Air Supply How the Music Began

An odd name to choose but Air Supply was a soft rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1976. Their line-up has changed many times but two standard members of this group are Graham Russell (acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals, songwriter) and Russell Hitchcock (lead and harmony vocals). Despite the fact that at any one time they could be a whole band, a great deal of the time Air Supply sang as a duo.

The first song which gained attention and became popular in the US was “Lost in Love” in 1980.

Their debut album titled Air Supplycame out in 1977 in Australia. The songs were sung by Russell and Hitchcock accompanied by a guitarist, a drummer, and a keyboardist. Among the songs on this album were “Feel the Breeze” and “Love and Other Bruises.”

Popularity for Air Supply was still some time off. Their second album was The Whole Thing’s Startedand included three singles: “Do What You Do,” “That’s How the Whole Thing Started,” and “Do It Again.”

Starting from late 1977, Air Supply supported singer Rod Stewart during his tour of Australia and Stewart invited them to continue with his tour in the US and Canada.

So their third album Love & Other Bruises was recorded in Los Angeles, California. This album became their debut album in the US. It included songs from their previous debut album including the title song and “Who Will Love Me Now.”

It was their next album Lost in Love that gave them noticeable hits with which came popularity. The album included the hit “Lost in Love” and two other songs which became popular, “All Out of Love” and “Every Woman in the World.”

Their 1981 album The One That You Love came with the title song giving Air Supply their first and only number one hit in the US. Other songs on the album included “Keeping the Love Alive” and “Sweet Dreams.”

In 1982, Air Supply came out with Now and Forever. This album included another hit “Even the Nights Are Better” and two singles: “Young Love” and “Two Less Lonely People in the World.”

They scored more popularity in 1983 when they released their Greatest Hits album and included a new single “Making Love Out of Nothing At All.” This song became one of their biggest hits and stayed at number two on the charts for three weeks. The album sold seven million copies.

Air Supply came out with their first live video in 1983 Air Supply Live in Hawaii and in 1984, their song “I Can Wait Forever” was featured in a scene from the blockbuster movie Ghostbusters. Their songs have also been featured in the movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Wedding Date, and Bad Company.

Air Supply changed their lineup again in the mid-1980s and came out with a self-titled album in 1985. This album included a Top 20 Billboard hit “Just As I Am” and a cover of the song “The Power of Love” originally sung by Jennifer Rush.

In 1986, they released Hearts in Motion and had a couple of minor hits: “Lonely is the Night” and “One More Chance.”

After they came out with their Christmas Album in 1987 they took a break as a band. Hitchcock attempted to go solo but his self-titled album in 1988 was not well accepted. However, he did have a popular single in 1990 with “Swear to Your Heart” which was included on the movie soundtrack for Arachnophobia.

Then in 1991, Russell and Hitchcock came together once more and released the album The Earth. This album included their hit single “Without You” and two other singles “Stronger than the Night,” accompanied by a music video saying that Air Supply had returned, and “Stop the Tears.”

Their official fan club released a video titled The Earth Is World Tour. This counts as a rare collector’s item, containing live footage from the Air Supply global tour promoting this album.

In 1993, they released another album titled The Vanishing Race. The album was dedicated to the plight of the American Indians. This included the hit single “Goodbye.” This song was popular outside of the US and reached number one is some Asian countries. They set off for another world tour taking with them Dick Smith, the guitarist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Another single from this album was “It’s Never Too Late.”

This album was followed by News From Nowhere released in 1995. This included the Asian hit singles “Someone” and “Always” as well as a cover of the song “Unchained Melody.”

Air Supply continued to remain popular in Southeast Asian countries and releasedNow and Forever: Greatest Hits Live. This included a CD and DVD live concert recording taken in Taipei, Taiwan.

Air Supply turned to more adult contemporary music in the albums The Book of Lovein 1997, Your Truly in 2001, Across the Concrete Sky in 2003, and Mumbo Jumbo in 2010. They have become one of the first foreign bands that were invited to perform in Havana, Cuba.

They were honored by the Ride of Fame in October 2012. This is a double-decker tour bus dedicated to Air Supply and now can be seen driving around the streets of New York City. In 2013, they were inducted into the Hall of Fame in Australia.

Their latest two singles to make it on the Billboard Dance Club Song chart are “Desert Sea Sky” in 2014 and “I Want You” in 2015.