Willy Russell Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1947) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are "Educating Rita", "Shirley Valentine", "Blood Brothers" and "Our Day Out". Russell was born in Whiston in Lancashire. On leaving school, aged 15, he became a ladies' hairdresser eventually running his own salon until the age of 20 when he decided to try to go back to college, eventually qualifying as a teacher. During these years Russell also worked as a semi-professional singer, writing and performing his own songs on the then flourishing and vibrant folk scene. At college, he began
The Valentine Brothers which reached no. 28 on the R&B chart. Their final album, "Picture This", was released in 1987. Billy Valentine also performed in the 1980s on the soundtracks of the films "Champions Forever" and "The Five Heartbeats", before joining the show "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. He has also worked as a demo recording artist and songwriter, and as a singer in Los Angeles clubs. Since 2004 he has sung on the soundtrack of the hit TV series "Boston Legal". The Valentine Brothers The Valentine Brothers were an American recording act in the