Hello was formed in north London in 1971 by teenagers Bob Bradbury (vocals), Keith Marshall (guitar), Vic Faulkner (bass), and Jeff Allen (drums, brother of Ultravox's Chris Cross), originally gigging around the local youth club circuit as a covers band called the Age. It was in this guise that they were discovered by Argent songwriter Russ Ballard and the Zombies' old road manager David Blaylock -- then working as a plugger for the Chappell Music publishing company. The pair originally envisioned the group as an outlet for Ballard's non-Argent songwriting output -- their first-ever recording session saw Hello tackle "Can't Let You Go," a Ballard composition which would subsequently give '60s superstar Barry Ryan his first hit of the new decade. Weeks later, they recorded "You Move Me," the Ballard rocker which would become their Bell Records (U.K.) debut single in early 1972. The single did nothing and when another Ballard composition "C'mon" followed it into oblivion, Blaylock (now the band's manager) began looking elsewhere for material.