Show of Hands became a collaboration for Devonian folk musicians Steve Knightley and Phil Beer in 1987, although the two had walked together several times before. The duo recorded the cassette-only albums "Show of Hands" (1987) and "Tall Ships" (1990) whilst Beer was still a member of The Albion Band, but Beer left The Albion Band in late 1990, allowing Show of Hands to become a full-time partnership. They recorded their last cassette-only album, "Out for the Count", in 1991, and formed Anglo-Chilean band Alianza with Dave Townsend with three Chilean musicians, exploring world music. Alianza released a self-titled album in 1992, becoming Knightley and Beer's first CD release. Knightley and Beer soon continued performing as a duo and, with engineer Mike Trim, recorded a performance of Show of Hands from 8 June 1992 at Bridport's Bull Hotel, and released it on The Road Goes on Forever in 1992 as "Show of Hands Live", the duo's first CD, but by the time of its release, the band's previous three albums were out of print, leading to it often being referred to as the band's album.