Richard Russell (born March 18, 1971) is an English record producer and the owner of British record label XL Recordings.
XL Recordings was founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes to release dance music. Richard Russell joined XL as an A & R scout in 1991.In 1992, Russell released a single titled "The Bouncer" as part of a duo named Kicks Like a Mule. The Guardian described the song as rave music that was "knocked into shape in about five hours" which "crossed over from pirate radio to reach number seven in the charts." Russell appeared on Top of the Pops and was initially signed to London Records for an album but was dropped from London before its completion.