’80s soft rock hit-makers Air Supply play the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Nov. 20
From a press release:
The trademark sound of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s simple yet majestic songs create a unique sound that is forever known as Air Supply. The soft rock group, known for its sweet ballads, will perform at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Friday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $35-$55, go on sale this Friday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at sandseventcenter.com, the Event Center box office, ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 800-745-3000.
Air Supply became a staple of early ’80s radio, scoring a string of seven straight Top 5 singles – “Lost in Love,” “All Out of Love,” “Every Woman in the World,” “The One That You Love,” “Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You),” “Sweet Dreams,” and “Even the Nights Are Better.”
Russell and Hitchcock met on May 12, 1975, the first day of rehearsals for “Jesus Christ Superstar” in Sydney, Australia; they became instant friends with their common love for The Beatles and, of course, singing.
After the shows’ performances at 10:30, they would play pizza parlors, coffee bars, and nightclubs with just one guitar and two voices. They quickly gained a reputation for great harmonies and 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 their unique style.
They made a single in one afternoon and it shot to No. 1 on the national charts. Air Supply was born! That same year, they opened for Rod Stewart across Australia and then throughout the U.S. and Canada, playing all of the famous huge venues before Stewart would take the stage. They found new fans, but did not break the U.S. market.
Back in Australia, they had to start again and 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 of the charts. Now Air Supply was on their way. The second single was “All Out of Love,” and that went up the charts even quicker.
Seven Top 5 singles later, Air Supply at that time had equaled The Beatles’ run of consecutive Top 5 singles. The albums “Lost in Love,” “The One That You Love,” “Now & Forever,” and “The Greatest Hits” sold in excess of 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.
However, it is the live shows that always hold audiences captive around the world. They were the first Western group to tour China, Taiwan, and countless other countries that would not allow pop music across their borders.
And they haven’t stopped. The duo continues to play more than 150 shows a year around the globe, including stops in England, Ireland, Israel, Philippines, Korea, Japan, Canada, the U.S., and beyond. While the band has never stopped recording, releasing their 17th studio album, “Mumbo Jumbo,” in 2010, it is the timeless hits that fans want to hear, and the duo does not disappoint.
