In December 1978, Art Bears joined Rock in Opposition (RIO), and toured Europe in April and May 1979. For the tour, they were joined by Peter Blegvad (ex-Slapp Happy, guitar, bass guitar, voice) and Marc Hollander (of Aksak Maboul, keyboards, clarinet). They rehearsed at the Cold Storage Recording Studios in Brixton, before leaving for Italy in late April. They performed in Italy, France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia, including an RIO festival on 1 May in Milan. Some of the songs recorded during the tour were later added to the CD release of "Hopes and Fears" and "The Art Box" (2004), a box set of Art Bears material.