Back Door first came together in 1971 as a trio featuring Colin Hodkinson (bass, guitar, vocals), Ron Aspery (saxes, flute, electric piano) and Tony Hicks (drums) and recorded their first album in 1972. This self-financed and independently released record came to the attention of the London music press and after enthusiastic reviews and a short residency at Ronnie Scott's club in Soho, the band secured a wider release of their album with Warner Bros. Around this time Back Door also began to record sessions for BBC Radio 1 and had a supporter in legendary DJ John Peel. Over the next few years they recorded a further three albums, '8th Street Nights', 'Another Fine Mess' (which saw keyboard player Dave McRae added to their ranks) and 'Activate' (which featured new drummer Adrian Tilbrook). The band also undertook a tour of the USA supporting Emerson, Lake & Palmer with Carl Palmer produced Back Door's final album 'Activate' in 1976