A CERTAIN RATIO – who celebrate their 40th anniversary this year – have shared details of a new box set, ACR:BOX, out on Mute on 3 May 2019 on vinyl, CD and digitally. ACR:BOX launches with a brand new acoustic version of ‘Won’t Stop Loving You’ (AKA The Big E) here titled ‘W.S.L.U.’, a recent collaboration with Parent’s Sarah Brandwood-Spencer (string arrangement) and Jason Brown (additional guitars).
ACR:BOX was remastered by Martin Moscrop at Abbey Road studios. Featuring over 20 unreleased tracks, the box set will be available as a 7 x coloured vinyl set, 4 x CD set and digitally and its release will coincide with a series of dates.
Following on from 2018’s compilation, acr:set, the box showcases the diversity of the singles, B-sides and alternative versions of tracks that A Certain Ratio have released, but without repeating tracks recently made available. ACR:BOX collates everything that fans had been missing from the 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 – even a few releases the band had forgotten about!
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 band have announced an extensive UK tour kicking off on 27 April when they’ll bring their blistering live performance to Barrow-in-Furness, before a show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on 4 May 2019. The band have also announced a 2-day ACR festival at Yes, in Manchester, on the 24 May (the anniversary of the actual release date of the original ‘All Night Party’ 7”) and 25 May which will see special guests join ACR for a takeover of all four floors of the venue. Full dates below, with more to be announced.
A CERTAIN RATIO – LIVE
27 April – Barrow-in-Furness, Barrow Underground Music Society
4 May – London, Islington Assembly Hall
10 May – Wolverhampton, Newhampton Arts Centre
23 May – Liverpool, Phase One
24 – 25 May – Manchester, Yes
30 May – Sheffield, The Leadmill (Steel Bar)
31 May – Newcastle, Riverside
1 June – Edinburgh, The Voodoo Rooms
2 June – Leamington Spa, Zephr Lounge
16 Aug – We Out Here Festival
17 Aug – Green Man Festival
18 Aug – County Durham, Hardwick Live Festival
2 Nov – Dublin, The Sugar Club
8 Nov – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
9 Nov – Birmingham, The Crossing
15 Nov – Stoke-on-Trent, The Sugarmill
16 Nov – Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
17 Nov – Huddersfield, The Parish
6 Dec – Stockton on Tees, The Georgian Theatre
7 Dec – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
