Born as
Lindsay Russell Churney in
Liverpool, Churney was educated at
Merchant Taylors' School in
Great Crosby and
Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied Law. He spent seven years working with the comedian
Julian Clary, touring extensively with Clary and singer
Barb Jungr, and appearing with Jungr on Clary's
Channel 4 TV series Sticky Moments with Julian Clary. Together with Jungr, he devised and performed in shows including
Bare,
Killing Me Softly,
Songs From The Heart,
Chanson: The Space in Between,
Barb, Bob and Brel, and the musical ''The Ballad of Norah's Ark''. He recorded the album
Durga Rising (1997) with Jungr and
percussionist Kuljit Bhamra, and he performs on Jungr's albums
Bare (1999),
Chanson: The Space in Between (2000), and
Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan (2002). With
Des de Moor (like Jungr, a chansonnier, or singer of
chansons), he devised and performed in
Darkness and Disgrace: Travels with a Wild-Eyed Alien from Bromley, a show directed by Jungr and based around songs by
David Bowie. Churney and de Moor also recorded an accompanying album
Darkness and Disgrace: Des de Moor and Russell Churney Perform the Songs of David Bowie (2003), featuring Jungr. Other musical shows on which Churney worked as musical director and pianist include
Portraits in Song (with
Elizabeth Mansfield),
The Lonely Fate of the Femme Fatale (with
Sandra Lawrence),
Back With You (with
Dillie Keane),
Cabaret Whores (with Howard Samuels),
Straker Sings Brel (with
Peter Straker), and
Big Night Out at the Little Palace Theatre (with
Sandi Toksvig and
Dillie Keane). He also recorded the albums
One Last Flutter with Fascinating Aida and
Back With You with
Dillie Keane. He composed original
scores for films including
One Minute Past Midnight (directed by Celia Galan Julve, 2004) and the Channel 4 documentaries
Return Trip (dir
Carol Morley) and
The Alcohol Years (directed by Carol Morley, 2000). Churney died of
pancreatic cancer, aged 42. A memorial concert,
The Lovely Russell, was held in his honour on 29 June 2008, with performances by his friends or associates
Barb Jungr,
Sandi Toksvig,
Fascinating Aïda,
Julian Clary and many others.
Sylvester McCoy donated one of his prop hats from his character in
Doctor Who. The proceeds of the concert went to Russell's favourite charities. ==References==