State of Play was first formed in 1985. Bassist Dean Garcia and drummer Olle Romö had been playing together in Eurythmics' live band, and were joined by vocalist Toni Halliday (previously of The Uncles) and drummer Julie Fletcher (previously of The Group). The band was signed by Virgin Records, who released their album Balancing the Scales (along with two singles, "Natural Colour" and "Rock-a-Bye Baby") in 1986, but failed to find an audience. A year and £100,000 in debt later, the band split up.