The supporting tour for "Slide It In" came to an end in January 1985, when Whitesnake played two show at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil. After the tour ended, Cozy Powell parted ways with the band. According to Coverdale, the relationship between him and Powell had deteriorated increasingly over the course of the tour. After the final show, Coverdale flew to Los Angeles to meet with Geffen Records to inform them that he was letting the rest of the band go. Coverdale claims that he was persuaded to keep Sykes and Murray involved, while Powell was fired. Conversely, Neil Murray insists that Powell left over money disputes. In any case, Coverdale and Sykes then retreated to the South of France in early 1985 to begin writing the band's next album. The sessions proved fruitful and they were later joined by Murray, who helped with the arrangements. The new material saw Whitesnake moving further away from their bluesier roots in favour of a more American hard rock sound. John Kalodner also convinced Coverdale to re-record two song from the "Saints & Sinners" album, "Here I Go Again" and "Crying in the Rain", which he thought had great potential with better production and arranging. "Here I Go Again" in particular was a song Kalodner told Coverdale could be a number one hit in America. With new material ready, the band then began searching for a new drummer. A reported sixty drummers auditioned for the group, with prolific session drummer Aynsley Dunbar eventually being chosen. Former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Tommy Aldridge was also offered the spot, but the two parties couldn't come to a satisfactory agreement.