This article is about the Australian soft rock band. For their debut 1976 album, see Air Supply (1976 album). For their 1985 album, see Air Supply (1985 album). For other uses, see Air Supply (disambiguation). Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of British-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Graham Russell and lead vocalist Russell Hitchcock. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s. They formed in Australia in 1975 and have included various accompanying musicians and singers. On 24 October 2013 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced that Air Supply were to be inducted into their Hall of Fame on 1 December at the same ceremony as the annual ARIA Awards. Chrissie Hammond, Russell Hitchcock, and Graham Russell met in May 1975 while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.[1][2] With Hammond and Hitchcock on vocals and Russell on guitar, they formed a harmony vocal group in Melbourne, while the show was still playing.[3] Hammond left the vocal group to form Cheetah and was replaced by Jeremy Paul (ex-Soffrok and later Divinyls) on bass guitar and vocals in 1976.[1] Together, Hitchcock, Russell and Paul formed Air Supply. The group's first single, "Love and Other Bruises", was released in November, 1976 and peaked at No. 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in January 1977.[4] It was followed by Air Supply, their debut album, in December, which reached No. 17 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and achieved gold in Australia.[1][4] The album was produced by Peter Dawkins (Spectrum, Ross Ryan) with Air Supply line-up as Hitchcock, Paul, Russell and drummer Jeff Browne, guitarist Mark McEntee and keyboardist, arranger Adrian Scott.[1][2] Other singles were "If You Knew Me", "Empty Pages" and "Feel the Breeze" but none reached the Top 40.[4] A national tour followed with Hitchcock, Paul, Russell and Scott joined by Nigel Macara (ex-Tamam Shud, Ariel) on drums and Brenton White (Skintight)on guitar.[1][2] Brenton White rehearsed but did not perform with Air Supply In 1981, Air Supply released The One That You Love, produced by Russell, David Foster, and Harry Maslin with the title track issued as a single which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] It also featured two other Top 5 hits, "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)" and "Sweet Dreams". A fourth single, "I'll Never Get Enough" was relea On 21 August 1989, using their old producer and welcoming the return of drummer Ralph Cooper, the duo decided to enter the studio again to record The Earth Is, which was released in 1991 by Giant Records under Warner Bros. Records. The recording contains their hit single "Without You," along with singles for "Stronger Than the Night" (with a music video announcing that Air Supply was back) and "Stop the Tears" and the album sold more than one million copies. Inside the album is a note about Hitchcock and Russell's original Musical Director of their meeting place during Jesus Christ Superstar (and long time Band Member/Orchestrator): "This Album Is Dedicated to the Memory of Frank Esler-Smith." Esler-Smith had died earlier that year (1991) from pneumonia. sed in Japan and achieved Top 10 status. By the recording for this album, Barker left and was replaced by David Green. Also, previous Air Supply guitarist Rex Goh returned for the album, co-writing "I'll Never Get Enough" with Russell. They continued to tour heavily throughout Asia and in select venues in the U.S.A, and continued to released the more adult contemporary titled The Book of Love (1997), Yours Truly (2001), and Across the Concrete Sky (2003). In 2005, they released a live CD/DVD recording, and performed in Havana, Cuba, becoming one of the first foreign bands invited to perform in the country. They were booked to perform two concerts, and played the first show on 7 July, the day before Hurricane Dennis hit the country. In high winds, their first concert had an audience of 175,000. Due to the hurricane, they could not play the second show. Fans staying at the same hotel as Air Supply on 8 July had to be content with Russell performing acoustically for them, as there was no electricity. Their songs were featured in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Wedding Date and Bad Company (2002 film). On October 24, 2013, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced that Air Supply were to be inducted into the Hall of Fame on December 1, 2013 at the same ceremony as the annual ARIA Awards.[12][13] Speaking on behalf of the duo, Hitchcock declared it being a great honor for them, and was something that was totally unexpected.[13] He continued that the pair were due to return to Australia for the ceremony and "have fun with everybody and we want to say thank you to all who participated in our ARIA Hall of Fame induction".[13]

• published: 29 Apr 2015
• views: 0