sophie.
Kilburn and the High Roads eventually split up and Ian Dury went on to form the Blockheads, achieving fame and success. Nevertheless, he always claimed Russell was “The greatest piano player in England.”
Ian Dury died in 2000. There was a tribute concert in Brixton and the Kilburns were invited to perform. They said they would, only if Russell joined them – which, after much persuasion, he agreed to do. They played two songs, ‘Clever Bastards’ and ‘I Made Mary Cry in a Lonely Bus Shelter’.
In 2010, a biopic film was made about Ian Dury called ‘Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll.’ Russell was played by actor MacKenzie Crook.
Russell continued to play piano at local events and also became a great cat lover. He spent his last few years designing toys and appliances for owners of cats.
RIP – Russell Inspired Piano
