The song was written, demoed and sent to Jive within a couple of weeks during April 1987 but, when Fox's latest single "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" began generating chart action in the UK in May, Jive quickly had her new album hastily packaged and ready for a July 1987 release.

[1] "Shooting Me Down" was then put aside and, according to the Birmingham Evening Mail, was intended to be recorded by Slade at a future date as their "comeback" single.

In 1987, Chrome Molly expressed an interest in working with Lea and sent him some of their demo tapes, although no collaboration materialised as the band did not have a record deal.

Wishing to make their commercial breakthrough, the band approached Lea in the summer of 1988 with a song which they intended to record as their next single.

Lea revealed in a 1988 interview for the Slade fan club magazine Perseverance, "I saw Chrome Molly play [live] on a Saturday and we were in the studio on the [following] Monday.

"[1] Bassist Nic Wastell told the Leicester Mercury in 2010, "I'd say it was the nearest we got to capturing the true sound of the band on tape.

I told him that Bruno Brookes played 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' straight after Bon Jovi's 'Bad Medicine' the other night and he had commented that a lot of the sounds in today's rock bands were done by Slade years ago.

The reporter thought about it again and agreed that a lot of American bands do sound like an updated version of Slade, which was quite a compliment!

"[5] As a result, the band failed to achieve a commercial breakthrough and, after releasing the album Slaphead through the Music for Nations label in 1990, split up in 1991.

Solo artist Lisa Dominique and her guitarist brother Marino were also guest reviewers and both were favourable of the single, calling it "really good/great".

[6] In a 2010 feature on Chrome Molly, the Leicester Mercury called "Shooting Me Down" a "catchy, terrace anthem" which was "a clear cut above what the band had done before".