A Certain Ratio
Manchester’s A Certain Ratio announce details of a new box set along with more tour dates as Getintothis’ Simon Kirk reports.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, Manchester avant-garde post-punk, A Certain Ratio, have announced details of a new box set, featuring over 20 unreleased tracks, which will be available as a 7 x coloured vinyl set, 4 x CD set and digitally.
Entitled ACR:BOX, the box set will be released via Mute on May 3.
ACR:BOX was remastered by Martin Moscrop at Abbey Road studios and following on from 2018’s compilation, ACR:SET, this new release showcases the diversity of A Certain Ratio‘s singles, B-sides and alternative versions of tracks that they have released,but without repeating tracks recently made available.
ACR:BOX collates everything that fans had been missing from a recent reissue campaign, and compliments that with a selection found after a deep delve into the archive to find all the hidden gems that had been talked about over the years, but never heard
Looking to make the box set as comprehensive as possible, even the original tapes from the session they recorded for a collaboration with Grace Jones were uncovered and reworked.
This session includes the cover version of Talking Heads Houses In Motion, using Jez Kerr’s guide vocals (pre to him becoming the band’s singer.) Grace Jones never completed her vocal take, after attending one of the recording sessions with the band.
The box set marks the 40th anniversary of A Certain Ratio’s debut release, the Martin Hannett produced All Night Party (Factory Records first single release.)
They went on to be hailed universally as pioneers of what became known as ‘punk funk’ thanks to the success of their second single, Shack Up, represented on the boxset via a radio edit from Electronic, featuring Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr.
The band has also added more dates to their UK tour, which now includes appearances at We Out Here and Green Man festivals, respectively.
The tour commences on April 27 in Barrow-in-Furness, before landing in Liverpool at Jacaranda Phase One on May 23. A Certain Ratio have also announced a 2-day ACR festival at the brilliant Manchester venue that is Yes.
The festival takes places the day after the band’s Liverpool appearance on May 24 and on the anniversary of the actual release date of their original single All Night Party 7” and May 25. A raft of special guests will be joining the band for a takeover of all four floors of the venue.
The latest live incarnation of A Certain Ratio is Jez Kerr, Donald Johnson, Martin Moscrop, Denise Johnson, Tony Quigley and recent addition of Matt Steele on keyboards.
ACR: BOX
You can listen to W.S.L.U – a recent collaboration with Parent’s Sarah Brandwood-Spencer and Jason Brown below.
A Certain Ratio play:
- Saturday April 27: Barrow Underground Music Society, Barrow-in-Furness
- Saturday May 4: Islington Assembly Hall, London
- Friday May 10: Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton
- Thursday May 23: Jacaranda Phase One, Liverpool
- Friday May 24 and Saturday May 25: Yes, Manchester
- Thursday May 30: The Leadmill (Steel Bar), Sheffield
- Friday May 31: Riverside, Newcastle
- Saturday June 2: The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
- 2 June – : Zephr Lounge, Leamington Spa
- Friday August 16: We Out Here Festival
- Saturday: August 17: Green Man Festival
- Sunday August 18: Hardwick Live Festival, County Durham
- Saturday November 2: The Sugar Club, Dublin
- Friday November 8: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
- Saturday November 9: The Crossing, Birmingham
- Friday November 15: The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent
- Saturday November 16: King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
- Sunday November 17: The Parish, Huddersfield
- Friday December 6: The Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Tees
- Saturday December 7: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
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