第2-8章：爱的通道 - The Tunnel of Love

hitchcock

Right: The One That You Love album, released in July 1981.

The Tunnel of Love

      In 1981, we had just released the album The One That You Love. The single of the same name was climbing the charts and on its way to No.1. We were on top of the world, touring in the United States for about eight months straight, playing four of five shows a week, living on coaches, zig zagging across the country.

      Our ritual after a show involved getting on the bus, pouring some wine and cranking AC/DC in the back lounge. In those days, it was just Russell; our keyboard player, Frank Esler Smith; our tour manager and I, so we had plenty of space. We would play music till about 2 a.m. and watch a movie or two before collapsing in the bunk. Then we'd wake at a deserted truck stop for breakfast and go back to sleep till we arrived at our next hotel usually around noon.

      This went on for weeks on end. We were young and just bounced back. We never went over-the-top though. We were very responsible, making sure the show always came first. I think the fact that we were a little older when we "made it" gave us more of an adult perspective. Had we been 18 or so, I'm sure it would have gotten out of hand now and again. But it really never did. We just had our way to let off some steam.

      We were scheduled to play shows in Taiwan and were to be the first Western band ever to play there. I'm certain we had to look at a map to see where it was. We had only been to japan so far (several times, too), and that country, we really loved. Taiwan was going to be different for us. We knew they had their own language and that they had very strong ties with mainland China, which to us was pretty far out.

      We were used to long flights, as at this time, we were still living in Australia. So the 18 hours it took to get there was not a big deal. Although I do remember being drained as we landed. That's when all the interviews that would last for several hours started.

      There were several hundred young, screaming fans of somebody present when we finally walked through the customs area. We all looked as if we hadn't slept for weeks, but we soon woke up when we saw all the Air Supply banners the fans were holding. We had no idea they were for us.

      We stopped briefly for a few pictures, as we always did, but the police were out in force and pushed the bulging crowd back so we could get in our cars. It was like the opening scene to A Hard Day's Night. We had no idea this was going to happen; it took us completely by surprise.

      The car ride from the airport to the city seemed to take forever. In traffic, it took more than two hours. We arrived at the hotel, and we couldn't get in the front doors. There were about 2000 fans surrounding the place. We had to drive around the block serveral times to try to fool the crowd, but they had seen us in the cars and just kept singing. They weren't going anywhere! Our Taiwanese promoter began to look nervous, which made us feel nervous, too. We thought we had to get out of the cars or they might roll them over. We drove up as close as we could get to the front doors. The hotel staff and the police made a tunnel of arms for us to run through that was about 100 feet long. I remember looking at the tunnel and being really worried that I might break an arm or leg.

      One by one we made the dash. We each got about five feet before the tunnel just collapsed from the weight of the crowd. I could see Russell in front of me - he was upside down, his shirt being ripped to shreds. girls pulling at anything they could touch. We finally made it to the hotel elevators. My shirt, necklace and belt were gone, and I had lost one shoe. It was such a relief when the door closed. We went to our rooms and young fans had already found their way to our floor. For the next two days until the show, we were hotel room bound. All our meals were service, which I'm not a big fan of, but we just couldn't go outside at all. They security they had in place didn't know what to do. They had never seen anything like this before. After all, were were the first Westerners that some of them had ever seen. They would stare at us. They were being invaded by a different culture.

      The show two days later was a great success. We played a hugh domed arena with a laser horse projected on the roof. (Why a horse, I don't know, but it looked impressive.) I remember the sound in the venue was a boomy as could be, but that was the norm. In those days, it was always hard getting the monitors loud enough over the delay. We never got used to that. It was years before the advent of ear monitors.

      The defining moment for me involved the intensity of the young fans. I couldn't help but imagine what it was like for "them" all the time, 24 hours a day. For us, it was just an odd occurrence. I understood then why The Beatles stopped touring in 1966.

      What we didn't realize then was that we were planting seeds that would grow into a long-lasting relationship with Asian audiences. We learned that they are very loyal fans and that they love the big epic ballads. We certainly had lots of those. The ride from the airport to Taiwan still feels long though.

中文译文：
     1981年，我们刚刚发行了专辑The One That You Love。同名单曲在排行榜上直接攀上冠军。我们登上了世界之巅，我们会在美国不停巡演8个月，一周演4或5场。在这个国家“颠沛流离”。

      我们在演出后的巴士上的仪式包括了倒酒，在后休息室里摇动AC/DC电源。那些日子里，只有Russell，我们的键盘手Frank Esler Smith，我们的巡演经理还有我，所以我们有大把大把的空档。我们玩音乐玩到凌晨2点。在倒头睡觉前看场电影。 接着我们会被叫醒，在卡车站里吃早饭，然后继续回去睡觉。直到到下一个酒店，通常这都已经到了中午了。

      这样的状态最终持续了几周时间，我们那时都很年轻，所以很快恢复了。虽然我们从来没有翻越过山顶。但是我们很负责，演出第一。我想这可能是因为当我们的成功时，年纪已经并不小了，我们更加会以成年人的视角来看待这一切。如果我们是18岁，我相信这一切都会失控的。但是庆幸这一切都没有发生，我们只是用我们自己的方式来释放一些压力。

      我们安排前往台湾演出，我们是第一支在那里演出的西方乐队。我在地图上看了一下那里的位置。到那时，我仅仅只是去过日本（几次），我们都很喜欢那个国家。台湾对我们来说很不一样。我们知道他们有自己的语言，他们和中国大陆有着紧密的联系，而对我们来说，距离实在太远了。

      我们那时已经习惯了长途飞行，当时我们依旧住在澳大利亚。所以18个小时的飞行对我们来说也不是什么大问题。尽管我记得当我们着陆时，完全筋疲力竭。所有的采访都将开始持续几个小时。

      当我们最终走出乘客区的时候，有几百位年轻尖叫的粉丝突然出现。我们看上去个个都像是几个星期没有睡觉的样子，而当我们看到粉丝们高举Air Supply的横幅的时候，我们瞬间被叫醒的感觉。我们对这些粉丝毫无招架之力。

      正如以前那样，我们停下来合了一些影，但是警察暴力的把人群往后面推，为了让我们可以坐进小轿车。这就像Beatles的“A Hard Days's Night”开场的场景。我们完全不知道会发生这档子事，这完全给了我们惊喜。

      小汽车载着我们，从机场到城里，这距离似乎永恒。路上我们花了超过2个小时。而当我们到了酒店之后，我们无法进入正门。超过2000名粉丝围着。我们不得不绕着开了好多次，试图假动作骗到人群，但是他们已经看到车子里的我们，并且一直唱着歌。他们什么地方都不会去的！我们的台湾主办方开始焦躁了，这让我们也觉得很担心。我想我们只能下车，或许他们会挪开。我们在尽可能靠近正门的地方下了车。酒店员工和警察为我们建立起了一个大约100英尺长的人墙通道。我记得当我看着这个通道的时候心想，真担心他们的手臂被弄断。

      一个接一个，我们一路小跑。就在人墙通道坍塌前5英尺。我看到Russell在我前面，他人仰马翻，他的衣服被撕成碎片。女孩们拉着一切他们可以碰到的东西。最终我们都到了酒店的电梯。我的衣服，项链，皮带都不见了，而且还丢了一只鞋子。当房间门打开的时候，真是感觉放松了。我们到了我们的房间，一些年轻歌迷已经偷偷的找到我们了。接下去到演出前的两天，我们被限制在了酒店房间里，所有起居饮食都是叫客房服务，我并不是太喜欢那样，但是我们完全不能出门。酒店安保全完不知道该怎么办，他们之前从未见过此情形。毕竟，我们是他们见过的第一个西方乐队。他们会盯着我们看。他们正在被遭受另一种不同的文化的入侵。

      2天后的演出大获成功。我们在一个巨型穹顶场馆演出，屋顶有激光木马设备（为什么是马，不得而知，但是却印象深刻。）我记得场馆中的声音尽可能的宽大，但那也是标准的。那些日子里，监听器不够响。我们从来没有习惯过那些。直到后几年发明了高级的入耳监听设备。

      对我们来说，关键的时刻是我们被那些年轻歌迷们的热情所感染。我情不自禁，只能想象，对于他们来说，一天24个小时。对我们来说，这只是个奇特的经历。我终于理解了为什么Beatles在1966年停止了巡演。

      而那时我不能理解的，我们那时埋下了和亚洲歌迷长久关系的种子。我们知道了他们是忠实的粉丝，他们喜欢经典的情歌。我们当然对这个相当拿手。尽管如此从机场到台湾城里的路依旧很长。

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