Air Supply (1976 album)
Air Supply is the debut album by Australian soft rock band Air Supply which was released on CBS Records in December 1976.[1] The album peaked at No. 17 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[2] It includes the single, "Love and Other Bruises" released ahead of the album in October which reached No. 6 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[2] The second single, "Empty Pages", issued in February 1977 did not reach the Top 40.[2] The album reached gold status in Australia. It wasn't until the album Lost In Love that the band broke through international charts. In Japan, the album was reissued as Strangers in Love to avoid confusion with the band's 1985 self-titled album.
Air Supply | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1976 | |||
Recorded | October 1976, Albert Studios, Sydney | |||
Genre | Soft rock, disco | |||
Label | CBS Records | |||
Producer | Peter Dawkins | |||
Air Supply chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternate cover | ||||
Japanese reissue | ||||
Singles from Air Supply | ||||
|
Background
Chrissie Hammond, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell met in May 1975 while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.[3][4] With Hammond and Hitchcock on vocals and Russell on guitar, they formed Air Supply as a harmony vocal group in Melbourne.[5] Hammond left to form Cheetah and was replaced by Jeremy Paul (ex-Soffrok) on bass guitar and vocals in 1976.[3] The group's first single, "Love and Other Bruises", peaked at No. 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in October.[2] It was followed by Air Supply, their debut album, in December, which reached No. 17 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and achieved gold in Australia.[2][3] The album was produced by Peter Dawkins (Spectrum, Ross Ryan) with Air Supply line-up as Hitchcock, Paul, Russell and drummer Jeff Browne, guitarist Mark McEntee and keyboardist, arranger Adrian Scott.[3][4] The second single was "Empty Pages" peaked at No. 43.[2] A national tour followed with Hitchcock, Paul, Russell and Scott joined by Nigel Macara (ex-Tamam Shud, Ariel) on drums and Brenton White (Skintight) on guitar.[3][4] Brenton White rehearsed but did not perform with Air Supply.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Graham Russell[6].
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Feel the Breeze" | 3:55 |
2. | "I Don't Believe You" | 4:02 |
3. | "Empty Pages" | 4:20 |
4. | "What a Life" | 4:36 |
5. | "Secret Agent" | 3:41 |
6. | "The Weight Is My Soul" | 3:29 |
7. | "Love and Other Bruises" | 3:43 |
8. | "It's Not Easy" | 4:24 |
9. | "We Are All Alone" | 3:16 |
10. | "Strangers in Love" | 3:46 |
11. | "Ain't It a Shame" | 3:10 |
Personnel
Air Supply members
- Russell Hitchcock – lead (1-3, 7, 8, 10, 11) and backing vocals, congas
- Mark McEntee – electric lead and rhythm guitars
- Graham Russell – electric and acoustic guitars, lead (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11) and backing vocals
- Adrian Scott – keyboards, backing vocals
- Jeremy Paul – bass guitars, lead (2, 4) and backing vocals
- Jeff Browne – drums (all but 7)
Additional musicians
- Ian Bloxsom – extra percussion
- Peter Deacon – piano (7)
- William Motzing – string arrangements and conductor
- Graeme Pearce – drums (7)
Recording details
- Producer – Peter Dawkins
- Engineer – Richard Lush at EMI Studios, Sydney.
- Except "Love and Other Bruises" engineer – Bruce Brown at Albert Studios
- Additional engineer – Martin Benge
- Mastered – CBS Records, Artarmon.
Artwork
- Art direction and design – J. Peter Thoeming
- Photography – Carroll Holloway
Release History
7" Singles [7]
Date | Tracks | Length | Label | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | "Love and Other Bruises" | 3:43 | CBS | BA 222231 |
"If You Knew Me" | 4:02 | |||
1977 | "Empty Pages" | 4:20 | BA 222274 | |
"Feel the Breeze" | 3:55 | |||
Album
Date | Region | Label | Format | Catalog | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Australia | CBS | LP | SBP 234929 | [7] |
New Zealand | |||||
Canada | Columbia | PES 90413 | |||
1976 | Australia | CBS | CAS | PC 4929 | |
Summit/Rainbow | SUL 3002 | ||||
1977 | Australia | CBS | 2LP | SBP 241031 | Repackaged with The Whole Thing's Started |
1980 | Japan | Epic/Sony | LP | 25•3P-232 | Issued as Strangers in Love, alternate cover[7] |
1981 | Australia | Harmony | LP | HC 15070 | Love and Other Bruises compilation, includes six tracks from Air Supply |
CAS | TCHC 15070 | ||||
Summit/Rainbow | SC 3036 | ||||
1988 | Australia | Columbia/Sony | CD | 463016 2 | |
CBS/Disctronics | 463016 2 | Reissue of 1981 compilation, alternate cover[8] | |||
CBS | CAS | 463016 4 | |||
1991 | Australia | Rainbow | CD | RCD 1118 | First appearance of full album on CD [9] |
1992 | Australia | Rainbow | 2CD | 2RCD 111/112 | Feel the Breeze, includes Air Supply and The Whole Thing's Started [9] |
1996 | Korea | Columbia/Sony | CD | 486553.2 | Once Upon a Time, includes three tracks from Air Supply |
CAS | 486553.4 | ||||
See also
References
- Air Supply History Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed 8 December 2008
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Air Supply'". Whammo Homepage. Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2010. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry with notes by Ed Nimmervoll (2002) [1987]. "Air Supply entry". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.
- Holmgren, Magnus; Thornton, Mary Ann; Padgett, Chris. "Air Supply". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ""Feel the Breeze" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 17 August 2010. Note: Results for "Feel the Breeze" are shown. Search engine (at 'Search again' tab) requires user to enter song title e.g. I Don't Believe You
- "Air Supply History: Chapter 3"
- "Air Supply History: Chapter 16"
- "Air Supply History: Chapter 18"