第2-4章：金发女郎乐趣多 - Blondes Have More Fun

hitchcock

Above: Gig poster from Civic Arena Show

Blondes Have More Fun

      In 1976 Air Supply was just a few months old, and inexperienced in the world of show business. We had already tasted the sweetness of success, as our first single had been a huge hit in Australia. Unfortunately that did not translate into any financial success for us at all, but the recognition was quite extrordinary. We were doing the rounds of Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) clubs around the country, the same venues that everyone played. None of these were really well suited to us. Then, it was a heavy rock and roll climate, and the bands were really good. We were playing a different kind of music, mostly songs from our first album, which went gold on release. But our audience didn't necessarily go to the rock clubs; they preferred the concert halls where they could listen without going deaf.

      There were not many of those venues to play in a country of 15 million. Though we did play the New Year's Eve Concert on the steps of the Opera House in 1976. There were several acts on the bill, but the show was one of our very first performances and to play for 90,000 people was a dream come true. But this was a very rare occurrence. I remember feeling that this kind of exposure was right for us, but where would we go from here?

      Being the band of the moment in Australia, we were the first choice to open for an international artist as we compulsory at that time. We were picked to open for Rod Stewart on his upcoming tour of the country, and we would be opening at all shows. We couldn't believe it! It meant we would play to huge crowds in every major city. I know there were a lots of bands that wanted that slot. After all, were were brand new and perhaps hadn't earned the right. Ultimatedly, that didn't bother us at all; we were so happy about it. Things were really popping for us and very quickly.

      Meeting Rod was like meeting the Pope. He was the biggest artist in the world, a true legend, and he and his band made us feel like on the the family. We were suddenly in the management very well and they were always giving us advice. They like our show, too, even though it was only 30 minutes each night. But we were always on time, always ready, and we knew our place, never crossing any lines.

      When the last show came, it was rather sad. We were saying goodbye to some great people that we'd probably never see again. We were at a farewell bash at the Sebei Townhouse Hotel, Sydney's rock and roll hotel in Kings Cross at the time. Everyone was having a good time, and as we were later saying farewells, Rod's then manager, Billy Gaff, said to Russell and me, "So it looks like we will see you next year in Los Angeles." We had no idea what he was talking about, but we were dying to know.

      Billy went on to say that Air Supply was going to open for Rod the following year on his massive tour of North America if we wanted the job. We thought for sure he was joking, but he wasn't.  He said that details were already being ironed out. The dream just got a whole lot bigger!

      The following year, July 4, 1977, we landed in Los Angeles and went straight to Cherokee Studios in Hollywood. When we got out of the car, there to greet us after our long flight was Rod and his band. They were recording in the A Room, and we were in B. We had a glass of Cristal Champagne and went to work.
      
中文译文：

      1976年，Air Supply仅仅才几个月大，在这个音乐产业里还只是个没有经验的新人。我们的首支单曲在澳大利亚获得了巨大的成功，我们已经尝到了成功的甜头。但是不幸的是这并没有给我们带来任何财富上的成功。我们在全国的Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) 俱乐部做着巡演。没有一家适合我们的风格。这是一个重型硬摇滚的时代，那些乐队都相当棒。我们表演着各种风格的音乐，大多数歌曲都来自我们的第一张专辑，那张专辑在发行之后成为了金唱片。但是我们的歌迷却不会去那些摇滚俱乐部，他们更喜欢去那些不会响到让他们变成聋子的音乐厅。

      在一个1500万人口的国家中没有太多好的场地去演出。尽管在1976年，我们得到了机会在悉尼歌剧院的阶梯上为新年前夜做演出。这场演出是我们第一次在9万名群众面前演出，简直就是梦想成真。这真是一个千载难逢的良机。这种大的曝光对我们来说绝对是有好处的，但是我们又何去何从呢？

      那个时期的澳大利亚乐队中，我们是为国际艺人做暖场嘉宾的首选。我们被选中成为了Rod Stewart在澳大利亚巡演的暖场嘉宾，我们降会为他们每场巡演都作暖场。我们简直无法相信！这意味着我们能够在每个大城市，在庞大的观众面前做演出。我知道有许多乐队想要得到这个机会。毕竟我们是新乐队，恐怕还没有得到这个特权。但是最终这一切都没有让我们太烦恼，我们对此都非常高兴。

      见到Rod就像是见到教皇一样。他是这个世界上最牛的艺人，一个真正的传奇，他和他的乐队让我们感觉到像家一样的温暖。他们总是给予我们建议。他们也喜欢我们的演出，尽管每个晚上只有30分钟的时间。但是我们总是时刻准备着，我们知道我们的地位，从不越界。

      当最后一场演出来临的时候，真是相当的伤感。我们对大家说着再见，因为我们可能再也无法见面了。我们在Sebei Townhouse Hotel和悉尼的摇滚酒店举行了告别会。每个人过得都很愉快，Rod当时的经纪人Billy Gaff对Russell和我说，"看上去我们明年在洛杉矶将会再见面了。" 那时我们完全不知道他在说什么，但是我们都想知道。

      Billy继续说Air Supply将为Rod明年北美的演出做暖场，如果我们想得到这份工作 。我们肯定他在开玩笑，然而这却是事实。他说了这个项目的细节，一切都已经板上钉钉。梦想变得更接近了！

      第二年，1977年7月4日，我们抵达了洛杉矶，直接前往好莱坞Cherokee Studios。当我们走下车，在长途飞行之后迎接我们的是Rod和他的乐队。他们正在A Room录音，我们在B Room。我们得到了一大瓶水晶香槟并且开始工作了。

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