Air Supply comes to visit Tampa Bay on January 8th at 8 p.m. to perform at Ruth Eckerd Hall. History in the Making: Air Supply is a soft rock duo, consisting of English singer-songwriter and guitarist Graham Russell and Australian 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. The Australian Recording Industry Association inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame on 1 December 2013 at the annual ARIA Awards.
Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock met on May 12, 1975, the first day of rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar in Sydney, Australia; they became instant friends (le with their common love for The Beatles and of course, singing. After the shows’ performances, they would play pizza parlors, coffee bars and night clubs with just one guitar and two voices.
They quickly gained a reputation for great harmonies and for original songs that Graham was constantly writing. They made a demo on a cassette of two songs, Love and Other Bruises and If You Knew Me and took it to every record company in Sydney. Everyone turned it down but one — CBS Records — who admired Air Supply’s unique style. They made a single in one afternoon and it shot to number one on the national charts! Air Supply was born.
That same year, they opened for Rod Stewart across Australia and then throughout the United States and Canada, playing all the famous huge venues before Rod would take the stage. Back in Australia they had made a record called Life Support. On this record were some treasures of songs, including Lost in Love which went Top 10 in Australia and somehow found its way to music industry executive Clive Davis in New York.
Clive immediately signed Air Supply to Arista Records and in 1980, Lost in Love became the fastest selling single in the world, leaping to the top of all the charts. Air Supply was now on their way. The second single was All Out of Love. Seven top-five singles later, Air Supply at that time had equaled The Beatles’ run of consecutive top five singles. The albums Lost in Love, The One That You Love, Now & Forever and The Greatest Hits sold more than 20 million copies. Lost in Love was named Song of the Year in 1980 and with the other singles, sold more than 10 million copies. Lost in Love, All Out of Love, The One That You Love, Sweet Dreams and Making Love Out of Nothing at All have each achieved multi-million plays on the radio.
In 1989, they recorded The Earth Is album, selling over a million copies outside of the United States. This album was followed by The Vanishing Race CD and with the singles Goodbye and It is Never Too Late, again saw multi-platinum success. The following albums, News from Nowhere, Yours Truly and Across the Concrete Sky all gave their second greatest hits album multi-platinum status as they traveled the world each year.
In 2010, the long-awaited album, Mumbo Jumbo– also the duo’s first studio recording in eight years- was released. Mumbo Jumbo was produced by Russell and engineered by Odds On’s Sean O’Dwyer, whose credits include Pink Floyd, Randy Newman and Blink-182. Among the 14-tracks, released by Odds On’s label, was the first single Dance with Me, which earned Air Supply a prominent feature article in Billboard Magazine titled Still Supplying the Hits After 35 Years.
Tickets go on sale this Friday June 12th priced at $100, $70 and $50 will be available by visiting www.RuthEckerdHall.com. Enjoy an exclusive pre-show party in our Dimmitt Lounge including high-end appetizers, dessert, and beverages. Due to limited capacity, advance purchase is suggested. The Raymond James Central Ticket Office at Ruth Eckerd Hall will open one hour prior to show time.