Nearly 30 years after Air Supply (www.airsupplymusic.com) first charmed the world with their ultra-romantic hit parade (“All Out Of Love,” “Lost In Love,” “The One That You Love,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” etc), the continuously globetrotting duo of Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock are happy to discover an exciting truth: there are still new spots on the map to conquer and a never ending flow of new fans to inspire with their live performances.
Beyond their always exhilarating shows, their latest jaunt overseas (from early June through mid-July) had its share of transcendent, once in a lifetime moments. They had dinner with former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos; performed for the King and Queen of Malaysia; and had drinks with the U.S. ambassador to Singapore and her husband.
Air Supply also got to play a concert in the venue (Areneta Coliseum) where “The Thrilla In Manila”—the legendary 1975 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier—took place. Later, after their first ever performance in Tel Aviv, they enjoyed the sacred dual experience of visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and appearing on Israel’s version of “Dancing With The Stars”!
Air Supply’s tour first brought them back to Asia for the first time in several years, where they played six cities in the Philippines, including a few they had never hit before: Cebu, Davao and Ilo Ilo. Right after they left, there was a major hurricane that left one of the venues they had just performed at underwater.
“We’re always dodging hurricanes,” says Hitchcock, referring to their July 2005 concert for 175,000 in Havana just before Hurricane Dennis swept ashore; at the time, Graham Russell offered evacuees an impromptu acoustic show in the ballroom of Hotel De Nacional.
From the Philippines, it was on to rock and romance their fans in Singapore, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan and Bangkok before heading for the first time to Israel, where Russell and Hitchcock were mobbed by fans and press almost every moment they were not performing.
“Everyone was asking why we had never come to Israel before,” Hitchcock says, “and the reason is very simple: we had never been invited! We got to play two shows in Tel Aviv, the first of which was at the Shunni Fortress, an ancient Roman amphitheatre discovered in 1986. Both shows were sold out and we had a blast. We were also able to visit Jerusalem, where we visited many Christian holy sites and later, the Wailing Wall. I’m not a very religious person, but I put in a prayer anyway! It was a wild experience.”
After touring those sacred spots, the duo had the unique opportunity to perform “All Out Of Love” on a segment of “Dancing With The Stars,” which features contestants who are Israeli TV and sports stars.
Next up, Air Supply will be finishing their summer with a large handful of U.S. dates (everywhere from Biloxi, Mississippi to Oklahoma and New York) and will hit Brazil again in the fall.
“It’s always exciting for us to play for new audiences and have these extra-musical adventures that most people never have the chance to experience,” adds Hitchcock. “After all these years, we love when the fans are having fun at our shows and are touched by our music. That’s the whole reason we’re out there.”
