Author: James

Via Nottinghampost

Next week Graham Russell will be performing in front of an 18,000-strong crowd at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. But for now he’s in Arnold, where he grew up, and to say he’s an international rock star and probably the most successful Nottinghamshire musician ever no one knows who he is.

Graham, a singer songwriter and guitarist, is one half of the group Air Supply, whose epic ballads All Out of Love and Making Love Out of Nothing At All soared up the charts in 1980s. Together with Aussie rocker Russell Hitchcock, he has enjoyed decades of success around the world, selling more than 60 million albums and performing nearly 5,400 gigs.

Air Supply ranks 36th on the Billboard Hot 100 list of all-time top duos and groups, ahead of superstars everyone knows, such as Queen, Aerosmith, U2, Blondie and Gun ‘n’ Roses.

Graham, 73, says: “In 1980 we released Lost in Love which became the fastest selling single of the year, then All Out of Love, which did the same. We were recently voted by Billboard as the 36th most successful band of all time. However, no one in the Midlands has really heard of us, it’s quite hilarious.”

The duo are still going strong in 2023 with nearly 50 upcoming concerts across the US, Canada, Philippines and Chile in the months ahead and into 2024. Graham, who lives in Utah, in the United States, has paid a flying visit to UK to visit his childhood home in Arnold for the first time in more than 60 years – the place where he first started writing.

Joined by his girlfriend Lori, we meet up at Costa Coffee in Arnold’s Front Street where he talks about growing in the modest semi, his stellar music career and the fact that he can come to the UK under the radar.

He says: “I’m very proud of coming from here. I’ve been back over the years but I’ve never been back to the house. I think I wanted some closure. It was very emotional. I was drifting back and seeing images of myself and my sisters playing in the backyard. We never had a car or a phone. We always went to Skegness for our vacation.”

It was a turbulent time after his mother died from cancer when he was just ten years old but the way he dealt with the anguish led to his eventual song writing career.

“I’ve always thought that sent me down that path. I didn’t know she was dying. When I woke up that morning my dad said ‘your mother’s gone’ – I didn’t know what that meant. I asked if she was coming back. I didn’t speak to anybody for three months. I went totally inward. The only thing that brought me out was writing things.

“I had a big paper pad on a string around my neck and would write things down. I would start to make it rhyme for fun. Then I borrowed a guitar from a friend of mine and started to play. I poured everything into that. I started to write songs without knowing.

“I’ve never been taught music by anybody. I just taught myself. Writing a song was my escape for everything. I just loved it so much. I’d write three or four songs a week.”

One of the most impactful events was as 14-year-old, seeing the Beatles at Nottingham’s Odeon Cinema at the height of Beatlemania in 1964. Graham says: “It just changed my life. I had already been writing songs and when I saw them, it was ‘oh my god’ everything fell into place for me and I became even more driven – I had a goal.”

He joined a band called the Nottingham Odd Fellows who performed covers in local pubs. Leaving Nottingham in 1968, he headed to Australia as a hopeful songwriter. In 1975, he was cast in Jesus Christ Superstar, along with Russell Hitchcock, who coincidentally had experienced the same frenzy at one of the Fab Four’s concerts at Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia.

The two struck up an instant friendship and bonded over their mutual admiration of the Beatles. They went on to form Air Supply, opening for Rod Stewart on tour in America, selling-out concerts and performing more than 130 gigs every year around the world.

Now nearly 50 years later Air Supply they will be dedicating their Hollywood Bowl concert on September 3 to the Beatles, who performed there in 1964.

Graham says: “We are almost at 5,400 shows in our career and I don’t think a lot of bands have done that but that’s what we love to do. We are very fortunate because our fans are hardcore. Fortunately we sell out every show we do. We’ve made 25 albums so we’ve kind of done really well, we are doing ok.”

He looks every inch the rock star with blond hair, a healthy tan and an English Ghetto Rockers’ military jacket yet no one stops and stares or asks for a selfie. A group of young mums having a coffee at the next table weren’t born when he first hit the big time.

Graham puts it down to the fact that Air Supply have never played in Nottingham, or indeed toured the UK. He says: “This is the really weird thing because in our early career when we first broke in the US we concentrated so much on the US and then Japan and Asia and Latin America.

“We had some big hits here but we never came here to tour and I think that was a mistake. My ultimate goal would be to play at the Concert Hall in Nottingham. I would love to play here to show people what I’ve done.”

Fans span all ages, with the older generation bringing their children and their grandchildren to concerts. Graham says: “We have a lot of fans, I think its 22 million. Our fans are legion. Some of them have seen almost 1,000 shows.

“We do Q&A before and we say why do you keep coming to the shows? You know what we are going to do, you know all the songs a million times and they say ‘it’s not just about the songs, it’s the experience of being there. They say when you sing, when you play, you really mean it, it’s for real..

“And it is, we don’t just get up and go through the motions. We are very aware that what happened to us could have happened to thousands of bands and it really shouldn’t have happened to us. We didn’t have any experience but we were thrown to the lions very early and we’ve had so much luck on our side it’s uncanny.

“We formed the band in 1976 and that same month we played a New Year’s Eve show in Sydney on the Opera House steps for 90,000 people. There were other artists on the bill. A few weeks after that Rod Stewart was touring Australia and we had the number one single and album so we got the job of opening for him.

“After the first show in Adelaide, Rod came to our dressing room and said ‘I want you to open for me in North America next year.’ We were freaking out because he was standing there and we’d never seen a big star before.”

During his stay in Nottingham Graham has met up with one of his former secondary school teachers at Carlton le Willows (after a brief stint at Robert Mellors) and enjoyed a cruise down the River Trent with the “Zoomers” – a bunch of old school pals who meet up every Sunday online. After our interview, they’re off for a curry.

It turns out Graham has a fascinating family tree. On his mother’s side of the family, he recently discovered one of his ancestors was William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army.

And on the Russell side, he’s a lord. He explains: “My great great great grandfather was the right hand man for a lord. He had no children and he passed the title on. I was looking around at genealogy once and someone got hold of me and told me I was related to that Lord Russell from the 1770s. We went back and looked at it and I was.

“I did some research and I could claim it, so I did. It took a couple of years but I claimed it just because I thought it would be fun.”

Interview over, we’re about to part ways when a man comes over and asks if it’s Graham. It’s an old school friend, Bill Goodwin, who lives in Arnold. “You’re the third person to recognise me since I’ve been in England this time,” says Graham before the two start on a trip down memory lane.

Via ABS-CBN News

MANILA – The popular pop duo Air Supply will be coming back to the Philippines for a three-night show in December.

Composed of Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, the duo will bring their “Air Supply: The Lost In Love Experience” show at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City on December 11, 12 and 13.

Are you ‘Making Love out of Nothing at all’ because you are ‘All out of Love’? Celeb Savant spoke with Lord Graham Russell from Air Supply. Graham shares how the name Air Supply came to him in a dream, why the band keeps performing after decades in the industry, and some news on new music.

Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, the romantic rockers known internationally as Air Supply are dedicating their Hollywood Bowl concert on September 3rd, to the Beatles.

Coincidentally Graham and Russell were both inspired to perform music by witnessing the Beatles live in concert in 1964 during the height of Beatlemania.

As young teenagers, Graham witnessed the Fab Four in his hometown of Nottingham, England at the Odeon Cinema, and Russell experienced the frenzy at one of the concerts at Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia.

Their individual Beatle experiences helped lead them to the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in Australia, where the two music biz newbies bonded due in great part over their mutual experiences and admiration of The Beatles. They went on to form Air Supply and immediately gained success themselves with hit songs, opening for Rod Stewart on tour, sold-out concerts, and a thriving 48-year career (so far). They perform over 130 concerts per year around the world and are more popular than ever on tour.

Graham Russell explains, “I started writing poems as a child and then when I witnessed the Beatles on stage, because I had become such a fan, I said, ‘Ok, I get it… this is what I want to do’ and started putting my words to music and created my own songs, something I have done every day since.”

Russell Hitchcock adds, “People told me I had a nice voice, but I never thought I would make a living from it until I met Graham. We realized we clicked in every way. He writes, arranges, and performs the songs, and I sing the songs. We are huge Beatles fans to this day and try to catch Sir Paul and Ringo’s All Stars every chance we get.”

Hitchcock continues, “We were both fortunate to see the Beatles in 1964 and know they performed at The Hollywood Bowl for their first time in ’64. It took us 48 Years and over 5300 shows to get there and it’s about time. No doubt, we will think about John, Paul, George, and Ringo that night. So, it will be our own personal dedication to the amazingly talented guys who inspired Air Supply the most. We are sharing the bill with Michael Bolton. We have shared shows with Michael before, so I know it will be wonderful.”

A complete schedule of Air Supply tour dates available at AirSupplyMusic.com

The Hollywood Bowl is one of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922 and plays host to the finest artists from all genres of music, offering something for everyone. It remains one of the best deals anywhere in Los Angeles; to this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many classical and jazz performances. In February 2023 the venue was named the Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year at the 34th Annual Pollstar Awards, an honor bestowed 15 previous times. The Hollywood Bowl

was also named Amphitheater of the Decade at the 32nd Annual Pollstar Awards as well as Top Amphitheater at the 2017 and 2018 Billboard Touring Awards. For millions of music lovers across Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl is synonymous with summer. hollywoodbowl.com

To purchase tickets: https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/2350/2023-09-03/air-supply-michael-bolton

via musicrecallmagazine.com

Review by Joseph Hett

Air Supply Is Awesome In Evans

Air Supply brought The Lost in Love Experience Tour to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center in Evans, GA on Saturday night. Airheads made their way into the PAC to escape the heat outside as the temperature was approaching 100 degrees.

Right on time, Aaron McLain (lead guitar/musical director), Mirko Tessandori (keyboards), Pavel Valdman (drums) and Doug Gild (bass) made their way out onstage to crank out a loud intro for the gentlemen of the hour. Graham Russell (guitar/vocals) and Russell Hitchcock (lead vocals) then made their way out for “Sweet Dreams.”

The capacity crowd became electric when the first notes were heard for “Even the Nights Are Better.” The Airheads immediately began singing along – and that would become a common theme throughout the evening. Air Supply kept the classics coming with “Just as I Am,” “Every Woman in the World” and “Here I Am.”

Russell stated that “Tonight is our 5,327th show of our career, but tonight will be the best show ever. We are yours…in return you are ours,” before they slowed it down with “Chances,” “Goodbye” and “I Can Wait Forever.”

At this point in the show, Hitchcock and the rest of the band exited the stage for a well deserved break except for Russell. After asking the audience who all hasn’t seen Air Supply in concert before, Russell quipped why it took them 48 years to do so. “We just got back from doing five shows in Honolulu and we thought it was HOT until we came here,” Russell jokingly said. Russell noted that Hitchcock was backstage having tea so he could come back and sing even higher than before.

Russell then went on to recite a short poem titled “Am I” from his book “Turn Left at Greenland.” Tessandori then came out to play keyboards on “I’ll Find You.”

Hitchcock came back wearing a black sleeveless shirt exposing his tattoo-filled arms. Ironically, his shirt said “TATTOOS ARE STUPID.” Russell and Hitchcock both sat on stools on the center of the stage and told a few stories. They spoke about first meeting each other, similarities, early music making and opening for Rod Stewart in 1977. They then encouraged the crowd to singalong with “Two Less Lonely People in the World.”

Russell performed a unique solo on his acoustic guitar. He plucked and tapped on the strings all while banging it’s body for a percussion effect. For “The One That You Love,” Hitchcock instructed the audience to sing the chorus.

After the timeless “Lost in Love,” Valdman performed a drum solo and McLain performed a monstrous guitar solo. McLain was shredding so fast, the fog machine to his right made it look like his guitar was smoking. Throughout the evening, McLain made soloing look effortlessly.

Air Supply closed out the set with the epic “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.” After a brief break, they returned for “Without You” followed by crew and band introductions. They even gave a shout-out to military veterans in the building. To close out the show, they ended with the one and only “All Out of Love.”

Air Supply put on a marvelous show. The musicianship of all members of the band was phenomenal. It’s amazing how Hitchcock hit the high notes perfectly. While Air Supply might be typecast as a band playing sappy love songs, they truly put on a rocking show in concert. Air Supply is still at the top of their game!

For more information including tour dates, please visit: airsupplymusic.com

Via Medium.com

In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, and even today continues to be an inspiration for artists and thinkers alike. So how appropriate was it to see the luminous planet gently rising over the Mountain Winery amphitheater on a cool summer evening that was to feature two artists who, for nearly 50 years have celebrated and commemorated love, both lost and found?

Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, better known as the group Air Supply, first met during a 1975 production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Australia. Russell, originally from England, and Hitchcock, an Australian native, decided to forge a musical partnership which, as you are probably aware, has resulted in a boatload of easy-on-the-ear hits including “Lost in Love,” “All Out Of Love,” “Every Woman in the World” and many others. Their roles were defined early; Russell, the towering left-handed guitarist would do most of the writing and sing occasionally, while Hitchcock, blessed with an angelic, soaring tenor voice, would carry the bulk of the lead vocals. Thus was born one of rock music’s most potent and prolific duos, comfortably resting in the same pantheon with Simon and Garfunkel, The Carpenters, Daryl Hall and John Oates, and Tears for Fears, among others.

Nestled into the winding hills of the Santa Clara Valley, Saratoga’s beautiful Mountain Winery boasts a magical air. The “vineyard in the sky” as it has been called came to be in 1905 as La Cresta, where esteemed vintner Paul Masson turned out his acclaimed sparkling wines. The 2500-seat amphitheater was constructed in 1958, its stage placed against the dramatic backdrop of a 12th-century Spanish Portal (which Masson acquired from the rubble of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in San Jose after the 1906 earthquake). Over the years, the famed summer concert series has hosted many major musical acts, and Air Supply seemed happy to be back.

As the opening strains of 1981’s top five hit, “Sweet Dreams” began to swirl, it was immediately obvious that, like fine wine, Air Supply has not just aged well but has also ascended and matured to a new level of performance that is both impressive and age-defying.

Bathed in shafts of violet light, (backed by a wonderfully diverse band consisting of Aaron McLain on guitar, Mirko Tessandori on keyboards, Pavel Valdman on drums, and Doug Gild on bass) it was immediately established that this was not just simply a concert, but rather also a loosely (and skillfully) crafted three-act theatrical performance designed, as all good musicals are, to include a series of dramatic arcs; those emotional peaks and valleys that allow the audience to viscerally experience the music rather than just passively sit there and listen.

The first “act” as it were, of course, featured many hits including “Even the Nights Are Better,” “Every Woman in the World” and “Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You”). Act two showcased Russell reciting a piece of his own beautiful poetry as part of a short solo set, (which served to give Hitchcock a bit of a vocal break) which then sets up act three, an unleashing of the biggest anthems including “The One That You Love,” “Lost in love,” “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” and “All out of Love” (not to mention a splendid version of Harry Nilsson’s “Without You” which Hitchcock sang into the stratosphere).

Throughout the entire show, both Russell and Hitchcock, in addition to sharing intimate, reflective, and humorous anecdotes about their history, traverse the stage almost nonstop, crisscrossing countless times while also sharing a pair of center-stage stools for a quieter part of the set. The band is given full rein to rock, shred and deliver their own little consummate solos. Yes, the show is comprised of many love ballads, but the overall tone is very much rock’n roll.

Russell, ever the charming (and tireless) unofficial emcee is a wandering minstrel with his guitar (at one point playing some strikingly innovative percussive runs on a 12-string acoustic.) Hitchcock, the charismatic crooner, interprets rather than simply recites the hits that made the group famous, thus adding a layer of dimension rarely demonstrated by bands performing songs they have played thousands of times. Much the way the most classic crooners from Sinatra to Bennett would alter phrasings, timings, and other nuances, Hitchcock brought all new depth to Air Supply’s classic repertoire by singing in the moment, finding new touches within the ever-present lush harmonies and sweeping melodies.

A little Broadway, a little tin pan alley, a bit of British Music Hall, the highly theatrical show teases, and seduces the audience, who are a broad, diverse mix of both age and ethnicity. Twentysomethings sway in time to music that’s fairly new to them, alongside those who grew up with Air Supply. When Russell asks the crowd each night who’s seen the band before, he playfully admonishes the first-timers. “What took you so long?”

These are choruses, melodies, and lyrics that are indelibly etched into our hearts and minds; a cultural fabric that’s familiar but also meaningful. The songs still sound new and fresh because of the timeless theme; love. Their simplicity, elegance, and earnestness resonate powerfully today perhaps because they fly in the face of what has become a coarse, detached, and unforgiving society.

Maybe there’s never been a better time for unabashed sentimentality.

Similarly successful bands in the day, from Styx to Foreigner to Journey, all had one or perhaps two ballads that became hits. But for Air Supply it was their stock in trade. Graham Russell’s ability to craft timeless odes to love even as tastes and genres shape-shifted over the decades is unchallengeable. As a band, Air Supply has never abandoned what made them successful in the first place. They emerge today after almost 50 years in the business with a highly polished patina of professionalism rarely seen in many legacy acts today.

All the more reason to catch this show.

Smartphone flashlights have replaced cigarette lighters when it comes to acknowledging the encores, all arms in the crowd gently swaying to melodies so familiar that they become inseparable from the fabric of one’s life. The power of the music is obvious, but it’s the power of this performance that elevates even the most recognizable melodies to new heights.

Rare is the concert that inspires you to not just revel in the songs but also reflect on your own life; the ups and downs, the in-betweens and the music that always made it all better. At this stage of the game, Air Supply is delivering one of the most emotionally satisfying and entertaining shows I’ve seen in years. Just be prepared. The music sneaks up on you. It taps you on the shoulder. It whispers in your ear. It makes you think about life and, of course, how love has affected your life.

By the end of the show, Venus had ducked behind the mountains, replaced by another iconic symbol of love, a crescent moon that was balanced perfectly over Air Supply. On this night it seemed, even the universe understood.

Written by Chris Epting

Via Laughingmonkeymusic

Such a great interview with a man who has gone about being a rock-star in a healthy way. You won’t find him in the tabloids or out at the bars late night. These days he spends his time at home in Utah, when not on tour tending to his greenhouse, which he grows vegetables and flowers.  He doesn’t live like a rock-star and that is how he has managed to keep rocking for 47 plus years and making over 130 concert appearances per year.

Join Air Supply on the 2023 Lost In Love Experience. Tickets and VIP Packages are ON SALE NOW! Find a show near you in the map below.