Air Supply

Formed as an Australian soft rock ensemble, Air Supply rose to prominence through lushly arranged, melodic ballads that dominated early-1980s airwaves and delivered seven consecutive Top Five singles. Essentially the partnership of vocalists Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, the act treated additional musicians strictly as support, contributing little beyond the duo’s core sound. The pair first crossed paths in 1976 during a Sydney production of Jesus Christ Superstar. They soon joined forces, recruiting keyboardist Frank Esler-Smith, guitarist David Moyse, bassist David Green, and drummer Ralph Cooper to complete the initial lineup.

For years the group remained largely unknown beyond Australia, where one track, “Love and Other Bruises,” achieved modest success. Their profile expanded internationally in the late 1970s after serving as opening act for Rod Stewart on a North American tour. Arista offered a recording contract in 1980, and the resulting debut album, Lost in Love, reached multi-platinum status in the United States, moving more than two million copies while yielding the hits “Lost in Love,” “All Out of Love,” and “Every Woman in the World.”

The follow-up, 1981’s The One That You Love, delivered the act’s sole number-one single with its title track and added two further Top Ten entries, “Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)” and “Sweet Dreams.” Popularity eased slightly with 1982’s Now and Forever, which produced only one Top Ten placement—“Even the Nights Are Better”—while “Young Love” and “Two Less Lonely People in the World” merely grazed the lower reaches of the Top 40. A 1983 Greatest Hits package introduced the new single “Making Love Out of Nothing at All,” which held the number-two spot for two weeks; the compilation itself climbed to number seven and ultimately surpassed four million in sales.

Their self-titled fourth album arrived in 1985 and featured the number-19 single “Just As I Am,” yet it became the first release not to attain platinum certification, signaling a shrinking audience. Hearts in Motion followed in 1986, peaking at number 84 and remaining on the charts for just nine weeks. After that commercial disappointment the group disbanded. Hitchcock and Russell reconvened in 1991 for Earth Is…, which failed to chart, as did Vanishing Race in 1993 and News From Nowhere in 1995. Entering the new millennium, the band issued its first studio album in four years and supported Yours Truly with a summer tour.