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第十二章:天堂般的蒙特塞拉特岛 (1984) (The Island Paradise of Montserrat)

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发表于 2013-1-2 15:26 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
Chapter Twelve: The Island Paradise of Montserrat (1984)

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Live in Concert 1984

      During the band’s heyday, Air Supply appeared on numerous television variety shows, late night and daytime shows, and everything in between. They were regulars on Solid Gold, a popular one hour-American musical variety television series that aired from 1980 to 1988. The show was taped in L.A., which was ideal for Air Supply since this was their main stomping ground when not home in Sydney. Solid Gold was the American equivalent to Countdown in Australia. The main premise of the show was to countdown the top 10 songs of the week based on the Radio & Records magazine chart lists. This created much confusion because most of North America followed the Billboard ranking. Solid Gold featured its own crew of dancers, who dressed like aerobic instructors. The show was extremely popular in North America, but was not admired by music critics because most of the performances were lip-synched, and the Solid Gold dancers often distracted from the music. Solid Gold served as the main vehicle for putting Air Supply’s image in front of the American public. This was critical in growing the band’s popularity because MTV refused to play Air Supply videos. The following is an almost complete list of appearances by Air Supply on Solid Gold:

Solid Gold Performance - 1986
October 11, 1980 - Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
November 22, 1980 - Guest Performer (Every Woman In The World)
February 7, 1981 - 1980 Countdown. Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
April 12, 1981 - Guest Performer (Lost In Love)
September 12, 1981 - Guest Performer (Here I Am)
October 31, 1981 - Guest Performer (Here I Am)
February 15, 1982 - 2 Hr ‘81 Countdown.  Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
February 27, 1982 - Guest Performer (Sweet Dreams)
May 1, 1982 - Guest Performer (Sweet Dreams)
September 4, 1982 - Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
October 9, 1982 - Guest Performer (Young Love)
January 15, 1983 - Guest Performer (Now And Forever)
February 15, 1983 - Guest Performer (Even The Nights Are Better)
May 21, 1983 - Guest Performer (Song unknown)
October 22, 1983 - Co-Host & Perform (Making Love & Sweet Dreams Duet with McCoo)
February 15, 1984 - 2 Hr Special ‘83 Countdown. Guest Performer (Making Love Out Of Nothing At All)
May 5, 1984 - Special Salute to Australia. Guest Performer (Even The Nights Are Better)
May 12, 1984 - Guest Host (No Performance)
May 17, 1984 - Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
May 26, 1984 - Guest Host (No Performance)
January 12, 1985 - Guest Performer (Making Love Out Of Nothing At All)
May 18, 1985 - Guest Performer (Just As I Am)
July 27, 1985 - Guest Performer (Just As I Am)
September 28, 1985 - Co-Host with Dionne Warwick (Medley with Warwick, plus The Power Of Love)
May 17, 1986 - Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
July 15, 1986 - Summer Special Episode - Guest Performer (Stars In Your Eyes)
November 1, 1986 - Guest Performer (One More Chance)
June 4, 1988 - Solid Gold Around The World. Guest Performer (The One That You Love)


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Solid Gold Performance - 1986

      1984 was another turning point in Air Supply’s career. The ‘Greatest Hits’ album served as a watershed event, sharply dividing the band’s success in the early 80s, from what would follow. The band’s next album was critical because it needed to maintain the existing fan base, but also show growth and attract new listeners. Another lush orchestrated album, in the mold of ‘The One That You Love,’ would not attract new fans, and would most certainly disappoint music critics. Arista actively pursued new material for Air Supply.

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      Graham and Russell both experienced changes with their philosophy on life. They became more health conscious and began a routine that soon changed their physical appearance. They enjoyed tennis, and played often during the tour of ’84. Some critics called Russell “The pudgy one,” but this stopped after he slimmed down for the band’s next album. “Since 1983, I’ve been much more conscious about my health, the job I was doing and my responsibility to the fans,” said Russell. “When I  first got involved with Paula, I was having a love affair with a bottle of tequila. I was real unhealthy. She told me I should take care of myself, exercise. I said ‘yeah,’ when I get around to it. I’m impulsive, so one day, I started to exercise and I said, ‘This it it.’ I found the healthier I got, the better my voice got.”

      In 1984, Graham moved to L.A. to live with Jodi. “When we were recording our second U.S. album in Sydney, I was living on the Central Coast of Australia,” recalls Graham. “I used to ride in on the train, and it’s a lovely ride down the coast to Sydney. I remember looking out over the sea and writing lyrics. I wrote the lyrics for ‘I Want To Give It All’ on the train, because at that stage I felt my destiny lay in America. I felt a bit sad because I had spent seventeen years in Australia. So this song is all about that. It’s really a sad song cause it’s about meeting people, and knowing that you soon won’t be there for them.”

      Graham immersed himself in books about Metaphysics, a type of philosophy that explains the fundamental nature of being and the world. This world view was evident in his future song writing, especially in the 90s. Russell contemplated a move to the U.S. so he could be closer to his girlfriend Paula. Russell hoped to get married, but Paula learned from past relationships that jumping in too soon can be trouble. “It was really nice [with Russell] because we were friends first, and then we fell in love,” recalls Paula. “I had never had a relationship like that. It was always go in head first and come out soaking wet.”

Captain Crunch and Tour Shirt 1984.jpg

      Air Supply targeted their younger audience when they signed a deal with Rockbill Communications to have posters appear in boxes of Captain Crunch cereal. Rockbill, a company who arranged corporate sponsorships and artist endorsements, worked previously with Air Supply on the Jordache concert program in 1983. In this latest promotion, Rockbill arranged for 15 million posters featuring Air Supply, Journey, Kool & The Gang, and the Romanitcs to be included in the cereal. The joint venture was a benefit to both parties as Air Supply received band exposure and licensing/royalty fees, while Rockbill featured its own advertising on the back of each poster. Rockbill started the first large scale mail order catalogue in the music business where fans could order products like T-shirts and memberships to fan clubs. A second wave of Captain Crunch posters was later issued, and featured bands Duran Duran, U2, the Rolling Stones and the Thompson Twins.

      In early March, Air Supply travelled to Montserrat to record their next album with producer David Kershenbaum and freelance sound engineer Renata Blauel. Kershenbaum was responsible for the break through of Duran Duran in America, when he remixed the ‘Rio’ album, which was already a big hit in the U.K.. This allowed Capitol Records to change its marketing strategy on Duran Duran from New Romantic to dance band. Don Arden hoped that Kershenbaum could perform a similar transformation with Air Supply.

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Russell & Graham in Air Studios Control Room - Montserrat 1984

      The tiny island of Montserrat, located in the eastern Caribbean, was a popular recording destination because it featured a secluded state-of-the-art recording facility called Air Studios, owned by former Beatles producer George Martin. Music industry magazine, Pro Sound News, dubbed Air Studios as 1983’s ‘Studio of the Year’ in pop music. The recording facility was situated on a 400-foot-high aerie (Eagle’s nest) that overlooked rolling green hills below, and looked up towards the volcanic Soufriere Hills. The facility included two houses owned by Martin, and access to private villas, pools and tennis courts. Many British musicians chose to record here because Montserrat, a British crown colony, was considered an ‘offshore’ facility. This allowed them to avoid spending more than 90 days a year in Britain - the cutoff for legal residency and therefore from paying income taxes. For example, Duran Duran recorded ‘Rio’ at Air Studios, as did the Police with ‘Synchronicity.’ Air Studios Montserrat was abandoned by George Martin in 1989, after hurricane Hugo hit the island and damaged ninety percent of its buildings. Today, Air Studios is a vacant and eery structure with many of its original contents scattered on the floor.

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Air Studios, Montserrat

      “One of my best memories ever of that time period was recording in Montserrat,” said Graham. “We’d already had a lot of success, but we were just getting exposed to a lot of different places and finding out what’s going on in the world. I’ll never forget that. It was great fun. We would record during the day and then hang out at a place I think was called The Chicken Shack. It was a local hole in the wall, but we would go there and listen to this fantastic reggae band. We sat there eating jerk chicken and listened to reggae until about 3 in the morning.”      

      After the recording session in Montserrat, Air Supply and Kershenbaum parted company and the recordings were shelved. They had spent a significant amount of money on the recording sessions, including $13,000 per day in studio rental. They had also flown in a digital recording machine from New York at considerable expense.

      “Being in the studio in Montserrat was one of the musical highlights of my life,” said Don Cromwell. “Unfortunately, with a lot of the music they decided to go in another direction and it never made it to vinyl. We got home to Los Angeles and the album just didn’t translate like they wanted, so we ended up having to start from scratch.”

      “It was nice to be in one place for several weeks, with twenty-four-hour access to the studio,” said Russell. “A place where you would not be distracted by anything but the music and the people you were working with. We produced some great stuff there. [But] it didn’t sound the way we wanted it to, because of a combination of a lot of things. It was obvious we had to go back into the studio again.”

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Air Studios Control Room - 2010

      “We tried to record an album in Montserrat, where Paul McCartney had done some stuff,” said Ralph Cooper. “We thought that this was the place to be. We got there and started recording, and got all kinds of interesting stuff. We thought it was great. Desmond [the assistant] brought us Pina Coladas and we would partake of one or two of those, and then go cut some tracks. Then we splashed in the pool, which was ten feet from the recording studio. But at the end of the day there was a huge fight between the bands manager, Don Arden, and the producer. I think Don actually burned the master tapes. He put them in the fireplace. There’s only three tracks that exist, and I have them.”  

      David Kershenbaum’s contribution to Air Supply was not entirely lost. He had contacted Chappell Music to request a song similar to ‘Kiss on My List’ by Hall & Oates. They sent a song called ‘After All,’ written by Seth Swirsky, which later became an album track for Air Supply. “I was all of 23-years-old, and was writing for Chappell Music in New York, said Swirsky. “David [called me on Friday night] and told me what kind of song he was looking for. He wanted it in a minor key and I jotted down notes. Then I said, ‘Mr. Kershenbaum, I’ve got the perfect song for you. It’s everything that you’ve just described.’ I told him that I would Fed-Ex it to him on Monday. I recorded the demo at the Tiki Recording Studios in Glen Cove, New York, that Sunday. It was a fun session where all the musicians just clicked and the demo sounded great. Finally, late on Friday afternoon, one week to the day after we had talked on the phone, he called me to say that he loved the song for the group that he had mentioned, which turned out to be the multi-platinum band Air Supply. I couldn’t believe it! Air Supply, one of the biggest groups in the world, was going to record the song that I had just written for their much anticipated new record.”

1984 Resized Air Supply Image.jpg

      The 1984 World Tour started after the Montserrat sessions in late March, and included stops in Japan and many other countries in the Far East. They sold out two shows at the famous Budokan in Tokyo, which delighted John Brown, the Australian Federal Minister for Tourism. In 1982, Air Supply was chosen by Brown to act as ambassadors of Australia in Japan, and they were currently as hot as the Beatles were years ago in that country. Air Supply’s concert programs in Japan resembled an Australian travel brochure more than a typical rock band souvenir.

      The North American portion of the tour began on May 28 at the Holiday Star Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana, and it showed Air Supply adding more rock-inspired tunes into the set list; ‘Labor Of Love,’ ‘Black and Blue,’ ‘Heart & Soul,’ ‘Make It Right,’ ‘Innocent Eyes, ‘Take Me Home Again’ and ‘The Way It’s Meant To Be.’ Air Supply was to include many of these songs on their new album, expected for release that summer. “We figured the time had come for us to do something different,” said Russell. “We’ll continue to do ballads because that’s what people want and expect from us. But it’s definitely time for a change as far as we’re concerned.”

      The new songs went over quite well in the U.S., but were not as well received in Taiwan, where Air Supply performed for a second time on May 23, 1984. Their concert in Taiwan a year earlier was a success on every level, but something was missing this time around. The Free China Review wrote:

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Live in Taiwan - 1984

      At 7 p.m., a flood of teenagers, most in school uniforms, converged from various directions on the China Sports & Cultural Center to see the internationally recognized singing group Air Supply. Before the concert, as the lights began to go off, a smoky-green glitter began rising from the rear edge of the stage. Reflecting the ambient night light floating around in mystic prelude for the night's concert, the domed-auditorium became a spaceship. Simultaneously, the excited young audience emitted a mixture of shout, scream, and pure bristling whistle to welcome Russell Hitchcock on stage. He opened the concert with the group’s latest, ‘Take Me Home.’

      Charisma is the key to an audience, and during the concert, the island’s eager young audience was clearly moved by Hitchcock’s dynamic-pleasant performance. He sang, danced, and continuously communicated with the audience. He walked around and smiled at people in different seating locations. Whenever his magic finger pointed at an auditorium section, the audience there responded with excitement.

       In a pre-concert press conference, Air Supply announced that there would be several new songs and showed quite some confidence in them. However, during the concert, the audience did not respond the way the group expected to the new songs. Apparently, they did want to hear Air Supply’s old hits, and two keys from the guitarist were a sufficient hint to set them screaming before the vocalist intoned the lyric. Air Supply certainly failed to conquer the audience here as they had done previously. The auditorium was still as packed this time out, yet this year’s thousands of fans responded with notably less affection and excitement. The young girls still presented flowers to Hitchcock, and grabbed at him, but for his personal charisma, not the group’s performance. Some left before the concert was finished. They clearly did not enjoy Air Supply’s new songs - slow but not mellow, and the old hits were no longer fresh. New songs come and go. But some always last longer than others. Hopefully, Air Supply will find a new key and not fade out so soon. - Lew Wei-Liang, Free China Review

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MGM Grand Hotel

      In May, Air Supply signed a monster deal with the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The deal contracted Air Supply to perform five weeks each year over the next five years, and paid the band close to $5 million. The first week of concerts took place on July 19-25. MGM Grand was one of the first megaresorts to open in Vegas in 1973, and was the largest hotel in the world for many years. By 1984, MGM Grand was still considered one of the most luxurious hotels in Vegas, and featured two large theatres: The Ziegfeld Room and the Celebrity Room, where Air Supply performed. $5 million was considered a large sum, but the success of ‘Greatest Hits’ made Air Supply one of the top five record selling groups in the U.S. for the first half of 1984. “Don Arden would say to us, ‘You’ve got to concentrate on Vegas,’” said Don Cromwell. “But back then Vegas was like the last stop where you went when you had nothing. Now it’s the place to go for the biggest of the big. But if you have the kind of catalogue [like Air Supply], and I think Don Arden knew this, we could play nothing but hits for an hour and a half, not like many bands with just one hit.”   

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New York City - 1984

      The North American leg of the tour sold out most dates, and concert promoters paid Air Supply top dollar to perform. The MGM Grand Hotel deal was just one example. But an inexperienced promoter in Windsor, Canada, soon learned the hard lessons of show business when they hired the band to perform at a fundraiser for the Windsor Stadium Development Corporation (WSDC) on June 10. The company hoped to use the profits from the concert to fund a feasibility study on the building of a large indoor facility in Windsor. The Beach Boys were hired to perform in 1983, and despite some electrical problems, the fundraiser was considered a huge success. But WSDC failed to properly evaluate the cost of hiring a band of Air Supply’s stature; they were demanding $40,000 to perform. Additional costs included $8,500 for the massive stage, $9,300 for power hookups, $2,736 in hydro usage, $2,475 per hour for a truck forklift, $4,700 for non-unionized stage setup crew and $1,000 to the City of Windsor to clean up after the concert. The WSDC chairman, Ivan Robich, admitted that his lack of experience dealing with a band of Air Supply’s magnitude hurt the overall success of the event. “I learned a lesson that we’re not in the promotions business. We don’t know how to negotiate with a band,” said Robich. An experienced concert promoter in Toronto felt that $40,000 was too much to pay Air Supply under any circumstance. “Many bands and agents will quote high-end fees to inexperienced concert promoters to see if they are for real,” he said. “They’d rather deal with tested producers who can handle the hassles and will pay up, whether the show gains or loses.” Regardless, Air Supply put on a tremendous show in Windsor and wowed the 5,500 paying customers. In reality, 7,000 people watched the concert, but 1,500 of those were free passes handed out by WSDC. The fundraiser finished in the red, but the concert promoters felt that Air Supply was a good choice given their popularity.

      Air Supply made an ill-advised appearance in Sun City, Bophutatswana, South Africa, which at the time was considered controversial due to apartheid. The United Nations had already imposed a cultural boycott on South Africa in condemnation of apartheid. Many bands who performed in Sun City experienced fines and a political backlash, especially in Great Britain. Air Supply performed several concerts at the Sun City Casino and Resort’s 6,230-seat auditorium over a multi-day period from June 15-24. The band and crew justified their appearance by claiming they were not a political band, and that the concerts would not be segregated. However, when Air Supply arrived in South Africa, they realized the situation was not what they had been lead to believe. They hoped the backlash would be minimal, but they ended up on the United Nations Center Against Apartheid’s list of nearly 500 artists, musicians and actors targeted for boycotts. “I don’t care about politics,” said Russell. “We looked at it as an excellent opportunity to play for integrated audiences. We refused to play for segregated audiences, which I thought was a noble thing to do. I just want to play. I mean, if they told us we could only play for segregated audiences, I wouldn’t have agreed to it. This whole business of politics entering into things other than politics is what’s ruining the [1984] summer Olympics.”

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      The press continued their criticism of Air Supply. Don Arden heard the negative backlash from those who did not appreciate ‘romantic pop,’ but he was not concerned because record sales were strong. “What do a few critics matter, compared to that sort of audience?” asked Arden. “You must have talent to sell so many records. They are going to be as big as Barry Manilow, maybe bigger because there is no one else doing what they do. These boys sing romantic ballads. So what if young girls want to hear them, and like to be romantic.”

      Russell admitted that negative comments from the press have come largely as the result of an early marketing approach for which Air Supply and its record company must share the credit - or the blame. “The biggest problem we had was that the very first single we released was a ballad and that it was successful,” he said. “The company basically wanted more of the same. After the third ballad we suggested that they release something a bit more up-tempo, but they wouldn’t go for it and we didn’t press the issue. So obviously it isn’t all the fault of the critics. When all people hear from us are ballads, they’re thinking that’s all we can do. But we have benefited from not going with trends and we’ve suffered from it. I couldn’t go and dye my hair, and do that sort of stuff and be honest about it. We have always played the music that is from the heart, and that’s one of the reasons its been successful. People know you’re being honest with them.”

      Don Arden got Air Supply involved in a marketing campaign for Chevrolet and RKO’s Live In Concert program. The sponsors ran a contest in which five individuals in five locations (Phoenix, Sacramento, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City) won a 1985 Chevrolet Sprint by submitting an entry form at participating stores. Applicants received a free Air Supply poster at time of submission. The grand prize winner from each location was flown to New York to attend an Air Supply concert at the Westbury Music Fair on July 5, 1984. The entire concert was broadcast live-by-satellite over the RKO Radio network. After the show, Graham and Russell presented the grand prize winners with the keys to their new cars.

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‘The Story of Air Supply’ - Volumes 1 & 2

      Arista and Nippon Phonogram released two compilations for the Japanese market. The first, ‘The Story of Air Supply Vol. 1,’ was the complete ‘Lost In Love’ album plus half the songs from ‘The One That You Love.’ The second, ‘The Story of Air Supply Vol. 2.’ contained all the songs from ‘Now and Forever,’ and the other half of songs from ‘The One That You Love.’ The albums were not a hits collection per se, but a summary of the bands first 4 years with Arista. Both albums were later released on CD in 1988 and 1992.

      Because Arista Records was owned by Columbia Pictures, they had access to its soundtrack albums. This was vital in helping Arista, still a relatively young label in the early 80s, establish itself in the music and film industry. “When it came to motion picture soundtracks,” said Clive Davis, “I was very selective about what we released. Each one had to have some element that made it truly stand out: the film itself, the composer, the opportunity to incorporate and launch hit songs. The recording artists we were breaking on Arista were pursued by music supervisors looking for songs to enhance their films. It was ideal synergy. This type of creative interplay between Arista artists and films would deepen and achieve more success in the Eighties and Nineties, long after our connection with Columbia Pictures had ended.”

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'I Can Wait Forever' Single

      ‘I Can Wait Forever’ was originally recorded as a new track for Air Supply’s 1983 ‘Greatest Hits’ album, but was instead included on the platinum certified Ghostbusters movie soundtrack. Prior to Saturday Night Fever, rock and pop music played a limited role in the movie business. But this all changed after Flashdance in 1983. In 1984, ten soundtracks achieved platinum certification in the United States. The Ghostbusters soundtrack was an eclectic mix of music released by Arista Records, and featured many of its own artists such as Thompson Twins, The Bus Boys, Ray Parker Jr. and Air Supply. It included the huge hit, ‘Ghostbusters,’ by Ray Parker Jr. which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Song of the Year. ‘I Can Wait Forever’ and Thompson Twins’ ‘In The Name of Love’ were not featured prominently in the movie, but were both paid a significant royalty. ‘I Can Wait Forever’ was produced by Canadian hitmaker David Foster and Jay Graydon. It was written as a collaboration between Graham, Foster and Graydon and was never officially released as a single in the U.S. It was released in select international markets and received significant airplay. In Poland, it reached #16 and charted for 14 weeks. In Brazil, it was ranked as the 56th most popular single of 1984. “I remember recording the song at Jay’s house in L.A. and laughing a lot,” recalls Russell. “I also remember having a bit of a cold when I sang the vocal, and I can still hear it now when I listen to the song.”

      Air Supply made their second entry into feature films when the sang the title song to the Warner Bros. Pictures’ release Grandview U.S.A. The song, ‘Take Me Back (To Grandview U.S.A.),’ was written and produced by Graham, and was included in the set list of Air Supply’s summer tour in ’84. Grandview U.S.A. starred Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Jason Leigh in a comic look at the currents of life in small-town Middle America through the eyes of three young people. The film, directed by Randall Kleiser of Blue Lagoon and Summer Lovers fame, was released throughout the U.S. and Canada on August 3. It did poorly at the box office.
 楼主| 发表于 2013-1-2 15:35 | 显示全部楼层
译文: <转载请注明空气补给中文网>
      在乐队的巅峰时期,Air Supply不停地在各个电视综艺节目上露面,无论午夜还是白天。在1980年到1988年间,他们在Solid Gold,一档一小时的美国流行音乐节目上成为常客。演出在洛杉矶录制,这对于Air Supply来说是最理想不过了,因为这里是他们除了悉尼之外的主要落脚点。Solid Gold相当于美国的Countdown。节目主要宗旨就是播放一周内在电台和杂志排行榜上热播的Top10金曲。这带来了一些混淆,因为北美一般都是以Billboard排行榜为准。Solid Gold有他们自己的伴舞,穿着像健美教练。这档节目在北美相当的流行,但那些乐评家却对此并不感冒,因为大多数演出都是对嘴型的假唱,而那些舞蹈演员经常分散注意力。无论如何,Air Supply在这档节目上出镜率相当的高,直接把乐队的形象展现在广大美国公众面前。这对于乐队的成长是非常有帮助的,因为MTV频道拒绝播放Air Supply的音乐录音带。下面的列表几乎是Air Supply在Solid Gold节目中出席的完整列表了:

Solid Gold Performance - 1986
October 11, 1980 - Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
November 22, 1980 - Guest Performer (Every Woman In The World)
February 7, 1981 - 1980 Countdown. Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
April 12, 1981 - Guest Performer (Lost In Love)
September 12, 1981 - Guest Performer (Here I Am)
October 31, 1981 - Guest Performer (Here I Am)
February 15, 1982 - 2 Hr ‘81 Countdown.  Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
February 27, 1982 - Guest Performer (Sweet Dreams)
May 1, 1982 - Guest Performer (Sweet Dreams)
September 4, 1982 - Guest Performer (All Out Of Love)
October 9, 1982 - Guest Performer (Young Love)
January 15, 1983 - Guest Performer (Now And Forever)
February 15, 1983 - Guest Performer (Even The Nights Are Better)
May 21, 1983 - Guest Performer (Song unknown)
October 22, 1983 - Co-Host & Perform (Making Love & Sweet Dreams Duet with McCoo)
February 15, 1984 - 2 Hr Special ‘83 Countdown. Guest Performer (Making Love Out Of Nothing At All)
May 5, 1984 - Special Salute to Australia. Guest Performer (Even The Nights Are Better)
May 12, 1984 - Guest Host (No Performance)
May 17, 1984 - Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
May 26, 1984 - Guest Host (No Performance)
January 12, 1985 - Guest Performer (Making Love Out Of Nothing At All)
May 18, 1985 - Guest Performer (Just As I Am)
July 27, 1985 - Guest Performer (Just As I Am)
September 28, 1985 - Co-Host with Dionne Warwick (Medley with Warwick, plus The Power Of Love)
May 17, 1986 - Guest Performer (The One That You Love)
July 15, 1986 - Summer Special Episode - Guest Performer (Stars In Your Eyes)
November 1, 1986 - Guest Performer (One More Chance)
June 4, 1988 - Solid Gold Around The World. Guest Performer (The One That You Love)


      1984年在Air Supply的生涯中另一个重要的转折点。精选集 ‘Greatest Hits’作为一个分水岭把乐队80年代早期的成功和接下来的未知分了开来。乐队下张专辑是重要的,因为它需要维持乐队本身的影响又要吸引新的听众。这是另外一张精心策划,和 ‘The One That You Love’ 很相似的专辑,但却没能吸引更多的歌迷,而且让乐评家更为失望。Arista为Air Supply积极寻求新的素材。

      Graham和Russell共同用他们的哲学来体会生活中的种种改变。他们在健康上更加关心自己。经常在84年的巡演过程中玩网球。一些评论家是这样叫Russell的,“圆滚滚的” 。然而Russell却以苗条的形象出现在乐队下一张专辑里。“我想是从1983年开始,我对自己的健康更小心了,这是对自己的歌迷负责。” Russell说。“当我一开始和Paula约会的时候,我可以喝一瓶龙舌兰酒。我健康真的很不好。她告诉我应该对自己更好一点。我说, ‘好的。’。所以有一天,我开始学习健康生活,‘这才是正确的。’ 我发现我更健康了,声音也更好了。”

      1984年,Graham搬到洛杉矶和Jodi同居了。他一直知道自己将在某天搬到美国去定居,他一直做着准备着。“当我们在悉尼录制我们第二章美国专辑时,我住在澳大利亚的中海岸。”Graham说。“我经常坐火车去沿海岸去悉尼。我记得当时我望着大海,写着歌词。在那班火车上,我写下了 ‘I Want To Give It All’ 的词,那时,我感觉美国就是我的归属地。我感到有些悲伤,因为我花了17年时间住在澳大利亚。所以那首歌写的完全都是那种心境。”

      Graham对玄学产生了兴趣,这是一种能够解释世间万物的哲学。这种新的世界观显现在他未来的创作歌曲中,特别是90年代。Russell也同样准备搬到美国,这样他能和他的女友Paula更亲近了。Russell希望能和她结婚,但是从过去的教训中学到,太快的确定关系会陷入困境的。 “而如果是先做朋友,然后慢慢地坠入爱河,那就完美了。”Paula重复道。“而我过去从来没有这样过。总是一头先栽进去,然后狼狈的逃出来。”  

      Air Supply把目标锁定到了年轻听众上,同时和Rockbill Communications签订了一纸合约与Captain Crunch cereal合作发行海报。Rockbill是一家安排企业的赞助和艺术家代言的公司,之前1983年也参与了创作Jordache演唱会Air Supply纪念品制作。这次宣传赞助,Rockbill安排发行1千500万张Rock Star海报,包括了艺人Air Supply,Journey,Kool & The Gang,和the Romanitcs。这次合作对双方都是有利的,Air Supply得到了应有的曝光度和版权费,同时Rockbill在每份海报上得到了广告上的回报。Rockbill开始了音乐产业上第一次大规模的邮件预定服务,歌迷可以订购类似T恤会员俱乐部之类的产品。第二波Captain Crunch Rock Star海报接下去发行,包括了Duran Duran乐队,U2,the Rolling Stones和the Thompson Twins。

     3月上旬,Air Supply和制作人David Kershenbaum一同前往蒙特塞拉特岛录制他们地下一张专辑。Kershenbaum负责制作Duran Duran在美国录制专辑,对‘Rio’专辑进行混音,这张专辑在英国已经是佳作了。这也让Capitol Records对新浪潮乐队Duran Duran作战略风格上的改变。Arista希望Kershenbaum也同样能对Air Supply做类似的风格转变。

      这个小小的蒙特塞拉特岛坐落于加勒比东部, 这是一个著名的录音圣地,因为这里拥有一个全新的与世隔绝的录音室Air Studio,录音室的主人是Beatles乐队的前制作人George Martin。Music industry杂志, Pro Sound 新闻, 把这个录音室称作为1983年 流行音乐‘最佳录音室’ 。Air Studio坐落于400英尺高的地方,能够俯瞰绿色的山丘。artin在这里还拥有另外两幢房子, 有私人别墅,游泳池,网球场。许多英国音乐家选择在这里录音,因为蒙特塞拉特岛是英国殖民地。这也能帮助他们躲避英国的税收。比如,Duran Duran在Air Studios录制了‘Rio’专辑,警察乐队录制了 ‘Synchronicity’。而蒙特塞拉特岛上的这个Air Studios被乔治马丁在1989年飓风雨果袭击这个小岛前放弃了。这次飓风摧毁了小岛上百分之90的建筑物。如今,Air Studio闲置着,地板上到处散落着杂物。

      “在蒙特塞拉特岛录音的日子是我一生中最难忘的” Graham说,“我们经历了很多成功,我们不停的在世界各个角落旅行。永远难忘的经历。太有趣了。我们录完音然后去Chicken Shack,我想可能是叫这个名字。我们坐在那里吃烧烤听雷鬼乐直到凌晨3点。”      

      结束了在蒙特塞拉特岛的录音的日子,Air Supply和David Kershenbaum最终分道扬镳,所有的录音记录都被搁置了。这也表明了Arista要让Air Supply变得特别的决心。他们在蒙特塞拉特岛上的录音花费了将近每天13000美元,包括录音室的租赁。Arista花了巨资从纽约空运了一台数字录音设备。

      “我记得在蒙特塞拉特岛的日子是我一生中最难忘的。”Don Cromwell说。“不幸的是,因为风格路线的问题,有很多音乐最后没能录进唱片中。我们回到洛杉矶,专辑没能达到他们所要求的标准,所以我们不得不从头开始。”

      “在这个美丽的地方待上5到6个星期,全天候在录音室。” Russell。“除了音乐,你不能被任何事物分心。我们在那里创造了许多很棒的东西。但是却没能达到我们想要的那种效果,因为组合上别的一些东西听上去就不是那个味儿了。很显然我们不得不再次回到录音室去了。”

      “我们想要在蒙特塞拉特岛录专辑,Paul McCartney也在这里录过音。” Ralph Cooper说,“我想这是我们应该去的地方。我们去那里开始录音。太棒了。我们在游泳池里玩水,离录音室只有10英尺之遥。但是最后我们的经纪人Don Arden和制作人打了一架。我想是因为Don烧了原始母带。他把这些东西都扔进火里。只有三首歌幸存,我们也把它们保留了下来。”  

      David Kershenbaum对于Air Supply的贡献并没有完全磨灭掉。他联系了Chappell Music要求得到一首很像Hall & Oates的 ‘Kiss on My List’ 的歌。他们最终给予了一首歌叫 ‘After All’,最终这首歌成为了Air Supply新专辑中的一首歌曲。这首歌是由Seth Swirsky创作的。“在纽约为Chappell Music写歌的时候我只有23岁,Swirsky说。“David在周五晚上打电话给我告诉我他正在寻找一首歌。他想要一首中调的歌,我把要求记了下来。然后我说, ‘Kershenbaum先生,我这里有一首完美的歌给你准备。这首歌满足你全部描述的要求。’我告诉他我在周一会快递给他。 我在纽约Tiki Recording Studios录制了这首歌,那个周日在纽约格伦科夫的Tiki录音室我录制了样带。真是太有意思了,所有乐手都觉得这首歌听起来真棒。最终,在我们通电话后的下一个周五下午,他打电话给我说他很爱这首歌,很适合他提到的那个乐队,最后才知道是多白金乐队Air Supply。我无法相信!Air Supply,他们是这个世界上最好的乐队之一,他们将要进录音室录制专辑,我也参于其中了。”

      1984年的世界巡演开始于3月,在日本和其他远东国家结束。在东京的八场演出全部售完,这让澳大利亚联邦旅游部长John Brown相当高兴。在1982年,Air Supply被Brown推荐选为在日本宣传澳大利亚的形象大使,此时的Air Supply就像是多年前在日本的Beatles那样红。Air Supply在日本的演出纪念册就像是澳大利亚的宣传册,而不是摇滚乐队纪念册。

     美国的巡演开始于6月上旬,Air Supply在歌曲单上新增加了一些更摇滚的歌曲: ‘Labor Of Love’,‘Black and Blue’,‘Heart & Soul’ Make It Right’,‘Innocent Eyes’,‘Take Me Home Again’ 和 ‘The Way It’s Meant To Be’ 。Air Supply希望这些歌能够包括在新专辑中,预计在1984年夏天发行。“我们盘算着要做一些和过去不同的东西。” Russell说。“而我们也将会继续唱情歌,因为那是人们最希望我们做的。但现在是时候做一些改变了。”  

      新歌在美国反响很好,但是并不包括台湾,Air Supply在1984年5月23日第二次登录台湾演出。他们一年前在台湾的演出相当成功,然而这次却不然。中国的评论如下:

      下午7点,潮水般多的青少年穿着校服,从各地汇聚到了中华体育文化中心来看Air Supply演唱。在演出前,灯光熄灭,烟雾弥漫伴着绿色灯光从舞台边缘上升。同时,兴奋的年轻听众, 尖叫,嘶喊着,吹着口哨迎接Russell Hitchcock登台。开场曲是乐队最近的歌曲 ‘Take Me Home’。

      舞台魅力是醉重要的,在整场演出中,他唱着跳着,不停在与观众互动。他到处走动在不同的地方向观众微笑。当他那具有魔力的手指指到哪片观众区域,观众就会对他报以热烈的回应。

       在演出之前的新闻发布会上,Air Supply宣称将会有几首新歌要演唱。然而,在演唱会时,观众对于乐队的新歌反响并不强烈。显然人们只想听Air Supply的经典歌曲。场馆进行了重新包装,然而今年成千上万的歌迷的回应却是不太满意和兴奋。年轻女孩们依旧准备了鲜花给Hitchcock,抓住他,但是那仅仅是由于他的个人魅力,而不是乐队的表演。有些人在演唱会结束之前就已经离场了。他们显然不喜欢Air Supply的新歌 - 节奏缓慢但是又不够成熟,而经典老歌也不再新鲜。新歌转瞬即逝。希望Air Supply会找到新的节奏,而不是很快的衰退。 - Lew Wei-Liang, Free China Review

      5月,Air Supply和拉斯维加斯米高梅大酒店签订了一笔巨大的合同。合同要求Air Supply在接下去的5年内,每年演出5个星期,支付给乐队将近500万美元。演唱会的第一个星期于7月19-25日开始演出。米高梅大酒店在1973年开张成为拉斯维加斯第一家超级度假村,很多年里,它都是世界上最大的酒店。直到1984年,米高梅大酒店依然是维加斯最奢华的酒店,设有两家大剧院:The Ziegfeld Room和 the Celebrity Room,Air Supply就在那里演出。500万美元被认为大数目,但是 ‘Greatest Hits’ 的成功让Air Supply成为美国1984年上半年,5支销量最好的乐队之一。“Don Arden对我们说,‘你们在拉斯维加斯一定要专注。’” Don Cromwell说,“这个地方绝对是心驰神往的。但是如果你的歌单是 [像Air Supply]这样的,我觉得Don Arden清楚这一点,我们只能一首首金曲不停演奏一个半小时,而不是像别的许多乐队只有一首金曲。”

     乐队在北美的巡演依旧是有好多场售完,乐队此时的流行度依旧保持很高。Air Supply要求投资人支付顶级的出场费来演出,而他们也非常愿意支付这笔高昂的费用。在加拿大温莎很没有经验的发起人很快接受了这个演艺圈的教训,他们雇佣了乐队为Windsor Stadium Development Corporation (WSDC)在fundraiser演出。公司希望能够利用演出的利润来建立一个在温莎建造大型室内设施的可行性研究基金。1983年The Beach Boys被邀请来参加演出,尽管有一些问题,筹款活动依旧被认为是相当成功的。但是WSDC却没能估算出雇佣Air Supply的合理的价位;他们提出4万美元演出费用。另外需要支付8500美元用来搭建庞大的舞台,9,300美元用来连接电源,2,736美元使用水,2,475美元一小时租用叉车升降机,4,700美元用来支付舞台设置人员,1,000美元支付用来演唱会后的清理工作。WSDC的主席Ivan Robich承认他在处理邀请Air Supply这样级别的乐队上缺乏了经验,影响到了整个 大会的成功度。“我接受了一个教训。我们不知道怎样和乐队沟通。”Robich说。在多伦多一个有经验的大会组织者认为无论如何支付给Air Supply40,000美元都太多了, 许多乐队和经纪人都会给没有经验的组织者提出昂贵的报价。“来看看他们是否货真价实的。” Air Supply的演出异常成功,让5千500名付钱的观众都目瞪口呆。事实上,有7千名观众观看了演出,但是1500名观众是由WSDC大会主办方发放的免费门票入场的。募捐最后显出赤字,但是大会主办方依然认为邀请Air Supply来宣传是个非常明智的选择。

      Air Supply不明智的出现在了南非Bophutatswana的太阳城,而那时,由于种族隔离,这被认为是有争议的。许多在南非演出的乐队都将面对政治风波,特别是英国。Air Supply在太阳城赌场和拥有6230的座位酒店礼堂演出了几场,从6月15日到24日。乐队和工作人员都澄清,没有什么政治乐队,音乐会也不会被隔离。然而,当Air Supply抵达南非,发现现实并不是想象的那样。他们希望过激反应能够最小化,但是他们结束了联合国反种族隔离500名艺人名单,音乐家和演员有针对性的抵制。“我不在乎什么政治。” Russell说,“这是一个绝佳的机会。我们拒绝为被种族隔离的观众演出。我只是想要在那里演出。我是说,假如他们告诉我我们想要演出,那必须和观众隔离,我也不会同意的。这就是为什么夏季奥运会被毁了的原因,政治完全渗透进入了政治之外的东西。”

      Air Supply持续在收到音乐界的批评。Arden收到了许多不欣赏浪漫流行歌曲的人的负面批评,但他完全不在乎,因为唱片销量依旧强劲。“比起评论家的批评,是听众更重要” 。 Don说。“你必须有销售更多的唱片的本事。他们(Air Supply) 将会像Barry Manilow那样走红,可能会更红,因为他们做的事是前无古人的。这些孩子们唱着浪漫情歌。年轻女孩想要听这样的歌。”

      Russell承认媒体负面的评论来势汹汹,作为一个早期营销方法的结果 - 或者是责备。“最大的问题在于最早发行的单曲是情歌,而且大获成功。” Russell说,“基本上公司希望能够唱出更多类似的歌曲。在发行第三首情歌之后,我们建议能发一首更有节奏感的歌曲,但是他们不希望这样。所以显然这不也不全是评论家的问题。当人们听到我们唱的都是情歌后,以为我们只会唱这些歌。而我们没有顺应潮流,从中得益,并且存活了下来。我没有染头发,或者类似的事情,我很自豪。我们永远都是发自内心做着音乐,那就是我们成功的其中一个原因。人们知道你对待他们是最真诚的。”

      Don Arden让Air Supply参加一项在全美许多零售店和电台为雪弗兰举行的商业活动 (凤凰城,萨克拉门托,旧金山,洛杉矶,盐湖城) 。通过官方投票能够有机会获得雪弗兰Sprint。申请人也能获得一张免费的Air Supply海报。各地的大奖获得者能够飞往纽约参加卫星电台直播的Air Supply演唱会。演出之后,Air Supply会亲自颁发给获奖者新车钥匙。

      Arista和Nippon Phonogram在日本市场发行了两张合辑。第一套黑胶唱片名叫 ‘The Story of Air Supply Vol. 1’ ,这基本就是完整的 ‘Lost In Love’专辑外加‘The One That You Love’专辑中的一半歌曲。接下来发行的第二张黑胶唱片名叫 ‘The Story of Air Supply Vol. 2’ 。这张唱片包含了 ‘Now and Forever’ 专辑中的所有歌曲,并包含‘The One That You Love’专辑中的另一半歌曲。 这两张专辑并不属于精选集,而是乐队在Arista唱片公司头四年间的总结。所有两张黑胶唱片在1988年和1992年都在CD上重新发行。

      因为Columbia Pictures是Arista Records拥有的,他们有权利制作电影原声大碟。这对Arista公司是至关重要的,在80年代初,Arista依然是个年轻的厂牌, 他可以在电影产业中建立起声望。“当你准备进军电影原声产业中时,” Clive Davis说,“我对我们发行什么是非常有选择性的。每张专辑都必须有一些突出的元素,编曲。这是理想的协同作用。这种Arista艺人和电影间创造的相互作用,在80和90年代取得了更多的成功,在哥伦比亚电影公司被收购之后依然有很大影响。”

      ‘I Can Wait Forever’ 原先准备收录进Air Supply 1983 的精选集 ‘Greatest Hits’ 中,而不是收录在捉鬼队的白金销量原声大碟中。之前的Saturday Night Fever,摇滚和流行乐都在电影产业中扮演着微乎其微的作用。但所有这一切都在1983年作出改变。在1984年,10张电影原声带在美国获得了白金销量。The Ghostbusters原声大碟是由Arista Records发行的混合了多种音乐元素的专辑, 包括了许多自己旗下的艺人有Thompson Twins,Laura Branigan,Ray Parker Jr. 和Air Supply。专辑包含了超级单曲Ray Parker Jr.的 ‘Ghostbusters’,这首歌最终也成为了奥斯卡年度最佳歌曲。 ‘I Can Wait Forever’ 和 ‘Thompson Twins’ 的‘In The Name of Love’ 最终没有收录进电影,但是都获得了相当丰厚的版税。‘I Can Wait Forever’ 由加拿大歌曲制造机David Foster 和 Jay Graydon一起制作。由Graham,David Foster和Jay Graydon一同谱写,在美国从来没有正式作为单曲发行。在部分其他国家发行并且收到了相当好的电台播放率。在波兰,这首歌爬升到排行榜16位,并且在排行榜上待了了14个星期。在巴西,这首歌成为了1984年年度最佳单曲第56名。“我记得在洛杉矶Jay’s house录这首歌的时候,我一直不停的在笑。” Russell说道,“我也记得当我唱这首歌的时候有些感冒,现在再听这首歌的时候我依然听得出。”

      Air Supply为华纳兄弟电影《Grandview U.S.A.》录制了第二首歌‘Take Me Back (To Grandview U.S.A.),歌曲由Graham谱写,也被收进了Air Supply 84年夏季巡演曲目表中。Grandview U.S.A. 由 Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze 和 Jennifer Jason Leigh 主演。讲述了美国中部一个小镇上三个年轻人的故事。电影由Blue Lagoon and Summer Lovers fame的Randall Kleiser导演,在美国和加拿大,8月3日上映。票房相当惨淡。
 楼主| 发表于 2013-1-26 12:09 | 显示全部楼层
CCTV9今天在播放蒙特塞拉特岛的火山灾难纪录片时介绍了有许多摇滚明星来这里录音,其中就提到了我们的Air Supply。
 楼主| 发表于 2013-2-27 10:00 | 显示全部楼层
修订的图片和文字均已更新完毕!
 楼主| 发表于 2015-2-5 09:23 | 显示全部楼层
大图和新的资料已经全部更新完毕!
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