Russel (Gorillaz)

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Russel Hobbs
Background information
Origin	New York City, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Drums
Label(s)	Parlophone Virgin Records
Associated acts	Gorillaz
Website	Official website
Notable instrument(s)
Gretsch

Russel Hobbs, known affectionately as Russ (born in New York City) is a member of the virtual band Gorillaz. He provides the drums for the band. He was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

[edit] Past

Russel spent a good portion of his youth in and out of mental hospitals as a result of being possessed by a demon. This possession is the reason for his completely white irisless eyes. Eventually, the demon was exorcised and Russel's life went on as any young American teenager's would. Much of his hip hop prowess comes from a bizarre incident involving a drive-by shooting that killed all of his friends from the fictional Brooklyn High School in New York City. Following the shooting, the spirits of all of Russel's friends (many of whom had been involved in rap music) possessed Russel, although the only one that has ever been revealed is Del, who appears as a blue, rapping ghost in such videos as "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House". Del's soul was ripped out of Russel by the Grim Reaper in late 2003 and Russel, a mere shell of his former self, took a year to recover.

After the El Mañana conspiracy, 2-D and Russel were frantic about Noodle's supposed death. It was a hoax, however, and the band has once again gone separate ways. It would not last too long, as it was promised by Murdoc in the autobiography Rise of the Ogre that their biggest project to date is apparently being planned. Russell was, according to Murdoc, "all good, too. He's still stitching together his taxidermy army of undead animals and practicing his drums, but I think he's getting into production. It's a great role for him because his knowledge of music's just too big for him to be stuck behind a drum kit."

[edit] Personality

Russel is, for lack of a better term, severely unhinged. This may be a result of his frequent possessions, or he could be susceptible to the possessions because of it. His mental state has deteriorated noticeably since Del's exorcism. Despite the possessions or exorcisms, Russel is known to be a very eloquent speaker, largely due to the private schooling he received in his youth. Russel has also seen the Grim Reaper twice.

He is laid-back for the most part, almost melancholy most of the time, but has very little patience for Murdoc's antics and 2D's idiocy. He is sensitive about his (admittedly massive) weight, which is apparently the result of a wheat allergy.

Russel's hobbies include food, eating, cooking, taxidermy and trainers. He recently put his skills to good use by creating "Animal Kwackers", in which the user creates his or her own hybrid animal using an assortment of body parts (the legs section includes wheels) and, if they desire, name it and add it to a worldwide gallery. The reason for this is explained in the last two thirds of the Intro, which mention helping Russel to create an army of beasts. Also, when Gorillaz was featured on MTV Cribs, Russel was seen hammering something onto the "hot rod warthog" seen in the Animal Kwackers Intro.

Russel has stuck up for his often put-upon and abused bandmate 2D at least once. When he discovered Murdoc having sex with 2D's ex-girlfriend Paula, with so much pity for 2-D and much anger, he immediately punched Murdoc in the face and broke his nose in five to eight different places. He also claims that he will do anything to protect Noodle and the two have a close bond with each other.

[edit] Drumset

The drum kit that Russel used in both the "Feel Good Inc." video and the live performance of this song at the MTV European Video Music Awards and the Grammys is a red drum kit which consists of two snare drums, 1 hi-hat mounted much higher than usual (likely due to his size), 1 floor tom, 1 crash cymbal mounted on his right, and a bass drum with a picture of a skull on the front. The kit he used at the performance of "Dirty Harry" at the Brit Awards and the Friday Night with Jonathan Ross appearances was identical, except it lacked the floor tom.

[edit] Trivia

• This character's name derives from the well-known UK kitchenware brand Russell Hobbs, a division of SaltonEurope
• Russel often wears a fez when you see him. One of the occasions that he wears a fez is in the video for DARE, where he sits on the toilet reading a newspaper that says "Cannibal Massakren"
• Russel is highly educated and can speak Japanese. During Phase One: Celebrity Takedown, he acted as Noodle's translator in their first press interview. Del, the ghost that once possessed Russel, can also speak the language (though it is unknown if he knew it as a result of Russel knowing it or he understands it simply because he is a supernatural being). In 'Jump The Gut' Del is seen carrying on a conversation with Noodle and clearly understanding what she is saying
• Russel is, like Murdoc, an awful vocalist. During Phase One, while Gorillaz toured Japan, the band had gone into a karaoke bar and watched Russel sing "Small Town Boy" by Bronski Beat, which was described by 2-D as "one of the most frightening things I've ever seen."
• Russel is on strong medication, most likely to hinder the psychological damage brought on by the severely traumatic paranormal events in his life (such as seeing the Grim Reaper twice and hosting several spirits in his body). Murdoc has made several cracks about Russel being a pill popper (alluding to the drummer using Xanax, used for anxiety prevention); although these may have just been casual jokes, Russel himself stated that his medication had worn off during the recording of the song White Light, explaining the violently erratic drumming.