BAGUIO CITY – Nagpasalamat sa kanilang mga Filipino fans ang legendary duo na Air Supply sa pagdiriwang ng kanilang 45th anniversary sa music industry.
Sa exclusive interview ng Star FM Baguio sa iconic hitmakers na sina Russell Hitchcock at Graham Russell ng Air Supply, inamin nilang espesyal para sa kanila ang mga Pinoy, at sa loob ng mahigit apat na dekada sa kanilang karera ay hindi nawala ang pagmamahal ng mga Pilipino sa kanilang musika.
“We’ve been there many times, you know. We first came there I think in 1981. The Filipino people are very loyal. They’ve been fans of us for a long time. Plus, they’re very romantic people, so when we perform, they feel all the emotions and all the passion that we like to put into the songs and into the records. They just seem to love our music,” pagbabahagi ni Graham.
Inilarawan pa ng 70-year-old English musician ang saya na sumasalubong sa kanila sa bawat pagbisita nila sa bansa.
“We love being there. They’re just really friendly people. They’re always in a good mood. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody in the Philippines in a bad mood. Everybody’s always happy. Maybe it’s the sunshine all the time.”
Samantala, ibinahagi naman ng 71-year-old Australian lead vocalist na si Russell na naiiba ang pagtanggap sa kanila ng mga Pinoy.
“I’m always amazed at the response and reception when we arrive in the Philippines, and during our stay. Where I live now, I can go to the supermarket and nobody knows who I am, which is great for me. But when we go to the Philippines, and every time we go out, especially if Graham and I go out together, hundreds of people come out to say hi and wants photographs. So in a way, it’s a very pleasant invasion of privacy.”
Inamin rin naman ng dalawa na sa mahigit apat na dekada nilang pagtatrabaho bilang music duo ay hindi pa sila kailanman nagkaroon ng pagtatalo, at wala silang kompetisyon sa isa’t-isa— ilan sa mga rason kung bakit umabot ang kanilang samahan ng maraming taon.
“The music industry is a very difficult industry to work in, but we’ve been very lucky. With Russell and I, we have a great respect for each other. There’s no competition. Russell is the singer, and I’m the songwriter predominantly. We both like those roles. We always got on very well. We never argued. Most importantly, we both love Air Supply, too, just like everybody else. It’s a great career that we are very proud of, and we want to keep it going,” ani ni Graham.
Ayon rin naman kay Russell, mahalaga ang respeto at pagmamahal sa kanilang sariling musika.
“We do respect each other. We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we take the music very seriously. We love to have fun on the road and the studio together.”
Samantala, inilahad naman ng dalawa ang kanilang mga paboritong awitin na kanilang pinasikat, at pareho ito ng sagot. Ito ay ang mga hits na “Lost in Love” at “All Out of Love”, na pawang mga crowd favorites.
“I love both songs. They were the first two songs in our international career. The songs have been very kind to us. They blaze the trail for our career. I love all our songs, but those two are particularly close to me because our audiences always wait for them,” anya ni Graham.
May mensahe rin naman si Russell sa mga bagong singers sa henerasyong ito na nais ring magtagumpay at tumagal sa industriya. Sa payo nito ay dapat umanong piliing mabuti ng isang indibidwal ang mga taong makakatrabaho niya.
“It’s really important to surround yourself with the good, best and honest people. There are a lot of pitfalls that new artists fall in.”
Sinabi rin naman ng “Every Woman in the World” hitmakers na bilib sila sa talento ng mga Pinoy lalo pagdating sa pagkanta at willing sila na magkaroon ng collaboration sa mga Filipino singers.
“We’re always open to collaborations. There are some great singers in the Philippines, we know that much. They’re all around the world, and they have a reputation for being great singers. We would love to collaborate with someone. I think that would be great. Nobody gets in touch and says let’s do a collaboration, so if they do, we would be very receptive to it,” saad ni Graham.
Biro pa ni Russell, wala pa umanong lumalapit sa kanila para sa anumang kolaborasyon dahil natatakot ang mga ito.
“Nobody say’s, ‘Would you like to do it?’ Either they’re too scared or they’re too scared.”
Nagpasalamat naman ang dalawa sa suportang kanilang natatanggap sa mga Pilipino at nangako ang mga ito na babalik muli sa bansa para makapagtanghal at maibahaging muli ang kanilang musika sa mga fans.
“We just want all our fans in the Philippines and all over the world to just be safe. This pandemic doesn’t seem to have any kind of conclusion soon. We’ve shared so much about our lives and music with our fans in the Philippines. Once we get back up to speed, we’ll be out there to perform for you guys, with pleasure and great anticipation,” anya ni Russell.
Ayon naman kay Graham ay isa ang Pilipinas sa mga bansang kanilang unang bibisitahin sa oras na matapos ang pandemya. Ito umano ay para maibalik nila ang kanilang pagmamahal sa mga Pilipino lalo ngayong panahon ng krisis.
“When we can perform again, whenever that is— we hope it’s sooner than later— we will be certainly be coming back to the Philippines, maybe one of our first shows. We wanna show people that we’re there to help them survive through the pandemic and bring back a lot of love and happiness so people can become even stronger and get back with their lives, all around the world.”
Nabuo ang iconic duo ni Hitchcock at Russell noong 1975 matapos ang Australian production ng “Jesus Christ Superstar”.
Mula noon ay nakapaglabas na sila ng mga timeless, chart-topping hits tulad ng “Come What May”, “Making Love Out of Nothing at All”, “Having You Near Me”, “Here I Am”, “I Can Wait Forever”, “Lonely is the Night” at marami pang iba.
Huling nagtanghal sa bansa ang duo noong 2018 para sa kanilang Over Asia Tour sa Resorts World Manila.
Samantala, ilang buwan matapos ang naturang concert ay bumisitang muli ang dalawa para sa “All Out of Love: The Musical”, isang jukebox production, na itinuturing nilang regalo para sa kanilang mga Pinoy fans. (by DJ Gabby)
Watch the full Star FM Exclusive with Air Supply interview here: https://bit.ly/3iZ5Q12
