Air Supply
"All Out Of Love"

Entered Top 20: 25 October 1980
Chart peak: 11

Air Supply were a visually striking duo originally based in Australia before becoming a top US chart act in the early 1980s. Graham Russell, (b. 1 June 1950, Nottingham, UK) and Russell Hitchcock (b. 15 June 1949, Melbourne, Australia) met while in a touring stage production of "Jesus Christ Superstar", in which 6'5" Russell played Peter and 5'7" Hitchcock alternated between the roles of Jesus and Judas. Taking their name from the fact that both were Gemini, an air sign, they began recording in 1976, their early material being entirely penned by Graham Russell, though they would later use outside writers as well. On record the duo were augmented by Frank Esler-Smith (keyboards), David Green (bass), David Moyse (guitar) and Ralph Cooper (drums).

Air Supply enjoyed a string of hits down under, including their biggest "Love And Other Bruises" before moving to the UK in an attempt to break the British market. Progress was slow in the UK, but in May 1980 Air Supply enjoyed their first US hit, "Lost In Love" going to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the whole, critical reception was poor, many people reckoning the balladeering duo were merely copying labelmate Barry Manilow, but their songs found their niche in the market and Air Supply quickly settled into a run of top ten hits. In the UK, the pair weren't so lucky, with only "All Out Of Love" (a US number 2) making an impact. The follow-up "Every Woman In The World" - taken, like its predecessor, from the LP "Lost In Love" - couldn't even enter the top 75 on the coat-tails of the hit and Air Supply would never be seen in the UK charts again.

For the group themselves, this hardly mattered. Their dream of cracking the UK market may have fallen by the wayside, but stateside their career blossomed, peaking with the 1981 number one hit "The One That I Love". In 1985, when "The Power Of Love" by Jennifer Rush became the UK's first million-selling single by a female soloist, it was Air Supply's cover that proved the bigger hit in the USA.

Air Supply's run of hits couldn't go on forever, and facing dwindling returns they split in 1988, only to reform in 1991, their live show becoming a huge draw across the United States. They had no more hits, but the former stars of "Jesus Christ Superstar" were always most at home on stage anyway.