Air Supply - Biography
Air Supply is an enduring Australian duo that specializes in their own brand of ballad-heavy soft rock. They have gone on to be one of the most successful Australian musical acts in the world.
Guitarist and singer Graham Russell (born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England in 1950) met singer Russell Hitchcock (born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1949) while both were performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1975. Realizing that they shared a passion for classic pop melodies and were fans of The Beatles, the duo started performing cover songs and some of Russell’s originals with just their two voices and guitar. After the production of Jesus Christ Superstar closed, the two decided to stick together and formed a band called Air Supply.
The original lineup of Air Supply included guitarist Mark McEntee, drummer Jeff Browne, keyboardist/arranger Adrian Scott, and guitarist Chrissie Hammond. Hammond soon left, and was replaced by Jeremy Paul. In 1976, they recorded and released their debut single “Love and Other Bruises,” which was a hit in Australia. The band followed the single with their full-length debut album, Air Supply (1976 Rainbow Records), which eventually went gold in Australia. Rocker Rod Stewart took notice of the band and asked them to be his opening act on his tour of Australia and North America, even though they didn’t yet have a record out in the US. The tour garnered the band some attention and they returned to Australia with a Columbia Records recording contract. In 1977, the group released their second album, The Whole Thing Started (1977 Epic), but it met with limited success. The band was a little more successful with their next album, Love & Other Bruises (1977 Columbia), which included re-recorded versions of some of their earlier singles off of their first two albums.
By 1978, Hitchcock and Russell decided they wanted to revamp the lineup of their backing band, so they sacked the old members and recruited keyboardist and arranger Frank Esler-Smith, guitarists David Moyse and Rex Goh, drummer Ralph Cooper, and bassist David Green. This new version of Air Supply recorded the concept album Life Support (1979 Sony), released in 1979. The album sold moderately in Australia and included a song called “Lost in Love,” that came to the attention of Arista Records founder Clive Davis. Davis was notorious for his ability to smell a hit and he quickly signed the band to Arista and remixed the song down to a shorter length (the original was over five minutes long). The new version of “Lost in Love” became a huge international hit and the band followed up with their fifth album, Lost in Love (Arista), in 1980. Lost in Love also included the singles “All Out of Love” and “Every Woman in the World,” which charted at number two and five, respectively, on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album eventually reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell over three million copies, earning multi-platinum status.
The group followed up their massive world-wide success with The One That You Love (Arista) in 1981. The One That You Love became an even bigger hit than its predecessor. The title song became the band’s first American number one single and was followed into the Top Ten by the singles “Here I Am” and “Sweet Dreams.” A fourth single, “I’ll Never Get Enough,” was released in Japan and climbed into the Top Ten there. This marked the beginning of the band’s massive popularity in Asia that continues to the present day. The band’s lush, syrupy arrangements and Hitchcock’s distinctive high baritone vocals were everywhere in 1981, and The One That You Love ended up being Air Supply’s most successful album. Air Supply continued their successful run with their next album, Now and Forever (Arista), released in 1982. They scored another Top Ten hit with the single “Even the Nights Are Better” and placed two more singles — “Young Love” and “Two Less Lonely People in the World” — into the Top 40. Air Supply had so many hit singles by 1983, that Arista decided to release Greatest Hits (1982 Arista). The compilation also included a new single written by Jim Steinman called “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” which became another monster hit and reached as high as number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Air Supply didn’t return with another album until 1985’s Air Supply (Arista). Though the band racked up another Top 20 hit with the single “Just as I Am,” the album didn’t sell nearly as well as its predecessors and pushed Air Supply’s steady decline in sales. Hearts in Motion (Arista) followed in 1986, but didn’t contain any charting singles. After recording 1987’s Christmas Album (Arista), Air Supply went on a hiatus. During the next few years Hitchcock released a solo album, which failed to sell well. By the end of the decade, the duo got back together and released the album The Earth Is… on the Giant Records branch of Warner Brothers in 1991. The group scored a modest hit with the single “Without You” and completed a world tour in support of the album. Hitchcock and Russell kept their new-found momentum going and released The Vanishing Race (Giant) in 1993. Though their albums didn’t sell very well in the United States, Air Supply had built up a sizable following in Asia, and The Vanishing Race was near the top of the charts in places such as Taiwan and Singapore. The group embarked on another tour, paying special attention to their fan base in Asia. News From Nowhere (Giant) appeared in 1995, including the singles “Always” and “Someone,” which were both hits in Asia. In 1997, The Book of Love (Giant) followed. The band released a live CD and DVD of a show they performed in Taipei, Taiwan in 1995 titled Greatest Hits Live…Now and Forever (Alex), and the CD stayed at the top of the Taiwanese charts for an astonishing 16 weeks.
Air Supply has continued as an entity into the 21st century, releasing the albums Yours Truly (Warner Bros.) in 2001, followed by Across the Concrete Sky (A Nice Pair) in 2003. They have continued touring, playing select dates in Europe and North America, but they mostly concentrate on their native Australia and the Far East. In 2005, they released another live CD and DVD titled It Was 30 Years Ago Today: Live In Concert (Evosound) celebrating their 30-year partnership. Also in 2005, the group played a concert in Havana, Cuba, earning them the distinction of being one of the only Western groups to have been invited to perform in the notoriously closed-off country. In 2006, Air Supply released an all-acoustic album, The Singer and the Song (A Nice Pair), reprising many of their hits in an acoustic setting. Air Supply has continued to tour, and are reportedly readying a new album of material.