It’s Friday, February 28, 2020, and fans inside Englewood, NJ’s BergenPAC auditorium are excitedly awaiting a sold-out concert by the world-famous Australian pop duo, Air Supply.
Comprised of gifted guitarist/songwriter Graham Russell from England and his bandmate, vocalist extraordinaire Russell Hitchcock from Australia, the two members of Air Supply met in 1975 on their first day of rehearsals as actors in the Sydney version of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Following evening performances of Superstar, Hitchcock and Russell moonlighted as a duo, playing pizza parlors, coffee bars, and night clubs with only a guitar and their own two voices. They quickly gained a reputation for musical quality thanks to Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice, their excellent vocal harmonies, and the original songs Russell created especially for the budding group.
One afternoon, the young men recorded a single, “Love and Other Bruises,” which climbed the Australian music charts and Air Supply was born. According to Russell, he got the name for the band in a dream saying, “I dreamt of a big billboard. The billboard was white and it had all different colored flashing lights on the perimeter of it. And on the billboard, in black, were two words which said: ‘Air Supply.’”
The next year, the group was given the opportunity to open for Rod Stewart in Australia, and also went on tour with him in both the United States and Canada.
After the tour was over, Hitchcock and Russell found themselves back in Australia. Feeling a need to start from square one again, they recorded Life Support, an album featuring “Lost in Love,” which went on to climb the charts in Australia and ultimately found its way to music executive Clive Davis in New York. Davis signed Air Supply to Arista Records and in 1980, “Lost in Love” became the fastest selling hit single in the world, leaping straight up the U.S. charts.
Seven top-five singles later, Air Supply managed to equal The Beatles’ run of consecutive top-five singles. Their albums sold millions of copies as well, and since then, several of the group’s songs have gone on to achieve over a million plays on the radio. In fact, Air Supply guitarist/songwriter Russell was even awarded a special BMI Million-Air Certificate for over three million radio performances of his song, “All Out of Love.”
The lights dim inside the BergenPAC auditorium as musicians on keyboard, drums, bass, and guitar take the stage. Mystical sounds float over the audience while rolling cymbals shimmer.
Audience members cheer when guitarist Graham Russell and vocalist Russell Hitchcock take the stage. Opening with a powerful rendition of their 1981 Top 5 power ballad, “Sweet Dreams,” Hitchcock starts off singing lead — his voice sounding as clear and powerful as ever — while Russell plays guitar left-handed. The pair croons together in harmony on the famous “Close your eyes I want to ride the skies in my sweet dreams/Close your eyes I want to see you tonight in my sweet dreams” chorus before Aaron Mclain wails on an electric guitar solo, the crowd going wild for this orchestral-sounding pop band.
Hitchcock welcomes the crowd saying, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Let’s hear it! Are you ready?”
The audience reacts with enthusiastic cheers as the group begins to perform a dynamic rendition of their Top 5 hit from 1982, “Even the Nights Are Better.” Lights flash out over the crowd as four-part harmonies fill the BergenPAC auditorium and Hitchcock gets the audience clapping along to the song’s well-known rhythm.
Moving on to the group’s 1985 Top 20 hit, “Just As I Am,” heads bop and audience members sing along. Lead guitarist Aaron Mclain’s electric guitar swirls on this power ballad which is accompanied by cascading piano and driving drums.
Dynamics increase as the emotion builds and the arrangement modulates to a climatic ending with cheers, applause, and shouts.
Russell and Hitchcock trade off on vocals on Air Supply’s 1980 Top 5 hit, “Every Woman in the World.” The audience happily joins in singing, “You’re every woman in the world to me/You’re my fantasy, you’re my reality” on this Graham Russell-penned pop smash.
After Hitchcock announces, “Bless you for being here and spending time with us,” the group begins to play its 1981 Top 5 hit, “Here I Am.” The crowd emphatically joins in singing on the “Just when I thought I was over you/And just when I thought I could stand on my own” refrain as Hitchcock’s iconic voice soars throughout the BergenPAC auditorium.
Russell takes over the mic saying, “Good evening, Englewood. Tonight we are yours. In return, you are ours. Are you ready? Let’s go!”
Here, Russell plays the twangy acoustic intro to 1980’s powerful “Chances,” a number which has Aaron Mclain soloing to crashing drums and swirling keyboards while lights flash on the cheering crowd.
Russell switches over to electric guitar for “Goodbye.” Accompanied by a rolling, cascading piano accompaniment, the band joins in on this emotional power ballad which is sung by both “Russells” — Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock.
At the song’s conclusion, Russell Hitchcock holds out his mic and lets the crowd sing the last “Goodbye” before the house responds with cheers and an audience member shouts out, “We love you!”
Hitchcock acknowledges, “This is a recent composition of ours written by Graham Russell. It’s a beautiful love song — a love story — called ‘I Adore You.’” Walking around the stage as they sing and play to the crowd and to each other, the two musicians share the lead on this gorgeous folk-rocker which features an intricate Aaron Mclain guitar solo.
After acknowledging Mclain’s talents, Russell asks the crowd, “Are you enjoying the show?”
The audience responds in the affirmative and he explains, “Poems are songs without music. I love to create verse,” prior to reciting a poem from his book, Turn Left at Greenland, entitled “I Am.”
As Russell chants the poem in his suave British accent — even amidst this excited sold-out Jersey crowd — one can hear a pin drop.
The crowd cheers and Russell takes a moment to note, “There are many songs written about mothers and girlfriends and wives, but very few about the father-son relationship.” Here, he performs a new composition entitled “Son of the Father.” Accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar, Russell performs solo, creating an emotional plea from his heart.
Once the rest of the band joins in, the song builds into a powerful anthem for all sons of fathers. At the conclusion, Russell takes a well-deserved bow to great applause.
Following a short intermission, Russell Hitchcock tells the story of how he and Graham Russell met in Australia during their time performing in Jesus Christ Superstar. Going on to point out that his long-time partner, Graham Russell, “plays a right-handed guitar upside down” — explaining, “that’s how he gets his sound” — he introduces his best friend and musical partner for over four decades, Graham Russell, who says, “Thank you for helping us keep our dream alive.”
Here, the musicians perform their 1980 Top 40 hit, “Two Less Lonely People in the World,” their voices perfectly harmonizing as heads in the audience gently nod to the nostalgic sound.
The audience sings along with Hitchcock as Russell accompanies him on guitar. The sound of a piano fills in the middle before Russell tosses his guitar pick into the enthusiastic crowd.
The house lights come up and the guys make their way out into the audience for their next tune, their monster 1981 #1 smash, “The One That You Love.” As the two men traverse a BergenPAC auditorium aisle, audience members excitedly pour out of their seats, many of them posing for selfies with their musical heroes.
Back on stage again, the guys say, “Are you ready to sing?” and they lead the audience in an a cappella version of the song’s famous chorus, the entire crowd happily joining in on, “Here I am/The one that you love/Askin’ for another day/Understand the one that you love/Loves you in so many ways.”
Following enormous applause, the group moves on to its 1980 #3 hit, “Lost in Love,” the entire BergenPAC house singing along as both Russells smile approvingly prior to joining back in with the impromptu chorus. Cascading piano and flawless four-part back-up vocals — along with a wailing Aaron Mclain guitar solo — distinguish the arrangement before Hitchcock teaches the audience a clapping rhythm which they happily perform.
Exclaiming, “You’ve been awesome tonight! Give yourself a round of applause,” Hitchcock tells the audience to “Be safe” and “Be happy,” prior to noting, “And if you can do something kind for someone tomorrow, do it.”
At this juncture, the crowd stands and cheers at the opening piano chords of the group’s 1983 #2 smash, “Making Love Out of Nothing At All.”
Giving this power ballad all they’ve got, the audience goes wild on this tour de force performance which has Aaron Mclain impressing on a distorted guitar solo; the band’s drummer pounding his tom toms, crashing his cymbals, and playing with sticks overhead; and audience members leaping to their feet singing along on this classic ’80s power ballad.
Following hoots and hollers from the standing crowd, the band members leave the stage but return to perform an encore of Harry Nilsson’s “Without You.” On this dynamic arrangement, Hitchcock sings in his lower register before switching over to his high register and dazzling the audience with his emotional and powerful vocal performance.
The crows roars and Russell asks, “Are we having fun?” before the group surges forward with a rockin’ version of “Shake It,” the audience on its feet dancing as everyone sings, “We’re gonna rock/We’re gonna roll/We’re gonna shake it before we get old!”
In the middle of the song, Russell counts “1–2–3–4” and points to all of the fans in the house who follow his cue to shout “Shake it!” in rhythm.
He responds by shaking to the music — waving his hands in the air and jerking his body — letting the frenzy of the music completely take him over.
After thanking the members of the band — in addition to the group’s sound, lighting, production, and crew personnel — Russell says, “Thank you for sharing this lovely evening,” and fans in the audience respond by shouting out messages like “Thank you!” and “We love you!”
Here, Graham Russell launches into Air Supply’s 1980 #2 hit, “All Out of Love,” singing, “I’m lying alone with my head on the phone/Thinking of you till it hurts.” Soon, the spectacular voice of Russell Hitchcock picks up the song’s famous melody, his words ringing out through the theater, “I’m all out of love/I’m so lost without you/I know you were right believing for so long.”
The audience sings together, experiencing this classic number as a community. They are still on their feet for the riveting conclusion when the music swells, the entire crowd cheers, and the duo says, “Thank you, Englewood,” before the band bows and exits.
As audience members filter out of the auditorium, we chat with several music lovers who share their thoughts on tonight’s performance by Air Supply.
First, we chat with Dara from Lodi, who is here with her son, Timothy.
Says Dara, “I didn’t know what to expect, but Air Supply put on a really great show!” Revealing, “My 14-year-old son is a big fan, so I brought him — he’s an old soul; he only listens to vinyl and cassettes,” Dara recalls, “I knew all of these songs growing up, but I’d never seen the group in person,” before acknowledging, “I was really surprised that they sounded so good in person.”
Son Timothy, agrees noting, “They were really good,” adding, “You just can’t get the same experience listening to a cassette,” before excitedly exclaiming, “And I got a guitar pick, too!”
Next, we chat Richard from Rosco, NY, who is here with his daughters, Dallas and Emily.
Comments Richard, “We traveled 110 miles to see Air Supply tonight. We saw them two years ago in New York State and we loved them so much, we decided to see them again.” Adding, “I play the music at home for my girls,” Richard reveals, “All of the songs are my favorites,” before explaining, “And seeing them here was great — BergenPAC is the perfect venue to see a group like Air Supply.”
Whereas daughter Dallas, 11, tells us, “I’m Air Supply’s biggest fan — I like to sing along to all the songs,” sister Emily, 13, notes, “I like that there’s always a good story behind each song, and I like to sing along with them, too.”
Brian from Totowa comments, “We saw Air Supply here last year and sat in the very same seats — both times, they sounded really great.” Acknowledging, “Their music brings you back to when you were younger,” Brian adds, “I noticed there were a bunch of kids in the audience tonight who were singing along and knew all the words.”
Laura from Suffern NY remarks, “Air Supply was great tonight — I first saw them back in 1982, and they sound exactly the same!” while Nicole from Clifton calls tonight’s Air Supply concert, “Fabulous, phenomenal, and amazing.” Kim from Fort Lee agrees adding, “I loved it! They brought back so many memories for me from back in the day.”
Ann from Cliffside Park recalls, “I’ve been a fan since 1985. I’ve seen them many times. I like the old songs and they played so many of them tonight,” whereas Randi from Washingtonville concludes, “They’re still awesome.”
Lastly, we chat with Lara from North Jersey who exclaims, “Air Supply was wonderful!” declaring, “There was so much love on that stage — I wonder how they can even handle all that love,” before concluding with a smile, “It was such a beautiful night — I’m just ecstatic!”
To learn more about Air Supply, please go to airsupplymusic.com. For further information on upcoming shows at BergenPAC — including Jon Secada on March 20, Daughtry on March 24, Melissa Etheridge on April 5, Art Garfunkel on April 25, and Ann Wilson of Heart on April 30 — please go to bergenpac.org.
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