Before the formation of Fast Forward, Ian Lloyd had developed a solo career, following the 1974 breakup of his former band, Stories. Lloyd released three solo albums between 1976 and 1980, including "Goosebumps" and "3WC (Third Wave Civilization)". "3WC" was notable for its inclusion of Lloyd's cover of "
Straight from the Heart", three years prior to
Bryan Adams releasing his own version, to worldwide acclaim. It was also co-produced by
Bruce Fairbairn and featured Adams' then songwriting partner
Jim Vallance, contributing many of the songs and playing drums. Many peoples that were involved with "3WC" became involved with the Fast Forward project in 1984. The project was initially to be another Ian Lloyd solo album, but Lloyd requested that it be recognized as a band effort. The recording band was primarily Bryan Adams' band. The album,
Living in Fiction, was co-produced by Bruce Fairbairn and Ian Lloyd. Bruce Fairbairn also contributed horns and backing vocals as a principal member of the band, which also included Jimmy Lowell (bass and synthesizers), Andrew Kirin (synthesizers), Patrick Mahassen (guitar, backing vocals) and
Jim Vallance (credited as
Rodney Higgs) (drums). Lowell had previously been a member of
Spider, a band that also included
Holly Knight and
Anton Fig and which released two albums in 1980 and 1981. After Holly Knight left the band to pursue a solo career, Lowell and the remaining members of Spider band joined with keyboardist
Beau Hill to form Shanghai, which recorded one album in 1982, before disbanding. Guest musicians on
Living in Fiction included
Bob Rock (guitar) and the aforementioned Beau Hill (keyboards and backing vocals). Hill also wrote the title track. Fast Forward was primarily a
studio band. One video was released for "What's It Gonna Take", and there was one live band performance on Canadian radio. Following the lack of commercial success of the record, the band broke up. ==Post-Fast Forward==