Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s. They formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975 and have included various accompanying musicians and singers. The two met in May 1975 while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. ...show more

Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s. They formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975 and have included various accompanying musicians and singers. The two met in May 1975 while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.

Later that year, the duo, along with Chrissie Hammond and two others, formed Air Supply as a five-man group. Hammond left the band and was replaced by Jeremy Paul in time for the group's first Australian hit single, "Love and Other Bruises." It was followed by a debut album that reached gold in Australia, which featured keyboardist/arranger Adrian Scott, drummer Jeff Browne, and guitarist Mark McEntee. Singles during this period included "Empty Pages" and "Do What You Do". The group was invited to open for Rod Stewart during his tour of Australia; he was so impressed with their performance that he invited them to be the opening act during his tour of the United States.

During this tour, Jeremy Paul left the band. (He later played with the original lineup of the Divinyls, led by Chrissie Amphlett and Mark McEntee.) Eager to prove that they could succeed as a duo, Air Supply released the album Love & Other Bruises, which included re-recordings of many of their earlier hits. Although their music met with some success, Graham Russell on the 1995 DVD recalls that he and Hitchcock were so poor that they were reduced to checking the backs of hotel sofas for change so that they could buy bread to make toast. Hitchcock and Russell started out fresh again in 1978, and the band that was to record almost all of the hit records was formed. ...show less