>> A Certain Ratio
bio: Somewhere between the Graveyard and the Ballroom, in a place defined by late seventies industrial Manchester and early eighties New York sunsets, at a point between the old and the new, they found their feet. Formed during the ampthetamine-crazed soundwave that was Punk UK 1978, taking in influences from teutonic technotronicers Kraftwerk, powered by Wire and holding court in George Clinton's Funkadelic house of Parliament, A Certain Ratio took to the stage. Intense and diverse, and originally drummerless, they released their debut single in 1979 - "All Night Party/The Thin Boys" through Factory Records, a label set up by Rob Gretton, Alan Erasmus, and Anthony (H) Wilson. A highly prophetic choice of title, as this was indeed the beginning of one long all-nighter for both parties. Donald Johnson joined as drummer after its release, completing the original line up with Simon Topping, Jez Kerr, Pete Terrell and Martin Moscrop. The band returned to the studio and completed a series of gigs around the country with labelmates Joy Division during late '79 and early 1980. Factory released the debut album "The Graveyard and the Ballroom", a limited edition cassette-only release that contained both studio demos and live tracks. The shorts and the army gear, the Sally's Army place on Hulme Street never had it so good, it added to the darkness of it all, the edge. It all worked so perfectly - the machine-gun scratch guitar funk battled on stage with the combat clothes, a war-zone. In late 1980, the story switches from post-punk Manchester to the hustle-bustle of the Big Apple, New York City. Romantic Mancunians love to ponder the similarities between the two cities, the skyline over Hulme, the great canals running through the cities (born from their mutual industrial heritage), the fantastic nightlife. Realistic Mancs know the score - Manchester is fuck-all like New York, but it looks good in print. The band played gigs with local funk-machine ESG, along with a fledgling New Order and a little known support act by the name of Madonna. They filmed the 'Tribeca' film with Michael Shamberg, a film featuring a fantastic gig at Hurrah's, interspersed with footage of the band concocting a percussive beatdown in their loft dwellings. In the middle of this flurry of activity, the band checked into EARS studio, New Jersey, with legendary producer Martin Hannett at the controls. The fruits of these sessions formed ACR's debut studio album, "To Each...", an album on which the impact was single-handedly destroyed by "that idiot hippie" - an in-house engineer at the studio who decided to zero all of Hannett's mix settings before he'd had chance to get the album to tape. The album was eventually remixed and released in January 1981, proceeded by the single, Flight. Immediately after the release of "To Each...", the band headed back into the studio to record its follow-up, "Sextet". This time the choice of studio was less geographically glamorous - Revolution Studios, in Cheadle Hulme. The album was self-produced, and featured vocals from Martha Tilson, as Simon Topping retreated to the background in the band. By the time of its release in January 1982, "Sextet" was receiving ecstatic reviews from the press. Again, the album was preceded by a single, "Waterline", with the rather dubious catalogue number - Fac 52. Fac 51 was the catalogue number assigned to Factory's world famous superclub, the Hacienda - constructed in a former yacht showroom! If "Sextet" pointed to more vocal, almost pop tendencies within the ACR artillery, their subsequent album release "I'd Like To See You Again" saw the band march into much deeper territory, based upon stripped down funk and influenced by a more electronic brand of dance music. The emerging club influence is apparent throughout the album, even on the cover where the band are photographed in the Gay Traitor basement bar of the aforementioned Ha?. Martha Tilson had left the band prior to the album's recording, and this led the band into a more experimental and instrumental approach. The album received mixed reviews, but it fairs well on more recent airings, this adds to the argument that the band often were ahead of themselves - maybe they were just 'too early'! Pete Terrell, apparently disillusioned by the music industry, left shortly after the albums release. Enter Andy Connell, a mean Rhodes player, whose funky clavi sound would once again lead a change in the sound of the band. A second US tour beckoned during December 1982, on the band's return they received another bombshell - Simon 'Dream' Topping departed, and this was the beginning a dark period for the band. The band set about writing new material as a quartet, and eventually recruited sax player Tony Quigley as a full-time member (Tony had previously roadied for the band). In June 1985, they returned with their first single in this more permanent line-up, "Wild Party", signalling a brilliant return to form. They set off to tour the States again, with New Order, and the tapes of these gigs provided the mesmerising "ACR Live In America" album. After their return from America, the band toured the UK extensively. Meanwhile, Factory released "The Old and the New" to capitalise on this new found success. They disappeared into the studio to record their fourth and final Factory studio LP - "Force". The album was undeniably their finest recording yet, all the elements had combined perfectly - the ferociously funky rhythm section was tighter and bolder than ever, the effected guitars soared ever higher, Tony's sax cut like a knife through butter, and the vocals had developed into a real treat - pop melodies backed by additional vocals from Corrine Drewery. ACR had come full-circle, they were a great pop group in the making, and there wasn't much Factory could do to help them anymore. In 1987, the band signed to a major label - A&M Records, and headed into the studio to record their 'Pop' album, "Good Together". The album is great, it's full of 'hit' records, but the whole thing ended up just far too polished. Julian Mendelson was at the desk for the majority of the recordings, and the edge is lost by over-production. Spending a whole week in the studio just trying to get the 'perfect drum sound', seemed a far cry from recording the whole of 'Shack-Up' for fifty quid back in 1980. However the songs still shine through, and there was an impressive selection culled from the album, notably "The Big E (I Won't Stop Loving You)". Fantastic design work also helped, courtesy of Johnson Panas - it created a stunning visual focus for the album and the subsequent single releases. The band played an amazing gig at Manchester's G-MEX in December 1988, along with New Order and Happy Mondays - a gig that many see as the forerunner to the 'Madchester' period. In the year that followed ACR built their own studio, The Soundstation, using the money from the advance paid to them by A&M. A wise move, it gave them the opportunity to record as and when they required. Whilst many bands squander their advance payment on the usual trappings of fame, or use it to pay for studio time (at great cost), ACR built their own recording facility and this would benefit them for long after they split from the label. It was during that time that the band also started to work with programmer Michael "Moist" Eastwood on all their albums, singles and live performances. The single "I Won't Stop Loving You" was given the remix treatment by both Bernard Sumner and Norman Cook, it looked like the tune would finally provide the elusive hit and was played heavily by Radio 1. Unfortunately, it only skimmed the top forty. It was followed by the distinctly un-commercial, but ultimately fantastic, "ACR:MCR" album. The album was mainly instrumental, crossing from electro to dub to latin and taking in a large disco biscuit on the way, and half the album had been previously released on the "Four For The Floor" EP. One of the main highlights from the album was the track "Good Together", a post acid haze of a tune featuring the vocal talents (?!) of one Shaun William Ryder and the omnipresent Bernard Sumner. The track was previously much sought-after when it was released on a pink-label 12" promo, and it was given a revamp (featuring Denise Johnson) for its inclusion on the EP and album. Relations with A&M were beginning to wear thin, the label was disappointed with the bands lack of commercial success, and the band were disappointed with the way the label were trying to shape their sound. The band had one last card up their sleeve. They re-recorded their cover of the Banbarras hit, "Shack-Up", and backed it up with a plethora of remixes, again from Norman Cook. The promo of the single was rushed out to radio stations across the country, then - nothing. ACR and A&M were no longer an item. Early 90's, Manchester. The late and much missed Rob Gretton, New Order manager and mercurial man-about-town, had set up his own label after hearing a promo by a South American dance outfit by the name of 'The Beat Club'. Anthony Wilson, uninterested in releasing dance music through Factory, had passed over the chance of releasing their debut - "Security". Rob saw potential in the track, and set up Rob's Records with the intention of breaking the tune in the UK. It enjoyed only minor chart success, but its release on the label created a platform for Rob to release more dance-based music, and this was a fantastic opportunity for him. Rob offered to release future ACR material through the label, and as a result, 1991 saw the release of the double A-side "The Planet/Loosen Up Your Mind". They played at the Cities In The Park festival during August, in a bill that also featured Electronic, Happy Mondays, and De La Soul amongst many others.
In 1992, the band released their first 'Robs' album - "Up In Downsville", a soundclash in similar vain to "ACR:MCR", with the band serving up P-Funk, Latinesque instrumentals, and electronic fused pop. The visuals were again provided by the now familiar Johnson Panas team, this time backed up with additional images from Simon Calderbank (a familiar face around Manchester at the time who was later to get involved in club promotions with a series of popular nights across various venues in the city.) The album spurned several singles - "27 Forvever","Turn Me On" (Featuring Denise Johnson), and the M-People produced "Mello".
During 1994, the band signed a deal with Creation Records who subsequently re-issued the entire ACR Factory back catalogue along with a remix album, "Looking For A Certain Ratio". The remix album featured brand new mixes from the likes of SubSub and Other Two, plus another re-recording of "Shack-Up".
The most recent album release was 1996's "Change The Station", released through Rob's Records. This thirteen-tracker has quite heavy jazz leanings, evident on tracks such as "Sister Brother" and "Desire". It also takes in the usual house and pop influences, but the album is an altogether mellower offering than most of its predecessors. After a triumphant gig at Sankey's Soap, the band began to lie low and maintain radio silence.
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