Russel (Gorillaz)
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- Russel Hobbs redirects here. The similarly-named Russell Hobbs is a kitchen equipment manufacturer owned by Salton Europe.
| Gorillaz band member | |
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| Russel Hobbs | |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | New York City, NY |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birthday: | June 3, 1975 |
| Heritage: | African American |
| Age: | 31 |
| Voice Actor: | Remi Kabaka |
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.
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[edit] Past
Russel spent a good portion of his youth in and out of mental hospitals, 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 Tha Funkee Homosapien, 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.
According to his fellow band members, Russel is best live drummer in history ("...in the history of drum!"-Noodle).
After the El Manana conspiracy, 2-D and Russel were frantic about Noodle's supposed death. It was a hoax, however, and the band has once again gone seperate ways but not for long (so promised Murdoc in the autobiography Rise of the Ogre; their biggest project to date is apparantly being planned) and the drummer was, according to Murdoc, "all good, too. He's still stitching together his taxidermy army of undead animals and practising 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.
His sexuality is a bit of a mystery. Murdoc has one more than one occasion hinted that Russel is gay, which Russel denies. He has, however, admitted to dressing in drag from time to time.
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 featured in "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 then-girlfriend Paula, 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.
| Gorillaz |
| 2D | Murdoc Niccals | Noodle | Russel Hobbs |
| Gorillaz discography |
|---|
| Albums and EPs: Tomorrow Comes Today | Gorillaz | G-Sides | Laika Come Home | Demon Days |
| DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Take Down | Demon Days Live | Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades |
| Singles: Clint Eastwood | 19-2000 | Rock the House | 911 | Tomorrow Comes Today | Lil' Dub Chefin' | Feel Good Inc. | DARE | Dirty Harry | Kids With Guns / El Mañana |
| Related articles |
| Britpop | Blur | Damon Albarn | Jamie Hewlett | Dan the Automator | Danger Mouse | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Zombie Flesh Eaters | Passion Pictures | Deltron 3030 | Gorillaz movie | Rise Of The Ogre |
