Balance of Power was started in 1995 by keyboardist Ivan Gunn by putting together a handful of well-known rockers from the London area. This batch included drummer Lionel Hicks, bassist Chris Dale, vocalist Tony Ritchie, and guitarists Bill Yates and Paul Curtis. In 1996, this line-up started working on what would be their first album, When The World Falls Down. The album was picked up by the Japanese label Pony Canyon, and was released in 1997. It received significant airplay on the Japanese radio, being on heavy rotation by famous Japanese radio personalities. The album's success put the band under a lot of pressure by their label to produce a follow-up. About this time, Paul Curtis was becoming fed up with life in London, and decided to retire from music altogether. Lionel and Tony decided to bring childhood friend, Pete Southern, to fill the vacant. Also, while the band was in the songwriting process, Pony Canyon heard the direction they were heading and pressured the band to replace Ritchie with a more dynamic vocalist. This was a huge blow to the band, but after much discussion and soul searching, they agreed to look around. Tony agreed to continue as the main songwriter, while the band held auditions for over 50 singers. However, they couldn't find a suitable replacement. At that time, Ivan was working some deals with Lance King in the USA, so he asked him if he knew about a suitable singer. Lance told him of a few candidates, and also offered himself to fill the rol...