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第十九章:没落的种族 (1993-1994) (The Vanishing Race)

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发表于 2013-3-19 11:26 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
Chapter Nineteen: The Vanishing Race (1993-1994)

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Producer Humberto Gatica

      Air Supply’s latest album was shaping up to be quite different from their previous record. They worked with producer Humberto Gatica, who had moved to the States from Chile in 1968. Gatica was well established in the music industry, and was the recipient of several Grammy awards, including best engineer for Chicago’s ‘17’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad.’ He had played a major role in the production of ‘The Earth Is...’, so he was already familiar with Air Supply’s successful career, which now included over 25 million records sold (Singles and LPs combined). Gatica’s ability to capture the best vocals possible made him an excellent choice to produce the new record, to take advantage of the unmistakable tenor-and-baritone vocal combination of Air Supply. He made use of a customized, and somewhat outdated microphone, which he felt gave his recordings a better clarity of sound. “The vocals are the most important aspect of the recording for me,” said Gatica. “I pay a lot of attention to vocal recording, and I have found the zone where the vocals behave best. [My mic] challenges every other mic on the planet in terms of purity and clean sound. Everything has to revolve and sound good around the vocal. When I’ve gotten the vocal to sound right, the foundation is there and the mix becomes more fun, and there is room to be creative and experiment with the rest of the mix.”

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Acapulco Music Festival, Mexico - May, 1993

      In May, Graham and Russell went on a promotional tour to Argentina and Mexico, where they appeared on several radio and television shows. They performed at the Acapulco Music Festival, a week-long event held annually at the 5,500-seat Convention Center. It was broadcast by Mexico’s Televisa TV network to 22 countries with an estimated viewing audience of over 500 million people. The 1993 Festival featured mostly Latin American artists, but also international stars such as Sting, Jon Secada, Duran Duran, Air Supply, and Gloria Estefan. A major change at the 1993 Acapulco Festival was an emphasis on live performances rather than lip-synching, which had been the rule at previous festivals because it improved the audio quality for TV transmission. Widespread criticism of lip-synching at previous festivals brought about the change. Due to technical difficulties, about 30% of the artists (Air Supply included) were forced to lip-sync or sing to backing tapes.      

      The Air Supply band went through a major overhaul in 1993. Lead guitarist Jimmy Haun left and was replaced on tour by either Michael Thompson or Dick Smith. Smith was an experienced guitar player, having played with R&B/funk band Earth, Wind & Fire from 1987 to 1993. Guy Allison juggled Air Supply with his other commitments, and was often replaced by pianist Brian Becvar. Michael Sherwood shared keyboard duties with new tour member Hans Zermuehlen. Mark Williams remained on drums as did Cliff Rehrig on bass. Despite the changes, the 7-piece band sounded terrific in concert. Vocally, Russell was still at the top of his game. His voice on ‘The Earth Is...’ and this new album was louder, and perhaps more powerful, without any loss of clarity or range. Visually, the band dressed more casual on stage, with Graham and Russell wearing black jeans or trousers with button-up dress shirts. Russell wore a black leather jacket for several shows.

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Full Page Billboard Ad - June 12, 1993

      The new album, ‘The Vanishing Race,’ was released in May, along with the lead single, ‘Goodbye.’ Humberto Gatica was a long-time friend and collaborator with Canadian producer David Foster, and this relationship brought Air Supply and Foster together again. The result was the power ballad ‘Goodbye.’ Foster and his then-wife Linda Thompson wrote the song, and Air Supply knew it could be a big hit. Graham believed that Giant chose ‘Goodbye’ as the first single because the song sounded very much like traditional Air Supply. The label played it safe.

      The title, ‘The Vanishing Race,’ came about when Graham, Michael Sherwood and Larry Antonino composed a song of the same name, with the hope of making people aware of indigenous peoples around the world. On his birthday in 1991, Graham had received a book of original prints of Native Americans called Portraits From North American Indian Life, by Edward S. Curtis. “I’ve always appreciated the Native Americans because of their closeness to the land and nature,” said Graham. “It was my birthday, and we were in the U.S. on tour when the band bought me this big book of Indian mythology. I opened it up and there was a picture of four Apache Indians on horseback riding into a blizzard. Everything they owned was on the back of their horses and they were going into the unknown. They just looked so dejected and I was so moved by it. Underneath it had a caption that said ‘The Vanishing Race.’ The song came from that and I think its done a good job of bringing attention to the Indians.” While recording the new album Graham wanted to add a bona fide Native American prayer to ‘The Vanishing Race’ track. He contacted a member of the Warm Springs tribe of Oregon, named Quiltman, who contributed an authentic Indian prayer. “It was this magic that convinced us to call the album ‘The Vanishing Race,’” said Graham. With this vision, Graham asked internationally acclaimed artist Brett-Livingstone Strong to design the album cover which would reflect for the eyes what had been captured on tape for the ears.

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‘Goodbye’ CD Maxi Single - Germany

      ‘Goodbye’ entered the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at #48. The song had all the elements of a big hit, but North American radio refused to play it. The Air Supply fan club asked American fans to call their local radio stations to request the song, and sent members a list of phone numbers. “We’ve found since 1986, which is a long time ago, that anything we took to radio has been ignored,” said Russell. “It’s not common knowledge to a lot of people in the U.S., but our career kind of took hold in both Southeast Asia and Latin America from the release of this new string of albums. If the records hadn’t sold in such large numbers overseas, Graham and myself would probably question the content or what we were doing or whatever.” The success of ‘Goodbye’ in Latin America and Asia was so huge that it rivaled the impact that ‘Lost In Love’ had in America in 1980. The song gave Air Supply a new lease on life, and was really the start of another career. ‘Goodbye’ was #1 in several Asian countries. It was also a huge hit in Brazil and Argentina. The ‘Goodbye’ promotional video got heavy airplay in Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

      ‘Goodbye’ was released in the U.K. as a 3-track CD maxi-single in November, and it did surprisingly well considering the U.K. had never embraced Air Supply. Only three songs had ever charted in the region, with ‘Making Love Out Of Nothing At All’ being the last, and it only got to #80. It seemed unlikely that Air Supply would chart in the U.K. again, but they did when ‘Goodbye’ hit #66. After two weeks the song fell from the charts, but it was Air Supply’s third most successful single in the U.K.. The ‘Goodbye’ CD maxi-single included the songs ‘The Vanishing Race’ and ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You.’ The U.K. became a thriving market for 3-track CD singles in the early 90s, whereas most of Air Supply’s CD singles in North America contained just a single track, and were mostly used for radio promotion.  

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      ‘Goodbye’ was re-recorded in 1994 by Warren Wiebe for the One Life To Live soundtrack. Warren was mostly a session artist who was discovered by David Foster in 1987. Warren sang the original demo for the gospel sounding song ‘Faith,’ which was later selected as a track for Air Supply to include on ‘The Vanishing Race.’ Warren provided backup vocals on the final version of the song.

      A tour of Latin America took place in June, taking the band to Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico. In Argentina, where ‘The Vanishing Race’ was the #1 selling record for two consecutive months, Air Supply broke new ground by being the first western artist to play the cities of Comodoro, Bahia Blanca and Neuguen. The band was presented a double-platinum award from BMG Argentina for their ‘Greatest Hits’ album (120,000 units), and were notified that ‘The Vanishing Race’ had already been certified gold (30,000 units).

      The concerts in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo were Air Supply’s first live performances in Brazil. Concert promoters arranged the tour because ‘Goodbye’ had taken radio by storm. In addition, Air Supply had a long list of hit singles in Brazil, including ‘I Can Wait Forever,’ ‘Here I Am’ and ‘Without You.’ Surprisingly, many of Air Supply’s concerts in Brazil did not sell out. The promoters had been slow to advertise, and many fans were not aware that Air Supply was playing until last minute. Attendance improved as the tour progressed, but it must have been disappointing to not sell out in what was perceived as a hot spot for the band. In Rio de Janeiro, Graham wrote a song called ‘Always.’ “I had a beautiful room overlooking Copacabana Beach, and the moon was dancing over the sea,” recalls Graham. “It was a little bit Debussy, whom I love.”
  
      Air Supply returned to Brazil for more concerts in October, and local fans rejoiced at the chance to see the band twice in the same year. The Latin America setlist for the June tour included seven songs from ‘The Vanishing Race,’ and hits from the 80s.

1993 Latin America Setlist:
1.  Kiss Me Like You Mean It                  9. I Remember Love                        
2.  Making Love Out Of Nothing At All   10. Here I Am   
3.  Lost In Love                                    11. Don’t Tell Me                           
4.  The Vanishing Race                         12. Goodbye
5.  Sweet Dreams                                 13. The One That You Love            
6.  I Want To Give It All                         14. All Out Of Love   
7.  My Best Friend                                 15. I’ll Be Thinking Of You (Encore)                     
8.  Evidence Of Love                             16. Without You (Encore)      

      WEA, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, was acting as the main distributor of Air Supply music in many countries. Giant Records became unhappy with the way WEA was handling its international distribution, so in 1993 they struck a deal with BMG to distribute its recordings outside of North America. Warner maintained manufacturing and distribution rights in North America. Air Supply’s Arista recordings were already distributed internationally by BMG, and the company did an excellent job selling music in these regions. BMG was in the midst of growing its global operations and hired a manager, Australian David Bland, for marketing BMG products in Asia. Multimedia manager, Clive Gardiner, was hired to oversee the rapidly growing satellite and karaoke sectors. “If you are going to be a player (in Asian music), you need to be into all aspects of the industry, not just star creation,” said Stuart Rubin, VP for A&R and marketing in Asia.

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      ‘It’s Never Too Late’ was the second single from ‘The Vanishing Race.’ It was released in Asia and South America exclusively, where it had significant airplay. Its promotional music video featured Jodi Russell, and was played heavily on television in these areas. The video was later included on the 1995 Asian-produced ‘Now and Forever’ karaoke LaserDisc and VHS. “‘It’s Never Too Late’ is one of my favourite songs we have ever done,” said Graham. “I loved the way the B section rose up and down at the same time, creating such a beautiful tension before the chorus just soared. The song is a single overseas and it’s a big big hit over there. ‘The Vanishing Race’ has been out 4-6 weeks in the U.S. and it’s got a real slow start, but in Asia and South America it’s already number one. Our markets are different all over the world and we feel very fortunate to have alternative markets.”

      ‘Evidence Of Love’ was the third single from ‘The Vanishing Race.’ The slow ballad was almost entirely ignored by radio, resulting in no chart success anywhere in the world. Perhaps an upbeat song, like ‘Too Sentimental’ or ‘Faith’ would have fared better? “The vibe in ‘Faith’ was kind of an Elton John kind of thing,” said Graham, “which we wanted to have a go at. We wanted a shot at trying other styles. I like to have varied songs, not just the same song all the time. I think songs like ‘Too Sentimental’ are different for us, but it works and we love the way it came out.”  

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'Evidence Of Love' CD Single

      ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You’ is considered by many to be one of Air Supply’s best songs, yet it was never released as a single. Its emotional and expressive vocal by Russell got a great response when played live. The saxophone and elements of enchanting rhythmic percussion throughout ‘The Vanishing Race’ gave it a contemporary feel, without losing the distinctive Air Supply sound. Russell confirmed that of all the Air Supply songs that were not released as singles, ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You,’ is his favourite. “Graham plays piano and I sing it near the end of our show,” he said. “It is a very beautiful song. It has a great lyric and melody, which is the essence of what we do. It’s just one of those songs that touched me personally. We love the atmosphere the sax creates. It’s different for us, and adds a nice flavour without going over the top.” “My favourite is ‘I’ll Be Thinking of You,’” says Graham, “by a long shot. It’s a very deep spiritual song. The chords are very simple and lyrics are simple, bit it gets straight to you. For me, that was a milestone as a song writer, because it’s just so simple and I love things that are simple that work.”

      Beginning July 10 through September 4, Air Supply toured the U.S. in an attempt to boost sales of ‘The Vanishing Race.’ “We just want to make people aware of the album,” says Graham, “because some people are having difficulty getting it. In some locations you have to pay to get your record into stores. Competition is so fierce in records stores now because there is so much product out. A lot of stores will say, ‘Yes, we’ll take the album,’ and they stick one or two albums in a slot somewhere. Then people don’t know that the album is out. So that is our main beef at the moment. We know the album is a good album, because it’s number one in the rest of the world, almost everywhere. So we just want to give it a fair shake. We tour extensively all over the world, [but] we’re only doing four weeks here [in the U.S.]. Ten years ago we would have done ten months. In the 80s, we made a lot of money and we made a lot of friends. We’re not money-motivated now. We can do things like ‘The Vanishing Race,’ which really took our fancy. We can do that now, but in the 80s we wouldn’t have been allowed to do that. We would have had to stick to the merry-go-round of coming up with pop hits all the time. We like to do things now which mean a lot to us, and even if we don’t sell a lot of albums in the U.S., we’re doing something that we really believe in.”

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1993 Malibu Fire

      On November 2, tragedy struck when Graham and Jodi’s home was razed to the ground during the Malibu fires. Fires were not uncommon in Southern California, but the fire storm of 1993 was one of the worst in its history, burning more than 16,516 acres and destroying 739 homes in Central Malibu. Three lives were lost. Graham and Jodi escaped from the fire without injury. “I lost everything in that fire,” explains Graham. “Good thing I didn’t lose my wife and my pets. It was a tragic event that opened a whole new world for me when I touched the unknown. You experience something you’ve never felt before, which you’ll never experience again. It goes right into your soul.”

      With their Malibu house destroyed, Graham and Jodi were forced to move into their vacation home in Park City, Utah. They had discovered the house in March of 1990, during a lull between shows in Las Vegas. Having spent very little time in Utah, Graham and Jodi rented a car and drove north to explore. They called a real estate agent out of the phone book and met him at the Wagon Wheel Cafe, where he proceeded to show them 30 to 40 houses that day. They ended up buying the first house they looked at, which included 120 acres. The house served as the perfect vacation home for three years, but was now their primary residence. “We just like the space and freedom,” said Graham. “It’s a fairly remote place, and I choose to live there for certain reasons. I don’t like crowds but I do enjoy playing in front of people. I just don’t like being in amongst crowds, and I think that stems from me being tall. I always felt like I stood out because I’m so tall, and I’ve been that way since I was 13. I also think that mankind needs to be close to nature in order to fulfill his destiny.” Before moving to Utah, Jodi was involved with acting and was training with some of the top acting coaches in Los Angeles. “When we relocated to Utah, it was difficult to keep up my work in Los Angeles, and I thought my career was over,” recalls Jodi. “I was soon fortunate to find roles in Utah, with parts on the TV dramas Cover Me, Touched By An Angel, and Everwood. There is a such a buzz on a set, it really is addictive. A lot of hard work with great people coming together with one focus to tell a story.”

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1993 Concert (Photo Courtesy of Lisa Rowland)

      Before the Malibu fires, Air Supply was on tour in Asia to promote ‘The Vanishing Race.’ They performed in many countries throughout Southeastern Asia, including a sold out performance at the Harbour Pavilion in Singapore, on the same day that Sting played at the local Indoor Stadium. Concert attendance was overwhelming, as recent hits like ‘Without You,’ ‘Goodbye’ and ‘It’s Never Too Late’ made Air Supply superstars in the region. Music reviews were mostly positive. A reporter from Singapore wrote:

      Delivering a polished show that trotted out some of their best known songs, Russell and Graham demonstrated that unlike the image-oriented acts of today, they can actually hold their own on stage and even sound truly inspired. Watching them perform without the aid of the visual grandiosity that has become a norm in pop concerts these days, one realized that even music that is infused with saccharine can prove enjoyable if the artists dealing in it are honest in their intentions. Hitchcock was particularly outstanding, singing with passion and quite a remarkable degree of precision throughout. His partner, Graham Russell, who was either busy strumming an acoustic guitar or intensely caressing the keys of a piano, was less interesting, but he made up for his flawed performance with physical ebullience.

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      In 1991, Air Supply performed during the launch of the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. The short and scaled-down performance became legendary with the locals. Air Supply was invited back in November of 1993, to perform and accept a gold record award from BMG Pacific for selling more than 17,000 units of ‘The Vanishing Race’ in Malaysia. But the tour of Malaysia was cancelled because the Malibu fire forced Graham back to Los Angeles to handle his personal affairs.  

      ‘The Vanishing Race’ tour continued into 1994 with another visit to Asia, including Air Supply’s first concert in Indonesia. In fact, Air Supply was being promoted as the first foreign pop band to play live in Indonesia. In anticipation of the event, HAI Magazine in Jakarta flew two music reporters to Arizona for an exclusive interview with Russell. It was a unique twist, as most promotion and interviews required Graham and Russell to travel. Russell and Rebecca picked up their Indonesian guests at the Flagstaff airport and took them to their favourite Chinese restaurant. After dinner, they did an interview with Russell in the comfort of his own home, and were introduced to his three dogs, one cat and two birds. A phone interview was later conducted with Graham from his home in Utah. The HAI Magazine reporters were more than impressed with the hospitality they received on their short visit, and wrote the following:
      “We guarantee that Air Supply fans in Indonesia will enjoy the performance. We promise! We must acknowledge the fact that Russell Hitchcock is one of the warmest artists we have ever come across. He made us feel so at home.”

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Alejandro Lerner

      In 1994, Air Supply recorded a duet called ‘You’ll Never Know’ with Argentine-born singer Alejandro Lerner. The song was a remake of Lerner’s 1982 hit, ‘Por Un Minuto De Amor’ (Love In A Minute). Graham and Lerner wrote new lyrics, and the recording was included on the Humberto Gatica-produced album ‘Permiso De Volar.’ Lerner recorded his album in L.A. with David Foster, and was hoping to add some ‘international star’ flavour to his Spanish recordings. Gatica and Foster knew how influential Air Supply was internationally, so they arranged for them to join forces with Lerner. It was an ideal partnership because both artists specialized in romantic music, and were both signed to BMG. Lerner was considered a superstar in most of Latin America and Spain, but was not popular elsewhere. “I’m learning a lot from playing in other countries, and recording with real giants,” said Lerner. “A big step like going international may finally take place.” ‘Permiso de Volar’ was considered a big success for Lerner and Gatica. It went platinum with over 60,000 units sold in Argentina and over 250,000 in Latin America. ‘You’ll Never Know’ did not become an international hit, but it was considered one of the strongest tracks on the album, and was later included on Lerner’s hits collection, ‘Grandes Exitos 1988-1994.’

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1993 Tour T-shirt

      Air Supply toured the U.S. in the summer of 1994 as part of a twin bill with Canadian pop singer Dan Hill. Between shows, Graham wrote new songs for the forthcoming album, which was expected for release in early 1995. It was to be the first Air Supply record produced entirely by Graham. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “But I feel capable of being a producer now since I have a lot of confidence. I don’t know if I will be producing all the future albums, but I like producing. I think we’ve reached a stage now, in our career, where we don’t necessarily have to cater to a lot of public demand. We don’t get the record company saying, ‘Well, you’ve got an album loaded with singles,’ or, ‘Radio’s not going to play it.’ We pretty much can please ourselves, which is a nice space to be in after going through the pop thing and the fame and the fortune and come out the other end, reasonably intact.”  

      The Air Supply production entourage became more self-sufficient, with less involvement from the record label. Graham’s son, Simon Russell, assisted in the recording studio, and hoped to make significant changes to the fan club in 1995. Russell’s girlfriend, Rebecca, worked as the front-of-stage live sound technician. The current setup of Air Supply musicians were a tight-knit group, who had been friends for many years. Billy Sherwood was the newest musician to join, and he played a major role on several new songs. Billy, who is Michael Sherwood’s brother, was a member of the band Lodgic with Jimmy Haun, Guy Allison, and Michael Sherwood. When Lodgic broke up, Billy, Guy Allison and Mark T. Williams created the band World Trade. Like his brother, Billy was a multi-talented musician who played several instruments and was experienced in studio engineering.

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(Courtesy of Lisa Rowland - 1994)

      “Because Air Supply is a very closed entity,” says Graham, “the less number of people that come in from the outside, the better off we are, because we understand Air Supply better than anyone else. In the past we have had producers that say, ‘Yes, I understand the way you want to go,’ and we make a record that’s never sounded like we wanted it to sound. We make a lot of demos before we go into record and, in a lot of cases, the demos have sounded better than the album. I didn’t want that to happen with the new record. I am sure we will work with different producers in the future, but until someone comes along who can share that vision, I don’t think it will happen. Plus they want too much money. They want a third of the album budget. It’s not fair. The budget for the album should be to make an album, not to give somebody enough money to buy a Porsche! We don’t cater to any trends. We just do what is us at that time. There are some territories where the album sold ten times what the previous one did, in some territories it didn’t. You win some and you lose some.”

      According to music industry experts, Graham’s decision to produce the next Air Supply album was a risky endeavor. There often exists a love/hate relationship between producer and artist, but there are reasons why some of the most popular producers are paid $150,000 and more to produce an album. When an artist signs with a major label, they are essentially signing a contract that says, “Yes, we want to make records that sell in large quantities.” The producer is hired as the expert consultant toward that goal. Artists also want to sell lots of records, but they often want to create something avant-garde or non-commercial. In the book Confessions of a Record Producer, Moses Avalon discusses the risks of artists producing their own records: “As artists get more successful, they usually try to exercise their muscle by taking more control over the production of their record. Most of the time, self-producing is a formula for disaster. It tends to have the same effect as a person giving themselves a haircut without a mirror. Sometimes it works well; there are some artists who have excelled at producing themselves. But most artists, even many who’ve been making hit records for years, hire people to at least co-produce their albums. The producer acts as a sounding board for the varied and sometimes conflicting ideas that the artist has for the songs. Often, the producer will help arrange the material, and sometimes he or she writes bridges for songs that are missing that ‘certain something.’”     

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      While Graham worked on the new album, Russell kept busy with some interesting side projects. One of those involved recording a second solo record with former Air Supply bassist Don Cromwell. They recorded a 10-track demo with songs written by Cromwell and Rick Barron, but it was not picked up by a label, and was shelved indefinitely. Another project of Russell’s did come to fruition in 1994, when he and his girlfriend Rebecca appeared in an issue of International Tattoo Art. Russell was featured in an article titled, ‘The Lost Sheep of Air Supply,’ in which he displayed his many tattoos. International Tattoo Art interviewer Jeff Hickey was rather shocked at the number of tattoos on Russell; “Somebody had said to me, ‘You should check out Air Supply. They have more tats than anybody.’ We’re like... your lying. They do not. It turns out they did. It was just crazy that it was Air Supply. You would never expect Air Supply to have more tats than Motley Crue. [Russell] was really nice. He put my mom on the guest list for the show in New Hampshire.”

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'Vanishing Race' sells 450,000 units in Asia - June, 1994

      Several events were occurring in the Asian music scene that were setting the stage for a very successful period for Air Supply in the region. China, the largest music market in the region, was allowing more international music labels to establish affiliates in the country. Very few foreign artists were able to to crack the Chinese-language market in the past. BMG, who was heavily promoting Air Supply in most of Asia, signed Chinese movie star and singer Ekin Cheng, better known as Noodle. His single, ‘On Stage,’ was the first top ten hit for BMG in Hong Kong, and it allowed the music label to establish a presence in China. “It was a payoff for a lot of effort, but, more importantly, it put us in the market....finally,” said Sandy Lamb, general manager of BMG for international and domestic pop. Air Supply now had a direct link to the Chinese market thanks to the success of BMG. Playing live in China was something Graham and Russell wanted to do for several years, and the recent changes in the country, and the popularity of romantic ballads in the region, made this a possibility. But a tour of China was still considered a monumental task.

      The only Western pop band to play live in China was the U.K. band Wham! They played several shows over a ten day period in 1985, and experienced many political and social obstacles. “We were followed around by the army everywhere,” recalls Wham! backup singer Helen ‘Pepsi’ DeMacque. “It was an eye-opening experience. The front four rows were just men in uniform, totally deadpan. So we went on stage in front of all these communists singing I Don’t Want Your Freedom. Up in the far corner of the auditorium were these young kids dancing, but the uniforms were quick to move towards them, and they were eventually taken out.” Despite the cultural challenges, the short tour of China was considered a tremendous success for Wham!.
  
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Axis Records 1994,  EMI/Big Time 1996, Teal Trutone Music 1994

      There were no Air Supply compilations released in 1994, but it was common in the mid 90s for record labels to reissue older vinyl onto CD. Axis Records and EMI reissued ‘Life Support’ in Australia, making it available on the preferred CD format for the first time. Axis Records was a budget-priced label based in Sydney who released mostly reissues and compilations, but also recorded and released a few albums specifically for themselves. ‘Life Support’ was also reissued in South Africa by Teal Trutone Music. EMI Australia and Big Time Records reissued ‘Life Support’ on CD again in 1996 with different cover artwork, but this later release did very little to alleviate demand for ‘Life Support’ on CD.  

 楼主| 发表于 2013-3-20 11:02 | 显示全部楼层
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      Air Supply的最新专辑和以往的专辑相当不同。他们和制作人Humberto Gatica合作,他在1968年从智利搬到美国。Gatica在音乐界干了很出色,得到了好几座格兰美奖,包括了最佳录音(Chicago乐队的‘17’) 和Michael Jackson的‘Bad’。他在制作专辑 ‘The Earth Is...’中扮演了重要的角色,他对Air Supply的成功音乐生涯很熟悉,如今他们已经卖出了2千5百万张唱片(包括单曲和LP)。Gatica有很棒的塑造歌手的能力,这也使得他成为一个制作新专辑的好选择,让Air Supply美妙的高音和中音组合变得更好。他使用一个定制的,有些过时的麦克风,他认为这能带给他清澈的声音。“人声部分对我来说是录音中最重要的一部分。” Gatica说。“我在声音部分录制上花了更多的心思,而且我已经找到了声音表现的最佳部分。我的麦克风挑战了地球上其他所有的麦克风,声音纯净和干净。所有在围绕在人声周围的声音都非常棒。当我找到了人声的最佳点的时候,所有混音合变得越来越有趣了,其余的就很有创造性和实验性。”

      5月,Graham和Russell去阿根廷和墨西哥参加宣传演出,他们在多家电台和电视节目上表演。一个为期一周的Acapulco音乐节在5千500人座位的Convention Center举行。他由墨西哥Televisa电视台为22个国家直播,估计收看人数达到5亿人。1993年的这个音乐节大多邀请了南美艺人,但也有诸如Sting,Jon Secada,Duran Duran,Air Supply和Gloria Estefan这样的国际巨星。1993年Acapulco Festival上做的一次重大的改变则是变成了现场真唱而不是对嘴型演出,这种之前的对嘴型演出是为了增加电视演出的质量。对于在艺术节上的这种对嘴型演唱的大范围的批评导致了这次改变。由于技术上的难点,大约30%的艺人(包括Air Supply)被迫依旧对嘴型或者预录声音。

      Air Supply在1993年经历了一次重大的人员变动。主音吉他Jimmy Haun离开了乐队,被Michael Thompson或者Dick Smith代替。Smith是名经验丰富的吉他手,1987年到1993年和R&B/funk乐队Earth, Wind & Fire合作过。Guy Allison没有完成对Air Supply的承诺,他经常缺席,由Brian Becvar取代他。Michael Sherwood和Hans Zermuehlen一同担任键盘手一职。Mark Williams继续在鼓手位置任职,Cliff Rehrig依旧是贝斯手。尽管有着多种改变,这个7人乐队在现场表现的依旧很棒。人声部分上,Russell依旧是顶尖的。在专辑 ‘The Earth Is...’里和这张新专辑里都很嘹亮,还可能是更有爆发力,没有损失任何高音。视觉效果上,乐队穿着更时尚了。Russell在多场演出中穿着一件黑色皮夹克。

      新专辑 ‘The Vanishing Race’在5月发行,伴随着首支单曲 ‘Goodbye’。Humberto Gatica是加拿大制作人David Foster的好友和合作人,这种关系把Air Supply和Foster再次带到了一起。结果就产生了强大的 ‘Goodbye’ 。Foster和他的妻子Linda Thompson共同写了这首歌,Air Supply知道这首歌一定会成为一首金曲。Graham相信Giant选择‘Goodbye’ 作为首支单曲发行是因为这首歌听上去就是典型的Air Supply风格。这样会十分保险。

      标题 ‘The Vanishing Race’ 是这样来的,当Graham,Michael Sherwood和Larry Antonino写了这样一首同名曲,为了让人们意识到土著民在世界上的存在。在他1991年的生日时,Graham收到了一本Edward S. Curtis写的关于美国原住民的书《Portraits From North American Indian Life》。“我非常欣赏美国原住民,因为他们的生活方式接近大自然。” Graham说。“那天正好是我生日,我们正在美国巡演,乐队带给我这本印第安人神话的书。我打开书,有一张图片,四个阿帕奇印第安人骑着马在暴风雪中飞驰。他们唯一清楚的就是他们的马,和驶向未知。他们看起来十分沮丧,我被这打动了。标题上写着 ‘The Vanishing Race’。这首歌就是这么来的,我觉得这是一件好事,让印第安人得到更多的关注。” 当录制新专辑时,Graham想要增加一首真正向美国原住民致敬的歌曲‘The Vanishing Race’ 。他联系了一个俄勒冈温泉部落的人Quiltman。“说服我把这张专辑取名为 ‘The Vanishing Race’真是一件神奇的事。” Graham说。通过这个,Graham请求艺人Brett-Livingstone Strong来设计专辑的封面,为了符合专辑的主题。

     ‘Goodbye’ 进入了Billboard成人流行榜第#48位。这首歌拥有所有金曲元素,但是北美电台拒绝播放这首歌。Air Supply歌迷俱乐部请求美国歌迷来打电话让当地电台播放这首歌,把一份电话号码单发给会员。“我们发现自从1986年开始,我们就被电台遗忘了。” Russell说。“这在北美对于很多人来说都不太常见,但我们在东南亚和南美抓住了机会发行了这张专辑。加入这张专辑在大洋彼岸没能卖出很大数量,Graham和我可能就会质疑我们所做的一切。” 单曲‘Goodbye’ 在南美和亚洲的成功媲美 ‘Lost In Love’1980年在美国的成功。这首歌给予Air Supply新生,真正的开始了另一段音乐生涯。‘Goodbye’ 在许多亚洲国家获得冠军#1。在巴西和阿根廷也是大获成功。‘Goodbye’的宣传录影带在印尼,马来西亚,台湾和香港播放次数巨大。

     ‘Goodbye’ 于11月在英国发行3首歌的CD单曲,这确实很令人惊讶,因为英国从来就没有真正欢迎过Air Supply。只有三首歌登陆过那里的排行榜上, ‘Making Love Out Of Nothing At All’ 是最后一首,而且仅仅获得第#80位。看起来Air Supply将会再次登上英国榜,但是‘Goodbye’仅仅获得了第#66位。仅仅两周后歌曲就跌出排行榜了,但是这却是Air Supply在英国榜上第三好的排名。‘Goodbye’ 单曲CD包括了 ‘The Vanishing Race’ 和 ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You’ 。英国是90年代初三轨单曲CD发展最繁荣的市场,反而在北美的Air Supply的单曲CD仅仅包含一首歌曲,大多用于电台宣传。

     ‘Goodbye’ 在1994年被Warren Wiebe重新录制,收录在One Life To Live电影原声内。Warren是David Foster在1987年发掘的一名歌手。Warren唱了福音歌曲 ‘Faith’ 的样带,被收录进了Air Supply的专辑‘The Vanishing Race’内。在最终的版本里Warren也为这首歌演唱了和声。

      南美巡演在6月举行,途径秘鲁,阿根廷,乌拉圭,巴西和墨西哥。在阿根廷,Air Supply成为了第一支在Comodoro, Bahia Blanca and Neuguen演出的西方艺人。‘The Vanishing Race’ 在阿根廷连续两周成为销量最高唱片。Air supply的精选集‘Greatest Hits’ 被授予双白金 (120,000张),值得注意的是 ‘The Vanishing Race’ 也已经取得了金唱片销量 (30,000张)。

      在里约热内卢和圣保罗的演出是Air Supply在巴西的第一次演出。演出赞助者安排了这次巡演是因为 ‘Goodbye’ 在当地如暴风骤雨般在电台播出。另外,Air Supply在巴西有一份很长的金曲单曲目录,包括 ‘I Can Wait Forever’, ‘Here I Am’ 和 ‘Without You’。惊讶的是,许多场Air Supply在巴西的演唱会并没有售完票。演出宣传并没有跟上,许多歌迷并不是Air Supply要来演出。在里约热内卢,Graham写了首歌名叫 ‘Always’ 。“在科帕卡瓦纳海边的美丽的小屋里,月光伴着海浪。” Graham说。“有点德彪西的感觉,我很喜欢这位天才。”

      Air Supply在10月回到巴西演出,当地歌迷庆幸能够一年内见到乐队两次。6月在南美的演出曲目单上包含了7首歌选自‘The Vanishing Race’,其他都选自80年代的金曲。

1993 Latin America Setlist:
1.  Kiss Me Like You Mean It                  9. I Remember Love                        
2.  Making Love Out Of Nothing At All   10. Here I Am   
3.  Lost In Love                                    11. Don’t Tell Me                           
4.  The Vanishing Race                         12. Goodbye
5.  Sweet Dreams                                 13. The One That You Love            
6.  I Want To Give It All                         14. All Out Of Love   
7.  My Best Friend                                 15. I’ll Be Thinking Of You (Encore)                     
8.  Evidence Of Love                             16. Without You (Encore)      

      WEA是华纳唱片的子公司,主要负责在一些国家对Air Supply专辑的发行。Giant Records对于WEA管理国际发行的方式很不快,所以在1993年他们和BMG谈妥了一桩合同,关于负责北美之外的唱片发行。华纳主要负责在北美的唱片事务。Air Supply在Arista时期的录音已经由BMG负责在国际范围内发行,公司在这些地区做了非常棒。BMG的国际业务不断成长,并且雇佣了一名经理,澳大利亚人David Bland,负责BMG在亚洲的市场运作。多媒体经理Clive Gardiner很快由于日渐增长的卫星和卡拉ok被雇佣。“加入你准备成为一位艺人 (在亚洲),你需要全方位考虑,而不是简单的造星。” 亚洲研发和营销副总裁Stuart Rubin如是说。

     ‘It’s Never Too Late’ 是‘The Vanishing Race’ 中的第二支单曲。它特别在亚洲和南美发行,播放率很高。它的宣传录影带中有Jodi Russell的身影,在这些地区的电视上播放得非常多。这支录影带稍后被包含在乐队1995年的亚洲项目 ‘Now and Forever’ 卡拉ok,LD和VHS中。“‘It’s Never Too Late’ 是我写过自己最喜欢的歌曲之一。” Graham说。“ 我喜欢这样B段同时上升和下降,在高潮突然起来之前创造一些紧张的氛围。这首歌在大洋对岸是首热门单曲。‘The Vanishing Race’ 在美国已经发行4到6周,真的很慢热,但是在亚洲和南美它已经是冠军了。我们很幸运能在世界上拥有那么广泛不同的市场。”

     ‘Evidence Of Love’ 是‘The Vanishing Race’的第三支单曲。这首慢板情歌几乎完全被电台忽略,结果就是在世界上没能进入任何一个排行榜。是不是更快一些的歌曲如‘Too Sentimental’ 或者 ‘Faith’ 会表现得更好? “ 盛传 ‘Faith’ 是Elton John的风格。” Graham说,“我们想要尝试不同的风格。我喜欢不同风格的歌曲,而不是永远都是一种风格。我想 ‘Too Sentimental’ 这样的歌正好和我们的风格很不同,而也是我们喜欢的。”  

       ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You’ 被认为是Air Supply最棒的歌之一,可是它从来没被作为单曲发行。当现场演唱时,Russell那充满情感和表现力的声音都会得到剧烈的反响。萨克斯风元素和打击乐贯穿了 ‘The Vanishing Race’, 给予了更现代的感觉,同时也没有丢失Air Supply那独特的声音。Russell确定那些没能作为单曲发行的歌曲中 ‘I’ll Be Thinking Of You’ 是他的最爱。“在演出即将结束时,Graham弹奏钢琴,我随着演唱。” 他说。“这真是一首美丽的歌。有着美丽的歌词和动人的旋律,这也正是我们的本质。这是能够触动我心的歌之一。我们都很爱这种氛围。感觉十分特别。” “我的最爱是 ‘I’ll Be Thinking of You’,” Graham说,“很长一段时间了,这是首非常意味深长的歌。和弦和歌词都很简单,但是能够直透人心。对我来说,这是一个里程碑,因为我就是喜欢这样简简单单的感觉。”

      在7月10日开始直到9月4日,Air Supply在美国巡演,欲求增加‘The Vanishing Race’的销量。“我们只是想让人们知道这张专辑。” Graham说,“因为有些人很难买到它。在一些地方你必须花钱才能让你的唱片上架。竞争在唱片店中相当激烈,因为有太多的唱片发行。许多零售商会说,‘嗯,我们要这张专辑。’ 然后他们会把1,2张专辑丢在角落里。然后人们便不知道那些唱片已经发行了。所以那时我们一直在抱怨这个。我们知道这张专辑是张好专辑,因为在其他国家它是冠军,几乎哪里都是。所以我们给了它一个公平的待遇。我们在全世界不断地巡演,但是我们在美国仅仅待4个星期。10年前这个数字是10个月。在80年代,我们赚了很多钱也交了很多朋友。现在钱已经不是我们的动力了。我们做诸如‘The Vanishing Race’这样的专辑,这真的像是完成了我们的心愿。我们能够这样做,但是在80年代我们往往身不由己,无法如愿。我们不得不像旋转木马一样,一直写着那些流行歌曲。这样做专辑对我们来说很重要,即使在美国我们的唱片不会卖了太好,我们也会去做那些我们真的相信,喜欢的东西。”

      11月2日,灾难发生了,Graham和Jodi的小屋在马里布大火中被夷为平地。大火在南加利福尼亚并不常见,但是这场在1993年的火灾堪称史上第一,烧毁了超过16,516英亩土地,摧毁了中马里布的739个家庭。3人死亡。幸运的是,Graham和Jodi 在火灾发生时并没有在家。“大火毁掉了我所有的东西。” Graham解释道。“幸运的是我没有失去我的妻子和宠物。这是个悲剧,但也为我打开了新的大门。当你经历了之前从未体验过而你以后也不会再去触碰的东西时,这会渗透进你的灵魂。”

      伴随着在马里布的房子被摧毁后,Graham和Jodi被迫搬到了他们度假时在犹他 Park City的房子。他们在1990年3月发现了这个房子,那时他们正在拉斯维加斯举办演唱会。在犹他的时间不多,Graham和Jodi租了一辆车开到北方去搜寻。他们打电话给了一位房产经纪人在车轮咖啡馆见面,那天他带他们去看了30到40幢房子。他们最终买了第一套选择的房子,面积达120英亩。三年来,这幢房子是他们度假的好住处,但是现在这成为了他们的主住处。“我们喜欢这里自由的空进啊。” Graham说。“这是一个非常遥远的地方,我理所应当住在这里。我不喜欢熙熙攘攘的人群,但是我很喜欢在观众面前演出。我只是不喜欢在人群中的感觉,我想可能是因为我太高的原因吧。因为我太高,我总是觉得我太突兀,自从13岁时起我就有这种感觉了。我觉得人们应该更接近大自然。” 在搬到犹他前,Jodi在洛杉矶进行表演训练。“当我们搬到犹他时,很难让我在洛杉矶很好工作,我心想我的生涯要结束了。” Jodi说,“很快我幸运得在犹他找到了一个电视剧的角色。一些努力工作的人在一起讲述一个故事。”

      在马里布大火发生之前,Air Supply在亚洲巡演宣传 ‘The Vanishing Race’ 。他们在东南亚许多国家演出,包括了一场在新加坡Harbour Pavilion售完票的演出,同一天,Sting在当地体育馆演出。出席人数巨大,像最近的金曲 ‘Without You’, ‘Goodbye’ 和 ‘It’s Never Too Late’ 让Air Supply成为那些地方的超级明星。音评人大多是正面的。一名新加坡记者是这么写的:
      闪亮的演出,伴随着他们最著名的歌曲,Russell 和Graham在舞台上展现了他们的真正实力。看着他们的演出,没有如今的那些五光十色。Hitchcock十分出彩,激情的演唱。他的搭档Graham Russell,弹着吉他或者是钢琴,弥补了一些不太动感的表演。

      1991年,Air Supply在马来西亚Kuala LumparHard Rock Cafe演出。这场小规模的短演出在当地成为传奇。Air Supply在1993年11月被再次邀请前来演出,BMG Pacific为了表彰 ‘The Vanishing Race’  在马来西亚售出超过1万7千张而获得金唱片。但是马来西亚的巡演由于马里布大火逼迫Graham回到洛杉矶处理个人事务而取消。

      ‘The Vanishing Race’ 巡演在1994年继续造访亚洲,包括Air Supply第一场在印尼的演出。事实上,Air Supply被宣传方称为是首位造访印尼的国外流行乐队。为了这次演出,雅加达HAI杂志的两位记者飞往亚利桑那为Russell做一次独家访问。这相当特别,大多数采访都会让Graham和Russell飞到目的地接受访问。Russell和Rebecca在Flagstaff机场接待了他们的印尼客人并且吃了他们最爱的中国菜。晚饭后,他们在Russell舒适的房间里采访了他,并且介绍了他养的三条狗,一只猫和两只鸟。晚些时候,一次电话采访连通了Graham在犹他的家。HAI杂志记者在短暂的访问里留下了很好的印象,写了下文章:
  “我们保证在印尼的Air Supply的歌迷们一定会享受这次演出的。我们保证!我们必须说的是Russell Hitchcock是世界上最和善的艺人之一,他让我们觉得就像在自己家一样。”
      1994年,Air Supply和阿根廷歌手Alejandro Lerner录制了一首合唱曲 ‘You’ll Never Know’ 。这首歌是Lerner1982年的金曲 ‘Por Un Minuto De Amor’ (Love In A Minute)的重唱。Graham和Lerner共同写了新的歌词,这首歌被收录进Humberto Gatica制作的专辑 ‘Permiso De Volar’中。Lerner在洛杉矶和David Foster在一同录制专辑,他希望能加一些“国际巨星”的感觉进他的这张西班牙语专辑。Gatica和Foster知道Air Supply的影响力是相当国际性的,所以他们希望能够安排他们和Lerner一起合唱。这是相当理想的组合因为他们都唱情歌,而且都签约在BMG旗下。Lerner被认为是拉丁美洲和西班牙的超级巨星,但在别的地方却不怎么流行。“我正在试着在别的国家演唱,录制专辑。” Lerner说。“向国际迈出的一大步可能即将实现了。” ‘Permiso de Volar’ 被认为是Lerner和Gatica的一次巨大的成功。在阿根廷获得白金销量,卖出6万份拷贝,在南美卖出超过2万5千张。‘You’ll Never Know’ 没能成为一首国际金曲,但是依然被认为是专辑中最强劲的歌曲之一,也被收录在了Lerner的精选集 ‘Grandes Exitos 1988-1994’中。

      Air Supply在1994年夏天的巡演中和加拿大流行歌手Dan Hill一起合作。在演出途中,Graham为下一张专辑写了两首新歌,预计在1995年早期发行。这是第一张由Graham全权制作的Air Supply专辑。“这是我长久以来一直想做的事情。” 他说,“我觉得我现在已经足够可以当一名制作人了,我有信心。我不清楚将来是否我会制作所有的专辑,但是我对此十分热衷。我想现在我们已经可以不必去满足公众的口味了。我们可以不去听从唱片公司说的,‘好,你必须发行这个单曲,或者电台不会喜欢这样的风格的。’ 我们可以做我们喜欢的,在经历了那么多,声望,财富之后。”

      Air Supply有了更多的资金,唱片公司对唱片制作参与了更少了。Graham的儿子Simon Russell,在录音室中成为了助理,并且希望在1995年能够让歌迷俱乐部有显著的改进。Russell的女友Rebecca作为现场音响师工作在前台。当前的Air Supply乐手阵容关系非常密切,他们都是多年的朋友。Billy Sherwood是新加入的乐手,在几首新歌中扮演者主要角色。Billy是Michael Sherwood的兄弟,也是Lodgic乐队的成员,和Jimmy Haun, Guy Allison, 和 Michael Sherwood一起合作。当Lodgic解散后,Billy, Guy Allison和Mark T. Williams建立了乐队World Trade。像他的兄弟一样,Billy是名多重天赋的音乐家,弹奏多个乐器,在录音室里也能担任录音工作。

      “因为Air Supply是个小团体。” Graham说,“很少人能够融入进来,我们能够做的更好,我们能够比任何人都更好的理解Air Supply。过去我们的制作人总是说,‘是的,没错,我能理解你们的想法。’ 然后录制的专辑却听起来完全不是那么回事。在进录音室之前我们录制了很多样带,这些样带听起来比专辑中的要好多了。我不想在新专辑中再发生那样的事了。我确信未来我们会和很多不同的制作人合作,但直到正确的人来之前都不会让别人制作我们的专辑了。再加上他们的要价通常都很高。他们想要第三张唱片的预算,太不公平了。预算应该满足制作一张专辑,而不是给他们足够的钱买一辆保时捷!我们不会满足任何流行趋势。我们只是做我们自己的音乐。有一些地方的专辑销量是前一张专辑的10倍,在有些地方却不是。你得到一些的同时又失去了一些。”

      按照唱片界的专家的观点,Graham决定自己来制作下一张Air Supply专辑是一个冒险。在制作人和艺人之间总是存在着那种爱恨关系,但是这也是为什么会支付给顶级流行音乐制作人15万美元或者更多来制作专辑。当艺人签约了主流厂牌,他们签约时一定会说,“是的,我们想要卖掉更多的唱片。” 制作人被雇来完成这个目标。艺人想要卖掉更多唱片,但他们经常也想要标新立异或者是非商业性。在书《Confessions of a Record》里制作人Moses Avalon讨论了艺人自己制作专辑的风险:“当艺人越成功,他们就越想去尝试控制整张专辑。大多数这样的专辑都是失败的。这就像自己给自己剪头发却没有镜子的原理是一样的。有时候会不错,有些艺人的确很棒的制作了他们的专辑。但大多数艺人,甚至其中很多都没有一些金曲。制作人就像一块测音板。通常,制作人会帮助来安排素材,会帮助他们尽量不错过什么。’”      

      当Graham制作新专辑的时候,Russell也一直在进行着别的项目。其中一个就是和Air Supply过去的贝斯手Don Cromwell一起录制自己第二张个人专辑。他们录了10首Cromwell和Rick Barron写的歌曲的样带,但是没有一个公司愿意发行,所以就被无限期的搁置了。1994年没有任何一个Russell的计划得以实现,他和他的女友Rebecca出现在一本纹身杂志International Tattoo Art上。Russell的名字写在了一篇文章标题上,‘The Lost Sheep of Air Supply’ ,并且展示了他许多纹身。International Tattoo Art的记着Jeff Hickey被Russell那么多纹身震惊,“有人对我说,‘你应该去看看Air Supply。他们的纹身比任何人都多。’ 我们就像... 你说谎。他们不是。太疯狂了,他们是Air Supply。你都不会指望Air Supply的纹身比Motley Crue更多。[Russell]人很好。他把我妈妈安排在他们New Hampshire演唱会的客人名单上。”

  此时Air Supply在亚洲的发展相当成功。China是这些地区中最大的市场,这使更多的国际音乐厂牌在那里建立子公司。过去很少有国际艺人能够打入中文音乐圈。BMG在亚洲大力宣传Air Supply,并且签约了中国电影明星和歌手郑伊健,外号伊面。他的单曲, ‘On Stage’是BMG在香港的第一首Top 10歌曲,这也使这个厂牌在中国建立了声望。“这是巨大付出后的回报,但是更重要的是,我们终于打入了这个市场....” BMG国际和流行音乐部的经理Sandy Lamb说。Air Supply现在直接进军中国市场,感谢BMG的成功。在中国举行演唱会是Graham 和 Russell多年的愿望,流行抒情曲在中国的流行让这一切成真。但在中国举行演唱会依旧是一个艰巨的任务。
      唯一一支在中国演出的西方流行乐队是Wham!威猛乐队。他们于1985年在中国演出,逗留了超过10天,并且体验了许多政治和社会的障碍。“我们身边到处都是军人。” Wham!的和声歌手Helen ‘Pepsi’ DeMacque说。“这真是一次大开眼界的经历。最前面的四排都是身穿军装的军人,面无表情。所以我们在这些共产主义者面前大唱I Don’t Want Your Freedom。在礼堂的角落都是一些正在跳舞的小孩,但是这些军人立刻走向他们,把他们带走。” 尽管有着各种文化上的挑战,简短的中国之旅被认为是威猛乐队的巨大的成功。

      1994年没有任何Air Supply的合辑发行,但在90年代中期,对于唱片公司来说,把黑胶和卡带重制到CD上是非常常见的。 Axis Records和EMI Australia重制了 ‘Life Support’ 专辑,让这张专辑第一次出现在较好的CD格式上。Axis Records是一家悉尼当地的小成本公司,不仅重制专辑,而且也发行合辑,特别是他们自己的。‘Life Support’ 也在南非由Teal Trutone Music进行重制发行。EMI Australia 和 Big Time Records在1996年使用了不同的封面重新发行了CD版本的 ‘Life Support’ ,但这第二次发行也无法缓解对于这张CD的需求量。

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