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Still touching a wide range of heartstrings

Air Supply bringing its romantic sounds to Cerritos Center
By Luanne J. Hunt
Correspondent

Sunday, August 29, 2004 - A face-to-face encounter with an intimidating biker dude recently left pop singer Russell Hitchcock all out of breath outside of a Los Angeles tattoo parlor. Hitchcock, who teams with Graham Russell to form the musical duo Air Supply, said he was sure by the icy stare the guy gave him that he was going to punch his lights out when he tried to walk past his Harley.

But to Hitchcock's surprise and relief, the Hell's Angel turned out to be anything but a devil.

"I saw this guy staring at me and thought, 'OK, this is it. I'm gonna die,'" said Hitchcock, who performs with Air Supply on Tuesday at Cerritos Center. "But then he said to me, 'You're that guy from Air Supply, aren't you? I just want to tell you that my wife and I love your music. Can I get an autograph?"

"It really made me feel great that our music has touched everyone from little kids to Hell's Angels," he said.

Air Supply's mellow tunes have been tugging on hearts since the band formed in 1975. Australian-born Hitchcock and U.K. native Russell united after appearing together in a production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in Australia.

They made their first significant mark on the music industry in 1980 with the smash single "Lost in Love." More hits followed, including "All Out of Love," "Here I Am," "Making Love Out of Nothing at All," and "Sweet Dreams."

Although Air Supply's music eventually faded from mainstream radio, Hitchcock and Russell continued to tour and play to packed houses around the world. They also continued writing and recording new material to meet the demands of their large fan base.

"Some misconceptions began (about our status) when we weren't getting played on radio anymore," said Hitchcock, who lives in Los Angeles. "But we're working on our 23rd CD. Just because radio doesn't play us doesn't mean it's going to affect what we're doing. We have nothing to prove as far as successful records go."

After all these years, Hitchcock and Russell still sing about the subject that made them a household name — love. According to Hitchcock, there's nothing like a love song to capture people's hearts and lift their spirits.

And even though the messages of their songs have matured, Hitchcock believes they still have a universal appeal.

"Our music has always been romantically inclined but the days of boy meets girl are gone for us," said Hitchcock. "Graham writes all the songs, and he sees life in a different way now. We're both in our 50s and the music is much more mature."

Like Hitchcock and Graham, musician Alan Parsons also has maintained his success long after radio stopped playing his music. Parsons and his band will share the stage with Air Supply at Cerritos. They will perform new music, along with their hits, "Eye in the Sky," "Time" and "Games People Play."

"When I write, I never think too hard about what's commercial," said Parsons, who was raised in Britain. "I just do what feels right. I don't go all out to make hit singles."

Parsons got his foot in the door of the music business via the Beatles. While working for EMI Records in West London, he was given the opportunity to be an assistant engineer on the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album. This led to a job years later engineering two albums for Paul McCartney and Wings.

"I used to get up every morning and say, 'Wow! I'm going to work with the Beatles today,'" said Parsons. "Here I was this kid living out his dream."

Although Parsons, 55, loved his studio work, he longed to fulfill his dream to be a successful entertainer. In 1976, he formed the Alan Parsons Project, which became known for its revolving lineup of vocalists and session players. Among those who have played with Parsons are ex-Zombies member Colin Blunstone and the Hollies' Allan Clark.

Parsons said his innovative and imaginative music still draws large audiences around the world. He recently released "A Valid Path." The CD is a collection of electronic tunes he recorded with longtime bandmates Ian Bairnson and Stuart Elliott.

"I've gone in a new direction without alienating my fans from the past," said Parsons, who earned a Grammy nomination for his engineering work on Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side of the Moon."

"I don't know what makes it happen, but strangely enough, no matter what I do, the music always winds up sounding like me."

— Luanne J. Hunt is an Ontario freelance writer