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A LIFE SHAPED
BY MUSIC
THE JOURNEY
Humble, Talented, Generous, Unforgettable
Before the stages, before the studios and long nights on the road, there was a teenager in Dalkey with a guitar and an obsession forming.
BORN & RAISED
Dalkey, Dublin
A placid child with a curious mind.
AGE 14 -Â A gift from his paternal grandmother.
FIRST GUITAR
First Guitar
Age 14
First Band
High Pressure
St. Andrew's
Music Award 1986
EARLY HIGHLIGHTS
Northern Lights
Demo Recordings
01
THE GUITAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
At 14 Russell was given his first guitar by his paternal grandmother.
That single moment sparked a passion that would define the rest of his life.
He never looked back.Â
FIRST BAND
High Pressure
Original song "Poison Tears".
Music became his voice at St. Andrew's. He won the Band Award and spent more time in the music room than anywhere else.
A twinkle in his eye, and a guitar in his hand.
.
THE ST. ANDREW'S YEARS
02
ST. ANDREW'S COLLEGE
Winners of Music Festival Competition 1986
Rehearsals became routine. So did dreaming bigger.
Russell formed his first band, High Pressure. They rehearsed relentlessly, lived for gigs and recorded their original song "Poison Tears".
It was the start of real friendships and the first taste of what was possible,Â
HIGH PRESSURE
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Demo recordings & Earl of Grattan nights
03
Russell didn't' just play guitar, he lived for tone.
Hours spent cleaning, adjusting and chasing that perfect sound.
It was more than an obsession. It was who he was.
THE OBESSIONÂ WITH SOUND
01
THE GUITAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
At 14 Russell was given his first guitar by his paternal grandmother.
That single moment sparked a passion that would define the rest of his life.
He never looked back.Â
04
A new chapter. A new sound. Northern Lights was Russell stepping into his own as a musician.
Demo recordings, live shows and unforgettable nights at the Earl of Grattan.
The hours were long. The passion was louder. The sound was becoming unmistakably his.
NORTHERN LIGHTS
02
Music became his voice at St. Andrew's. He won a Band Award and spent more time in the music room than anywhere else.
A twinkle in his eye, and a guitar in his hand.
THE ST. ANDREW'S YEARS
05
"The day he finished his Leaving Cert, he hung his St Andrew's blazer on the washing line and took a razer blade to it - Sex Pistols style. A beautiful thing"
 - Craig Armstrong - Friend, Classmate & Fellow bandmate.
"Â I met him in 1988/89Â when we were both at Newpark Jazz Faculty in Blackrock. We were paird together several times (I played bass) and we quickly hit it off.Â
He was earmarked even then by the tutors as something special. He had a twinkle in his eye . We were both asked to leave a classroom instruction when we slotted "Living on a Prayer" in the middle of a swinging jazz piece. We sat like guilty schoolboys outside"
- Robert Craven ( former bandmate & best selling Author)
A MEMORY from the THE JAZZ FACULTY
06
Listen to High Pressure - "Poison Tears" (original recording).
03
Russell formed his first band, High Pressure. They rehearsed relentlessly, lived for gigs and recorded their original song "Poison Tears".
It was the start of real friendships and the first taste of what was possible, Rehearsals became routine. So did dreaming bigger.
HIGH PRESSURE
Long before recording studios, chart success and international gigs, there was High Pressure. "Poison Tears" is one of the earliest surviving recordings of Russell's guitar playing and offers a rare glimpse into the passion that would shape the rest of his life.
A special thank you to Ger McDonnell for taking the time to convert Russell's old reel-to-reel recordings into digital format, allowing all of us to enjoy and preserve these wonderful moments for generations to come.
Recorded in the late 1980s, "Poison Tears" is one of the earliest surviving recordings of Russell's guitar playing with High Pressure. Long Before recording studios, international tours and chart success, this was where the journey began.
The start of real friendships. The sound was becoming bigger.
Handwritten setlist from rehearsals, 1986-87,
A special thank you to Ger McDonnell for taking the time to convert Russell's old reel-to-reel recordings into digital format, allowing all of us to enjoy and preserve these wonderful moments for generations to come.
04
Russell didn't' just play guitar. he lived for tone.
Hours spent cleaning, adjusting and chasing that perfect sound.
It was more than an obsession. It was who he was.
THE OBESSIONÂ WITH SOUND
05
NORTHERN LIGHTS
A new chapter. A new sound.
Northern Lights was Russell stepping into his own as a musician.
Demo recordings, live shows and unforgettable nights at the Earl of Grattan.
The hours were long.
The passion was louder. The sound was becoming unmistakably his.
Northern Lights Band Line Up
Russell TaylorÂ
Robert CravenÂ
Garry Butler
John Devlin
These early years laid the foundation for everything that followed — the discipline, the instinct, and the lifelong connection to music that would come to define Russell's path.
06
A MEMORY from the THE JAZZ FACULTY
"Â I met him in 1988/89Â when we were both at Newpark Jazz Faculty in Blackrock. We were paird together several times (I played bass) and we quickly hit it off.Â
He was earmarked even then by the tutors as something special. He had a twinkle in his eye . We were both asked to leave a classroom instruction when we slotted "Living on a Prayer" in the middle of a swinging jazz piece. We sat like guilty schoolboys outside"
- Robert Craven - former bandmate & best selling Author
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