Air Supply

English born Graham Russell (1950) & Australian born Russell Hitchcock (1949) met in 1975 in Sydney while rehearsing for Jesus Christ Superstar. Later that year they formed Air Supply and soon produced the group's first Australian hit single, 'Love and other bruises'. A self titled debut album followed reaching Gold status in Australia, and then the band’s second album The Whole Thing Started.

The group opened for Rod Stewart during his tour of Australia, and he was so impressed by their performance that he invited them to be the opening act during his tour of the United States. In 1978 the band reformed with the line up Frank Esler-Smith (arranger and keyboardist), David Moyse and Rex Goh (guitars) and the rhythm section of David Green (bass) and Ralph Cooper (drums) playing with Russell and Hitchcock to record many of their well known hits.

In 1979 the album Life Support was released, which included a five and a half minute version of 'Lost in Love'. An album of the same name was released in 1980 and included three U.S. top five singles including 'Every woman in the world'. This record went top ten in Australia and somehow found its way to Clive Davis in New York. Clive signed Air Supply to Arista Records and in 1980 and that same year 'Lost in Love' reached the top of the charts internationally.'Lost in Love' was named song of the year in 1980, and with the other singles sold over ten million copies. It was quickly followed by three more hit albums, The one that you love, Now and forever and Greatest Hits.

In 1983 they had number two hit in the U.S. with 'Making love out of nothing at all', and released their first live video, 'Air Supply live in Hawaii'. During the mid-1980s they also released 'Just as I am', 'The power of love', 'Lonely is the night', and 'One more chance'. They also recorded a 1987 Christmas album.

In 1991 Air Supply recorded The earth is, containing their hit single 'Without you', along with singles 'Stronger than the night' and 'Stop the tears'. The Vanishing Race, dedicated to the plight of the American Indians,was released in 1993, which was included the singles 'Goodbye' and 'It's never too late'. News from Nowhere was released in 1995. It contained the Asian hit singles 'Someone', 'Always', and a cover of the classic 'Unchained melody'. During the 90s Air Supply became popular in south-eastern Asian countries, culminating in the release of a CD and DVD recording of a live concert in Taipei, Taiwan.

In 2005, a live CD/DVD recording of It was thirty years ago today, which was recorded at the Casino Rama in Canada was released. In July 2005 they performed in Havana, Cuba, one of the first foreign bands invited to perform in the country. In 2006 they released an acoustic album, The singer and the song.

Links:
Official site: http://www.airsupply-online.com/