2006 03 Q Classic Morrissey and The Story of Manchester - Part 12 - A Certain Ratio

A CERTAIN RATIO

THE NORTH-WEST'S PUNK FUNKATEERS

MANCHESTER NEVER KNEW what hit it - A Certain Ratio (their name lifted from Brian Eno’s track The True Wheel) exploded on to the punk scene in 1977 with their exhilarating, obdurate live show, which mixed James Brown-styled syncopated funk with punk, disco and electronica. Tony Wilson was so impressed that he signed them to Factory, where a seven-year tenure with the label spawned five albums - 1979’s cassette-only The Graveyard And The Ballroom, 1981’s Martin Hannett-produced To Each..., the following year’s Sextet and I’d Like To See You Again, and their label swansong, 1986’s Force. And that’s not to mention a string of truly awesome singles, including Do The Du and their irascible funk-punk take on Banbarra’s Shack Up.

Beginning life in 1977, the combo - comprising singers Martha Tilson and Simon Topping, guitarist Peter Terrell, guitarist/trumpeter Martin Moscrop, drummer Donald Johnson and bassist Jeremy Kerr - might have caused a stir live, but as chart places eluded their grasp so line-ups and labels changed. From ’86 onwards they tried out with A&M (1989’s Good Together), and Rob Gretton’s Rob's Records (their last outing being 1997’s Change The Station). With the reissue of their back catalogue by Creation and Soul Jazz, their visionary approach has inspired a whole new breed, including The Rapture, !!! and Death From Above 1979. Lois Wilson

THE MUSIC

BEST ALBUM

To Each... 

(Factory, 1981)

BEST TRACK

Shack Up

THE GROUP

CLASSIC LINE-UP Martha Tilson (vocals), Simon Topping (vocals), Peter Terrell (guitar), Martin Moscrop (guitar, trumpet), Jeremy Kerr (bass), Donald Johnson (drums)

BIG MOUTH

“The industrial James Brown mixed with Joy Division. They were the weirdest sounding, there was nothing else like them. Truly fantastic!”

TIM BURGESS