Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Graham Russell of the legendary band Air Supply.
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.
The production of Jesus Christ Superstar ended in October 1976 and after only a couple of months, they were invited to open for Rod Stewart in Australia and consequently Rod’s North American tour in 1977. Fifty shows in Canada and the United States in all the biggest venues, including Madison Square Garden in New York and The “Fabulous” Forum in Los Angeles.
Presuming they would be the conquering heroes when they returned home, they were bitterly disappointed to find they had basically been forgotten. After several months of disappointment, Graham wrote several songs, including “Lost in Love” and “All Out of Love.”
“Lost in Love” was released in Australia in 1978 and again soared to the top of the charts. It found its way to Clive Davis, founder, and president of Arista Records, who immediately offered Air Supply a record deal. The song was released in 1980 and became the fastest-selling in the world, topping the charts in a multitude of countries. “All Out of Love” was the second single released and topped the worldwide charts once again.
Seven consecutive Top-Five singles at that time equaled The Beatles’ run. The albums Lost in Love, The One That You Love, Now and Forever, and The Greatest Hits sold in excess of 20 million copies. “Lost in Love” was named song of the year in 1980 and along with the other singles, sold more than 10 million copies.
The trademark sound of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s simple but majestic compositions created a unique sound that would be forever known as Air Supply.
On May 12th, 2020, the band celebrated 45 years… the rest is music history, dnd to the delight of their fans both new and old, the journey continues…
Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court” and hosted “Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone,” a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.
After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995. He has presided in family and criminal courts. He has been a trailblazer in several ways. He was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.
Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married. In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby. Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands – and then eventually, millions – of viewers. Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years. Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” as a regular member of the public – albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.
Watch Graham Russell from Air Supply on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here:
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