Our band leader, Mick, rang Russ, but he wasn’t keen to play for a Brisbane country/blues band. That is until Mick mentioned that Doug was our regular drummer, then it was, “Well, if Dougie plays for them, they must be alright.”

I had no idea of Russell’s pedigree until we were all lying in our beds in a motel unit after a gig, sipping red wine, and Russell started telling us some old stories. We got to talking about novelty hits and Russell mentioned he had been involved in one. When I asked what it was, he said “Space Invaders”. I was blown away. I was about nine when this song came out and it was a huge favourite!! After this I would always greet him with, “Hello, Player 1″ (the band’s name) and he would greet me with, “Hello, Player 2.”

What your post doesn’t mention is that Russell was more than merely the drummer on this track. He, in fact, sang all the parts as well, even the falsetto. An extraordinary piece. Of course, there were other stories about more serious work, such as with Jon English, Ayers Rock, etc, but “Space Invaders” struck a chord with me.

I never knew Russell that well and would have done less than 12 or so gigs with him, but it was always great to hear his stories and share his company in the van, at gigs and in the odd motel unit. He was also becoming a great cook, after recent lessons. The thing about Russell was that the moment you met him he would treat you like one of his oldest friends.

The day after his death, the Smokin’ Crawdads had a Sunday arvo gig where we shared memories and laughs about Russell and sang him a few songs.

We miss him.

Victoria – I agree, people come alive in our memory and hearts and will stay for as long as we live. Russ is still here with us.

Judi – xxxxxooooo, for you from all of us.

I am an old friend and cohort of Russell, in fact I thought I was going to be working with him in a band the day I heard the news. I met him in 1975 when I moved to Australia and spent countless hours in recording studios with him. More recently, I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a wonderful band with him. I’m still waiting for it to sink in, perhaps it never will.

Thanks for compiling all these videos together in one place, I will now watch them and remember.

Kirk Lorange

My thoughts are with you.