During The Bachelor finale last night, Chris Harrison announced that he had a surprise for Colton Underwood and Cassie, who had just confirmed that they were in love — a special performance by Air Supply.
It didn’t take long for tweets about Air Supply to surface online, including from producer Robert Mills and from Bachelor spoiler, Reality Steve.
I promised Air Supply when we booked them they would trend. Please help #Bachelornation
— Robert Mills (@Millsy11374) March 13, 2019
Hey, I like Air Supply. Best part of the season.
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) March 13, 2019
But who was the band, who surprised everyone with a special performance last night?
Air Supply formed after Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock met back in 1975 on the first day of rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar in Sydney, Australia. From there, the two built a friendship, where they bonded over their love of singing, music and being on the road.
After their Jesus Christ Superstar performance, the two played at everything from pizza parlors to coffee bars at night. The duo was turned down by almost every recording studio, except one. CBS Records took a chance on them.
Russell and Hitchcock hunkered down and recorded a single in one night, a single that shot up the charts. From there, Air Supply got the attention of Clive Davis in New York, who signed them to Arista Records.
Rod Stewart invited them to open for him on his tour around the United States and Canada, which opened up a new world for them.
By 1982, Air Supply equaled The Beatles’ run of consecutive top five singles on the charts with seven straight. Over time, they sold more than 20 million copies of their albums.
The song that the band performed on The Bachelor last night, Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, was recorded in 1983. You can see the original video below.
Air Supply’s success continued in the late 1980s, as the two performed for Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1988.
Throughout the ’80s, the band continued to release albums, selling millions of copies outside of the U.S. Some of their albums even reached multi-platinum status. In 2010, the band released their last new album — Mumbo Jumbo.
Russell Hitchcock is the singer behind Air Supply. He was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1949. On the band’s website, Hitchcock explains that he didn’t grow up wealthy but had a happy childhood. He always had music around the house, as his dad was a singer in his earlier years.
When his sister bought a record player, his interest in music grew. It didn’t take long for him to listen to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and The Beatles. He dropped out of high school when he was 16 years old. To make ends meet, he worked in retail but later pursued music.
The man behind the music, Graham Russell, was born in Nottingham, England in 1950. After attending school in England, he immigrated to Australia. In 1964, he saw The Beatles live in Nottingham and he calls the event life changing.
Russell got married at the age of 17 and had a baby on the way. Despite playing music with various musicians, he decided to venture out on his own, playing pizza parlors and folk clubs around Melbourne. He tried out for Jesus Christ Superstar, which is where he met Russell.
Even though some Bachelor viewers may have no idea who Air Supply is, they actually won an American Music Award for Favorite Duo of Group-Pop/Rock back in 1982. They were also inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2013.
So, why were they featured on The Bachelor last night? Well, one of their songs is featured on the Deadpool 2 soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v788A3-sPz0
The Bachelor is over for now, but The Bachelorette starts on May 13, 2019, on ABC.