Russell Senior
| Russell Senior | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Russel Senior |
| Born |
18 May 1961 Sheffield, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, post-punk, Britpop, indie rock, indie pop, art rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, violin, vocals |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Associated acts | Pulp |
Russell Senior (born 18 May 1961) is the guitarist and violinist of the band Pulp.
Senior was born and grew up in Sheffield. Whilst at University in Bath,[1] he formed the "Dada Society" (also known as the "New Wave Society") and appeared as the lead role in a dramatic adaptation of Kafka's The Trial. He also had a band called The Bath Bankers and arranged for a gig at the University featuring his friends from Sheffield - Pulp. He obtained a 2.1 honours degree in Business Administration, and went back to Sheffield to join Pulp. During the Miner's strike of 1984 he acted as a Flying picket, taking part in industrial action including the Battle of Orgreave.[2]
Pulp
Senior first met Pulp in 1980 when he reviewed a show of theirs for his fanzine, also called The Bath Banker. He joined the third line-up of the band in 1983, the other members being Jarvis Cocker (vocals/guitar), Magnus Doyle (drums) and Peter Mansell (bass). During the mid-1980s he was a central member of the group, often taking vocal duties. He also played the violin on a number of tracks.[3]
As the band became successful, Senior became dissatisfied with the touring, recording and publicity treadmill the band found themselves on after their long-awaited success, and on 20 January 1997 he left Pulp to work on other projects.[4] He commented that he did not like the Cocker-led song "Help the Aged", and that he didn't feel it was a worthy follow-up to "Common People", and so deliberately tried to sabotage it in the studio.[5] Soon afterwards, feeling his unhappiness was leading the atmosphere in the band to become poisonous, he told Cocker he was quitting.[5] In an interview he said that "I was very proud of being in Pulp. I thought it was the best band in the world when I was in it, but I want to be able to move on from it at some point."[6]
In 2010 he revealed he was still friendly with his old band members, and said he left in 1997 because, "I liked the idea of ending on a high, I didn't want to slowly fade away."[2]
In November 2010, it was announced that Pulp were to reform and play live in 2011, which included Russell Senior in the line-up.[7][8] He has however not continued with the band for their 2012 tour.
Other work
In 1999 he formed Venini with Debbie Lime (vocals), Nick Eastwood (bass - later with Dolly TV and Hiem), Bob Barton (drums - later with The Human League), and Danny Hunt (keyboards - later with Ladytron).[9] They released three singles before splitting in 2000.
Russell has also worked as a producer with Baby Birkin and more recently The Long Blondes.[10] In March 2006, British indie band Art Brut invited Russell Senior to produce their second album.
He has co-written a musical about the 1980s miners strike, Two Tribes, with Ralph Parmar (DJ Ralph Razor).[11][12]
Personal life
He continues to live in Sheffield with his girlfriend and has two children.[4] Aside from the music world he is also a dealer in antique glassware.[5]
References
- ↑ "Bath University, School of Management". The Independent. London, UK. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- 1 2 "Discord of the miners' strike influenced a musical journey". The Yorkshire Post. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ↑ "Interviews: Venini". musicOMH.com.
- 1 2 "Russell Senior". Acrylic Afternoons. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 Simpson, Dave (2 June 2009). "The ones that got away". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ↑ "Interview: Venini". musicOMH. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ↑ "Pulp Is Reuniting!". Perez Hilton. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ↑ Swash, Rosie (8 November 2010). "Pulp reunite for live dates in 2011". The Guardian (UK).
- ↑ "Senior back in service". New Musical Express. 27 April 1999. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ↑ "Russell Senior Discography". Discogs. 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ↑ Lawson, Helen (20 January 2012). "Russell Senior behind plans to bring 1980s miners' strike to the Sheffield stage as musical". The Stool Pigeon. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ↑ "Two Tribes - The Miner' Strike Musical". tt84.co.uk. 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.