About Russell

Russell wrote more than three hundred songs over a thirty year period. Not bound by one particular style or genre his music is varied; inspired by and reflective of his rich journey of experiences, his world view, love of life and connection to Nature.

Russell released nine albums and a single along with another three songs recorded in a project with two of his granddaughters. An additional three albums that he was most recently working on will be posthumously released later in 2026.

His songs have been recorded and/or performed by various artists including multiple National Country Music Awards' Golden Guitar winners Lawrie Minson and Felicity Urquhart; Kerrianne Cox and Dalisa Pigram, both leading female indigenous performers; Diesel, Amazing Rhythm Aces and Shelley Minson. Russell's song Woman Got No History won the 2002 ASCAP Award for a foreign composition performed in the USA. His songs have been finalists in the Australian National Song Awards. In 2023 his album Moonlight Cowboy was selected as album of the week on the Australia-wide radio program Good Morning Country.

Russell also wrote and composed numerous musical plays: Living Country, Pearl, Fair Ground, Farm, Donkey Dundee, Savannah, Walmadan, and Biosphere Nine. Living Country was short-listed for the National Institute for Dramatic Arts and Sir Cameron MacKintosh's "Search for the Great Australian Musical."

Russell created, directed and produced a number of music videos including Rocks At Yinara, Walmadan, Raging Belle, Chocolate, Big Fat Salmon and Sage. His music video Big Fat Salmon was a semi-finalist in the 2018 Moondance International Film Festival in Colorado. It also screened at the Barbados Independent Film Festival 2019.

Russell has written novels, plays and screenplays. His play Shiba Lane was selected by Japan's Office for the Arts to commemorate the 30th anniversary of cultural relations between Japan and Australia in 2005. In the same year Shiba Lane was short-listed for the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. In 2013 Russell's play Big Gold Mountain received a StagesWA grant which culminated in a performance reading for an audience including the Minister for Culture for the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and the WA Chinese Cultural General.

In 2024 Russell's screenplay Whirlpool Passage was a semi-finalist in the Byron Bay International Film Festival's Screenplay award and his screenplay Manna reached the semi-final round of the Big Break Script Writing Competition in California. He has two novels published: Donkey Dundee and Ice.