The Welcome everyone to episode 84 of so de jacor on songwriting.

Joining us today as a celebrated Liverpoolian playwright, screenwriter, composer and musician

from whose prodigious pen sprang some of the most beloved theatre of the last 40 odd years.

This is the man that gave us

among others such enduring shows as educating Rita, Shirley Valentine and the

formidable Blood Brothers which ran for what 24 years in the West End? I think so. We are delighted to

welcome the wonderful Willie Russell to the show. Yeah it's a real honor for us to

have Mr Russell on the podcast. We're both big admirers of his work and also were long overdue

and other talented scouts were on the show.

Will he graciously invited us to sit down with him at his office near Liverpool City

centre and we spent a hugely enjoyable hour in his company.

But before you hear how it went down, we'll just tell you a little about him.

Willie Russell was born in Western Liverpool in 1947.

His first love was music, initially inspired by witnessing the Beatles in action at the

cavern in his early teens. Apparently John Lennon once spilled a bottle of coke all over him.

He was later turned on to folk music, especially Bob Dylan, and formed his own folk group, the Kirby Town 3.

The band plied their trade at various working men's clubs around Liverpool,

and Willy eventually ran his own folk night in the city.

In fact, Willy's first creative dabbling were night in the city. In fact, Willie's first creative dabbling

were not in penning plays but in songwriting. Though his career ultimately lay in

theatre, this solid musical grounding would come in extremely handy in the

years to come.

...