08.16.18

PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS
‘A MAGIC CONNECTION’
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
a two-way street and that’s a big part of our show and
why people keep coming back.”
Russell started writing songs when he was 11, and
even at his start “the songs were always romantic,
which is just a reflection of who I am.” He had been
an obsessed Beatles fan since he was a young child,
and to this day believes they were the greatest songwriters
of all time.
“Russell [Hitchcock] loved the songs, and we
didn’t pick that genre by design because it just happened,
fortunately for us,” says Russell. “Nobody else
was doing that, so we were the pioneers of big love
songs. In the early years people talked down on us,
but it was like McCartney being mocked and then
writing ‘Silly Love Songs’ and even that went to No.
1. My number one bucket list is to meet him before
either one of us passes away.”
The dynamic duo quickly became stars in their
homeland, as their debut single shot to the top of
the Australian charts and led to their touring as Rod
Stewart’s opening act across the US and beyond. Yet
they received no American airplay until their single
“Lost In Love” from their second album hit the Top 10
in Australia and caught the ear of legendary American
record executive Clive Davis.
With his powerful support behind them, Air Supply
managed to score three Top 10 hits off their first
US release, with “Lost in Love” and “All Out of Love,”
both attaining particularly massive success. Soon
they matched the Beatles’ record of nine consecutive
top-five singles, with “Lost in Love” winning the Song
of the Year Grammy and selling 10 million copies as
the band sold 20 million albums.
While Air Supply hasn’t released a new studio album
since 2010, Russell notes that he still writes new
songs daily for other artists and movie soundtracks.
He sets a standard of performing at least three new
songs in every tour, and the band will release a live
concert CD recorded with the Prague Symphony
Orchestra this fall.
“Lyrics and music both come at the same time for
me,” says Russell. “When I get in that space and know
it’s coming, I like to be quiet and near an instrument
like a piano or guitar. I usually hear the title and part
of the chorus, so I have a good handle on where it’s
going, then fill out the blanks. Songwriting for me
is very simple and easy, because I’ve been doing it
a long time. I love it so much with a passion and the
things that people love to do come easy.”
Russell is also in the process of writing his third
stage musical, having already created two using
the songs of Air Supply, including one that makes
its worldwide debut in Manila this fall. The latest is
called “A Wall Apart,” featuring original songs detailing
the story of couples struggling to keep their love
alive while divided by the Berlin Wall from its beginnings
in 1961 to its collapse in 1989.
“We’ve never had even the slightest disagreement
in 44 years because we’re great friends, respect each
other, live thousands of miles apart and don’t see
each other outside tours so we don’t have time to get
on each other’s nerves,” says Russell. “We don’t want
each other’s jobs, so it works beautifully. We started
Air Supply at 25, so we weren’t kids and egomaniacs,
we had great lives and this was just another avenue.
We’re stable, not people who like to party over the
time. But this show is everything you think it’s not.
It’s big and it’s loud and we don’t mess around.” n
Air Supply performs at 9 p.m. Friday at The Rose, 645 E. Green
St., Pasadena. Tickets are $68 to $98. Call (888) 645-5006 or
visit wheremusicmeetsthesoul.com.
22 PASADENA WEEKLY | 08.16.18