Biography (English)

Graham Russell was born June 11, 1950 in Sherwood, England. As a boy, he would venture into Nottingham’s legendary Sherwood Forest and play all day. Sometimes he would prefer to sit under a tree and lose himself in the fantasy of Charles Dickens or D.H. Lawrence books. Young Graham was a very shy lad who found it difficult to share his emotions, except to express them on paper with a pen. So he found that the solitude of the forest would give him ample opportunity to privately record his personal feelings and thoughts in rhythmic verses. He wrote his first song, That Rockin' Feeling, when he was only 11 eleven years.

His mother passed away when he was only ten, and three years later, Graham’s father and new stepmother announced that the family was moving to Melbourne, Australia. Unwilling to leave the only life he had known, Graham ran away from home the night before they were to leave for Down Under. No longer able to keep the ship from sailing, the distraught Russell family had no choice but to leave for Australia..minus Graham.

The rebel ended up safely with his uncle. Like most pensive teens, he reached a point when he began to worry about his future. He thought that his fate would surely be to work in a factory like those around him. Graham attended Carlton-Le-Willows highschool and Gedling, Nottingham, where his love for Literature and the greatest British poets only grew stronger. The young man started to be interested in parapsychology and ocultism subjects which led him to be fond of writers like Shelly, Tom Byron and Keats.

In 1963, Graham was introduced to the music of an exciting new band out of Liverpool. As the rest of the world, he was swept up in Beatlemania. Sometimes he would creep down to the cellar of his house, and fancy himself performing before a wild screaming audience, just like his idols. This fantasy gave him such a rush, that he knew he belonged in show business, chiefly right after attending a concert of the band in 1964. Graham was a music self-taught and learned how to play the guitar and percussion by himself. In 1965, he joined a local rock band called Union Blues as their drummer. He continued to write songs, but no matter how much he pleaded with the band to sing his material, they still refused to play his music. In 1964, Graham married to Linda, a schoolmate and Simon, their first son was born in the following year. Nowadays, his son helps him to organize the Air Supply shows and in their fan club affairs.

By now, four years had passed since his family left England. Following the advice of his sister, Graham rejoined his family in Melbourne. Graham also had a daughter in 1972. Samanta was born in March. Then he found a job in a kleenex factory. His job was to load 400-pound rolls of tissue onto a trolley, to be evenly distributed into little boxes.
In his spare time, he joined a local band. However, his new bandmates sang the same tune as Graham’s former band: the songs he had written were unsuitable for their sound. The frustrated composer sold his drum kit, then took his acoustic guitar and head full of songs to entertain patrons at local coffeehouses.

Graham also audictioned for Jesus Christ Superstar, the Australian version for the American musical and also made into the cast. Not only did his musical ability secure his role, but his height also became an advantage. Being 6’5" made Graham one of the only people at auditions able to fit a costume left over from the last Superstar production. Graham’s good fortunes held out, until the first rehearsal. He was quite unnerved at the thought of dancing, and was so self conscious that he tripped up and twisted his ankle. Two of the other apostles were nearby to carry him to the side of the stage, while practice continued. He remained on the cast.

While taking a break, Graham and a friend were singing in a ticket booth. As Graham sang and strummed his guitar, it caught the attention of one of the other cast members. The music attracted Russell right to the booth, where he introduced himself. He was impressed and fascinated with his new acquaintance, especially upon learning that he penned his own music. Over the next few weeks, Graham and Russell became friends. As they got to know one another, they decided to begin performing together at local clubs and universities, when they had spare time away from the "Superstar" production. The young men remained in the musical for 18 months. Then they continued their musical career as Air Supply.


Sources:

http://www.geocities.com/airsupply_as/
http://www.airsupplymusic.com
http://www.pt.wikipedia.org