Air Supply is making its way to the Emerald Queen Casino for a night of the band’s hit, soft-rocking songs from the era.
With their heavily orchestrated, sweet ballads, the Australian soft rock group became a staple of early ‘80s radio, scoring a string of seven straight top five singles.
Air Supply, for most intents and purposes, has been 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.
Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell have been playing together since 1976. They met while performing in a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The two singers formed a partnership that would later become Air Supply.
Starting out they played pizza parlors, coffee bars and nightclubs with just one guitar and two voices. They quickly gained a reputation for great harmonies and the original songs that Graham Russell was writing constantly. The two made a two-song demo and took it to every record company in Sydney. Everyone turned the two down except for CBS Records, who admired their unique style. They recorded a single in one afternoon and it shot to number one on the
Australian National charts and Air Supply was officially born.
In 1980, “Lost in Love” became the fastest selling single in the world and leaped to the top of the all the charts.
The trademark sound of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s simple yet majestic songs created a unique sound that would forever be known as Air Supply.
However, it was the live show that always held audiences captive around the world. They were the first western group to tour China, Taiwan and countless other countries, that before would not allow pop music into their borders.
Check out Air Supply’s signature sound for yourself at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Emerald Queen Casino. Tickets range from $20 to $50. Call (888) 831-6755 or visit http://www.emeraldqueen.com for ticket information.
