Air Supply
FORMED: 1976, Melbourne, Australia
With their heavily orchestrated, sweet ballads, the Australian soft rock
group Air Supply became a staple of early-'80s radio, scoring a string of
seven straight Top Five singles. Air Supply, for most intents and purposes,
was the duo of vocalists Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell; other members
came through the group over the years, yet they only functioned as backing
musicians and added little to the group's sound. Hitchcock and Russell met
while performing in a Sydney, Australia, production of Jesus Christ Superstar
in 1976. The two singers formed a partnership and with the addition of four
supporting musicians -- keyboardist Frank Esler-Smith, guitarist David Moyse,
bassist David Green, and drummer Ralph Cooper -- Air Supply was born.
For several years, the group gained no attention outside of Australia, earning
one significant hit single, "Love and Other Bruises." Their first international
exposure came in the late '70s, when Rod Stewart had them as his opening
act on a North American tour. Air Supply signed a record contract with Arista
in 1980, releasing their first album by the end of the year. Lost in Love,
their debut, was a major success in the U.S., selling over two million copies
and spawning the hit singles "Lost in Love," "All Out of Love," and "Every
Woman in the World." The following year they released their second album,
The One That You Love. The title track became their only number one hit and
it also featured two other Top Ten hits, "Here I Am (Just When I Thought
I Was Over You)" and "Sweet Dreams." With their third album, 1982's Now and
Forever, their popularity dipped slightly -- it only had one Top Ten hit,
"Even the Nights Are Better," and the other two singles, "Young Love" and
"Two Less Lonely People in the World," scraped the bottom of the Top 40.
Air Supply released a Greatest Hits collection in 1983, featuring a new single,
"Making Love Out of Nothing at All." The single spent two weeks at number
two while the album peaked at number seven and eventually sold over four
million copies.
Two years later, they released Air Supply, their fourth album. It featured
the number 19 single "Just As I Am," but it was clear that their audience
was shrinking -- the album was their first not to go platinum. Hearts in
Motion (1986) was even less successful, peaking at number 84 and spending
only nine weeks on the charts. After its disappointing performance, Air Supply
broke up. Hitchcock and Russell reunited in 1991, releasing Earth Is...,
but the album failed to make the charts as did 1993's Vanishing Race and
1995's News From Nowhere. The new millennium marked the band's first studio
album in four years, and a summer tour in support of Yours Truly. ~ Stephen
Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide