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
Cindy Valentine and "Laverne & Shirley"), and her hit single "Pickup The Pieces (To My Heart)" appears in the film "" (1991). For much of the 1990s into 2003, Valentine worked behind the scenes in film and television, as a composer and musician. Composer Dominic Messinger and Valentine teamed in 1997, with credited works for the sequel to Mickey Rourke's "Another 9 1/2 Weeks", and the television series "As the World Turns" and "Sirens". Since 2000, Valentine has involved herself with horror, documentary and art genre films, such as the critically acclaimed "" (2008) and is credited as Producer on "Ruth" (2000)