After leaving The Guess Who at the height of that band's success, Randy Bachman recalled being labelled "a lunatic and a loser" and that "nobody wanted to work with me". The exception was Chad Allan, former Guess Who lead singer who had left that band four years before Randy. The two agreed to explore a musical project, and Randy then turned to family. The result was the band Brave Belt, formed in Winnipeg in 1971 with the additions of Randy's brother Robin "Robbie" Bachman on drums, and Gary Bachman acting as band manager. Brave Belt's self-titled first album, which saw Randy playing both lead guitar and bass, did not sell particularly well. The record label still wanted Brave Belt to tour, so Randy (at the suggestion of Neil Young) hired fellow Winnipeg bassist/vocalist C. F. ("Fred") Turner to perform in the band's scheduled gigs.