I not only find writing about myself difficult but actively dislike doing it – which must explain why I spent two years writing a memoir of over three hundred pages about my childhood. It’s a conundrum I am yet to come to terms with, so for the purpose of this website page I have asked my wife, Catherine, to let me off the hook and write ‘about me’.

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My husband has lived an unusual life. Despite ‘Outrageous Fortune’ at birth, and despite, or, perhaps, because of, his education in general, he has turned out to be what you might call – must call – ‘a real nice guy’.

As a child everything was done for him. So many servants at his grandmother’s spectacular castle in south east England; so many more servants at his parents’ large house in London. Titles, wealth, the whole aristocratic package; this was the bubble in which he was raised, and which he writes about with such an appealing voice, and with such a lovely sense of time and place, in his memoir.

By the time he left school lavish surroundings and spectacular luxury were part of Anthony’s DNA. Balancing his check-book, though, was not discussed nor was finding out where money for fixed expenses might come from.  Then started the contradictory dictates between life ‘the castle way’ and life in the real world. It takes a life-time to extract the best of each and apply them on a daily basis. In the meantime, one can write a book to help eliminate the symptoms.

Between leaving school and writing the book a number of activities and adventures occupied Anthony’s time.  Just like any smart young man he tried a little bit of this and a lot of that. As a diversion from serious playboy activities, music and acting were fun and creative. Other jobs were much less attractive, but revealed themselves as being exactly the right prep for what was to come, and is his new reality – being a writer.

Catherine and Anthony at Leeds Castle, Kent

‘Outrageous Fortune’ Chapter 16: Beatlemaniac (excerpt)

“It is a strange and wonderful thing how some music can penetrate the inner sanctum of the mind and envelop one’s entire being in a warm, spiritualistic glow.  Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony did it for some; Wagner’s The Ring held sway with others; Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley had legions of admirers.  Beatles music did it for me.  Although I shared this sentiment with a large number of other people, the experience was distinctly personal for each of us.  More often than not it was impossible to put the intense appeal into words.  One listened.  One felt.  And it was good.  One put the LP onto the turntable, soaked up both sides, and, in a transported state, repeated the process if time and circumstances permitted.”

I’m In Love With The Band
words & music by Anthony Russell
video by John Hampton

I’m in love with the band
Since a long time ago
It’s a feeling inside
I’ve been meaning to show

I get high just listening to She Loves You
I just cry when I hear in My Life
I shake everything about singing Twist And Shout
I lose my mind in a Hard Day’s Night
But when it comes to Christmas I remember
Going down to the Hammersmith show
You couldn’t hear a thing
It didn’t matter back then
I was in love with a rock-n-roll band

I’m Only Sleeping’s the killer on Revolver
No Reply is the gem on For Sale
I play The Night Before Anytime At All
You know that Long Tally Sally can’t fail
But when it comes to Christmas I remember
Going down to The Hammersmith show
I couldn’t hear at hing
It didn’t matter back then
I was in love with a rock-n-roll band

I’m in love with the band
Since a long time ago
It’s a feeling inside
I’ve been meaning to show

I’m in love with the band
And as God only knows
It’s a feeling so fine
I believe in it so

I heard Ticket to Ride and went ballistic
I heard Hey Jude and fell out of bed

I heard Something Sun King A Day In The Life
And knew that everything was right in my head
But when it comes to Christmas I remember
Going down to the Hammersmith show
You couldn’t hear a thing
It didn’t matter back then
I was in love with a rock-n-roll band

I’m in love with the band
Since a long time ago
It’s a feeling inside
I’ve been meaning to show

I’m in love with the band
And as God only knows
It’s a feeling so fine
I believe in it so