Early in their partnership with Air Supply, guitarist Graham Russell and singer Russell Hitchcock got a harsh lesson in how fleeting success can be in the world of music.

The two met in Sydney, Australia, when they landed gigs in the chorus for a touring production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 1975. They hit it off so famously that within days they were working on songs Russell had been writing.

The first year-plus for Air Supply, which brings its 50th anniversary celebration to Pikes Peak Center on Thursday, was nothing short of magical.

While the pair toured in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Russell and Hitchcock in 1976 released a single, “Love and Other Bruises,” that became a chart-topping hit in Australia. A self-titled debut album followed, and it topped the country’s album charts just as the duo finished their stint in the musical.

The duo then landed a tour with Rod Stewart that took Air Supply across Australia and on to America and Canada.

Then came the reality check.

“We toured with Rod, and we thought we’d come back to a hero’s welcome, ticker tape and the whole thing,” Russell said. “But they had forgotten about us.”

The pair couldn’t get gigs and before long they were dirt poor. But Russell and Hitchcock dug back in. Russell wrote a new batch of songs that included such familiar tunes as “All Out of Love,” “The Woman You Love” and “Lost In Love.”

The latter was released as a single in Australia in 1979, and the magic returned.

“It was a big hit again (in Australia),” Russell said. “But we still didn’t make any money.”

But what the pair didn’t know was Clive Davis, the legendary record executive and then-president of Arista Records, had bought the rights to “Lost In Love” and the song was starting to climb the U.S. charts.

Eventually, Russell reached out to Davis.

“He (Davis) said ‘OK, you’ve got to get back to Australia and make that album right away. ‘Lost In Love’ is going to be the biggest song of the year,’” Russell said. “I couldn’t really believe that, but he said it. He said ‘Get back there. Your career is about to take off.’”

Did it ever.

The anthemic pop ballad sound of “Lost In Love” registered worldwide, and Air Supply became one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, spinning out singles such as “All Out of Love,” “Every Woman in the World,” “The One That You Love,” “Here I Am,” “Even the Nights Are Better, “Two Less Lonely People in the World” and “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.”

The hits dried up toward the end of the decade, but Air Supply has remained a popular touring act, bringing out a live show that’s more robust and energetic than the studio versions of their songs might suggest.

“It’s a rock and roll band, and it’s loud and powerful,” Russell said. “For the people that think it’s going to be Peter, Paul and Mary, they’re very much surprised.”