Russel Kitchin didn’t have a musical upbringing although his parents were lovers of Country music, rock ‘n’ roll and in particular Elvis Presley. Russ first got into Country as a child when he listened to his mum’s compilation Country albums on the family radiogram. The only member of his family who played an instrument was his grandmother who played piano and he started to play when he was 8. He continued playing into his teens, taking lessons and achieving London College of Music grades to grade 5. He quit the piano in his later teens as it was no longer considered ‘cool’, but he never lost his love of music and eventually had thoughts about playing guitar.
Russ liked the idea of becoming a working musician at that time and decided to explore the possibilities of achieving this. Having a young family, it took him a lot longer until he was finally able to fulfil his ambition in his mid 20s. By this time, his musical direction had changed and included classic rock and blues and he started working in pub bands but it was really just for fun. One of these was a band called Counterfeit, which he joined with his buddy Jonathan Slater.
Eventually he realised he wasn’t actually enjoying it and in the early 2000s when he was in his early 30s he rediscovered Country and joined an existing trio called Rollin’ Steel as lead guitarist. Rollin’ Steel were originally formed in 1984 and by 1995 the line up was Phil Steele (rhythm guitar and lead vocal), Pete Steele (lead guitar and vocals) and Terry Hayward (bass and vocals). Pete Steele and Russ were already good friends. At first Russ joined as a dep for their guitarist Jason Wood (who had previously played for Dave Berry) having rehearsed with Phil and Pete. By this time Pete had moved on and was playing with some bigger named bands in Liverpool.
Alongside the duo Russ, also formed a blues rock band with his good friend Jonathan Slater. They were called Sloe Gin, named after US blues/rock musician Joe Bonamassa’s album of the same name. They quickly became very popular and got plenty of work around South Yorkshire. The band stayed together for about 5 years, and at one point included Tris Bradder on bass. Russ and Phil continued to do duo and trio gigs as Rollin’ Steel but the name was soon changed to the Phil Steel Duo. At this time, Phil was the lead singer and Russ was the lead guitarist but it wasn’t long before Russ started adding harmonies and then he began to take lead vocal on a few songs. By about 2012 they were sharing lead vocals and decided on a name change to 2 Dollars More. From time to time they were asked to perform as a trio and would draft in Tim Orchard on banjo/mandolin and acoustic guitar. Phil Steel Duo and 2 Dollars More played mainly traditional Country although Russ gradually introduced a few modern songs. He stayed with them until 2016.
Ever since he realised that he could play and sing he knew that one day he wanted to have his own band and perform Country his way. He still however considers himself to be a guitarist who sings. He always wanted to play more modern material (many Country bands stick to traditional Country and Western songs) and bring his rock influence into the band. His philosophy, which was instilled into him by his guitar teacher Martin Smith and still holds true today is, “If it sounds good, it is good as long as it’s a country song”. This led to the formation of Badlands in 2017. The band took its name from Marty Stuart’s 2005 concept album of the same name. After the formation of Badlands, Russ went back to 2 Dollars More and continued to play with them as well as Badlands for another two years. Phil eventually decided to pursue a solo career allowing Russ to concentrate on Badlands.
Initially he had no thoughts of his daughter Heather joining the band as a musician. As a young teenager, Heather had no interest in music but when she was 15 she told her dad that she wanted to start playing guitar. Russ bought her a guitar and she asked him to teach her how to play. He taught her to play a Muse (rock band) song. He heard no more of it but, two weeks later; he heard her playing the song and making an excellent job of it. It wasn’t long before music was taking over her life. She did music A level at school which included some guitar lessons and went on to do a degree in popular music and performance at Middlesbrough University achieving a 1st. At her passing out ceremony, she and a group of other musicians performed the entire Michael Jackson Thriller album.
At that time, she was heavily influenced by progressive rock and heavy metal but she always liked some Country songs. Once Badlands was established Heather joined as sound engineer. On one occasion their rhythm guitarist Phil Holden let them down for a run of three gigs following an accident and Heather was drafted in as his stand in with little notice. She spent 48 hours cramming and learning the band’s material and stood in on the gigs, the last of which was at the Malvern showground in front of 2,500 people. She joined the band as a guitarist and singer and she and her dad were quickly able play off each other really well with a lot of unrehearsed banter enhancing their performance. Russ considers himself very lucky being able to play music which he loves to do and also having his family around him. His other daughter Natalie is also an integral part of the band coming to all gigs replacing Heather as their sound engineer.
The band has a very good attitude; they want to be a band that put on a show and not just a band that stands there and repeats the songs they have learnt. Therefore the interaction between Russ and Heather and a certain amount of stage antics are an important part of their presentation and they feel stands them apart from many other acts. They both know they are in the entertainment business so there must be an entertainment factor in everything they do. Russ and Heather also started working together as the Russel K Duo in March 2019 to cater for those clubs that couldn’t afford a full band. Badlands describe themselves as a modern country band and there are no others like them on the circuit. They won a CNN award for Newcomer Of The Year in 2018.
Drummer Ash Thompson has been with the band since the beginning. He had previously played with a signed band but the singer disappeared and left the band with nothing – they quickly folded. Julian Widdop is the third bass player. Their first bass player Pete Morgan retired and was replaced by Russ’ old band mate Tris Bradder. He sadly had a bad stroke in 2022 and although he recovered it finished his playing career. Russ has known Julian for as long as he has been playing and he has been a musician since the 1960s and has played all over the world. When Russ was looking for a new bass player Julian approached him and volunteered to take on the roll. He has fitted into the team very well.
Russ does write songs but he doesn’t consider himself a prolific songwriter. He can’t write to order but has to have a feeling for a song and then it will flow. Songs come slowly and then they get worked on. He has recorded an 11 track solo album, Wherever You Are, which was released in 2023. 9 of the 11 songs on the album are self penned. 6 of his songs have featured on radio stations across the world, and a number have been number 1 most listened on UKCountryRadio.com since the album’s release. They also won their Album Of The Year award in 2024. A second album will be completed in 2025. Original songs are rarely included in the Badlands show but Russ and Heather do occasionally sing Strongest Hands Of All acoustically. More original songs are included when Russ and Heather work as a duo.
Russ is keen to perform his original songs but feels it will be with a different band and probably not on the Country Music Club circuit where people are more used to hearing covers. There is another Country circuit where songwriters are much in demand. For some reason unknown to many of us the two don’t easily mix. Neither myself or Russ understand this and Russ added “County music is Country music – if it sounds good it is good”
Russ and Heather will be appearing at C2C at the O2 in 2025. They are performing on the Thursday night at The Observatory. There’s a Nashville songwriters show at The Indigo and immediately after that, there is the afterparty at The Observatory where they will be performing for two hours. They were booked for this in 2024 standing in for Pete Stothard; everyone loved it so they have been booked again for 2025. They ended up emptying the venue as everyone joined in with a conga to Brad Paisley’s Mona Lisa which took them right round the complex. Even the security guards joined the conga!
I asked Russ about the future for Badlands and he is somewhat disillusioned saying ‘the CMC circuit is in a slow transition with a lot of solo artists and duos but not many bands. What bands there are do not have a huge number of venues where they can play with the festival circuit getting smaller. The audience numbers at many country clubs are in decline and inevitably budgets are smaller and we are heading towards the stage where bands can’t exist which would be very sad. The audiences have become accustomed to seeing a solo act with everything played at low volume.’ Russ is really unsure about the band’s future on the CMC circuit which at the moment is surviving but not thriving, at least not for bands. He added ‘If I am honest I think our future is uncertain’. He thinks the duo will last longer as it is more affordable There is currently more work for Russel K Duo but where they take the band they go down well as you always get a much better atmosphere with a live band. They are particularly popular in the north east and Scotland where everyone is always up for a party.
The Phil Steel Duo released one CD album, My Kinda Place in 2012. Badlands have released two albums Welcome in 2017 and an eponymously named album in 2022. Both albums have been produced by Russ’ guitar teacher and friend Martin Smith at Mu Studios in Sheffield.
Research by Nick Catford.