Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock met on May 12, 1975, on the first day of rehearsals for the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Sydney. They became instant friends who shared much in common, including their love of The Beatles whom they’d both seen in 1964 in England and Australia respectively.
After the evening performance of Jesus Christ Superstar they would play in Coffee Bars, Pizza Parlors, and anywhere they could to hone their vocal skills and harmonies. Graham wrote constantly and, with the help of Superstar Pianist Frank Esler Smith, they recorded a few songs on cassette, one of which was “Love and Other Bruises.” After taking these demos to all the major record companies and being rejected by all of them but one — CBS Records — they signed a recording deal.
The album was recorded and mixed in a week and “Love and Other Bruises” was released as the first single and immediately shot to the top of the charts. The name of the group came from a dream Graham had — he saw a billboard with flashing lights all around it and the words “AIR SUPPLY’ in the center.
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