In the early 1980s, Page and Rodgers were both dealing with the demise of their respective bands, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company.[4] "Jimmy was at a bit of a loose end," recalled Rodgers of the band's formation. "He'd come round and check out my home studio and we ended up writing songs, but without any definite plans. Jimmy was very keen to get on the road, so we put a band together… The first thing I knew was that he had to be writing songs again. I'd already seen one of my friends going down that road in Koss, and it wasn't going to happen again."[5] They initially wanted to form a band with Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford and bassist Pino Palladino but both were under contract with other acts.[4]
Page and Rodgers refused to play material by their former bands and instead opted for a selection of Firm songs plus tracks from their solo albums; however, at least one performance of "Midnight Moonlight" featured sections of "White Summer" and "Kashmir", originally recorded by Page's former bands The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, respectively. The new songs were heavily infused with a soulful and commercially accessible sound, courtesy of Franklin's fretless bass guitar underpinning an understated song structure. Despite refusing to play old material, the last track from The Firm, "Midnight Moonlight", was originally an unreleased Led Zeppelin song entitled "Swan Song". This caused some critics to claim that Page had begun to run out of ideas.[6]
In subsequent interviews, Page and Rodgers both indicated that the band was never meant to last more than two albums.[4] After the band split, Page and Rodgers returned to solo work while Chris Slade joined AC/DC in 1989 and Franklin teamed up with guitarist John Sykes and drummer Carmine AppiceinBlue Murder.
The band played only two UK concerts on this tour: one at Middlesbrough Town Hall, and one at the London Hammersmith Odeon. In addition to Firm songs, the band played solo material by Rodgers and Page. This included Paul Rodgers singing "Live in Peace" from his earlier solo album.
