A Certain Ratio announce the next phase of reissues on Mute – ‘acr:mcr’ and ‘I’d Like To See You Again’. The reissues are part of the ongoing collaboration with Mute that started with ‘The Graveyard And The Ballroom’, ‘To Each’ and ‘Force’. The forthcoming releases will be followed by a new compilation with recently recorded tracks plus various box sets that will include rare and previously unreleased material, in a campaign that is set to run over the next three years.

A Certain Ratio (Jez Kerr, Donald Johnson, Martin Moscrop, Denise Johnson, Tony Quigley and Liam Mullan) will embark on a UK tour in the spring, following last year’s incredible sold out hometown performance in Manchester.

A Certain Ratio embraced the ethic and culture of the late Seventies post punk explosion but sounded like nothing else around them and refused to fit in. Formed in 1978, the band had various members throughout their career and a core line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson.

Hailed universally as pioneers of what became known as ‘punk funk’ thanks to the success of ‘Shack Up’ on both sides of the Atlantic, their sound is not easily pigeonholed and their influence can never be understated. The band introduced the avant garde elements of funk, jazz, electronics, tape loops and technology to the pop song, wrapping it in a post punk aesthetic, adding great clothes and the coolest haircuts.

They have gone on to influence generations of musicians, from LCD Soundsystem, Happy Mondays, Franz Ferdinand, ESG, Factory Floor and Andrew Weatherall, who appears at the band’s sold out Hebden Bridge performance in May.

The Guardian’s Dave Simpson paid tribute to the band, once described as “James Brown on acid”, in a recent Cult Heroes piece: “Once you start listening to A Certain Ratio, it’s difficult to stop.”

“It was dance music, but a very different kind of dance music, one that located funk’s heart of darkness” – Classic Pop

“Cult punk funkateers” – Uncut

“Mould-breakers” – Mojo

“All the energy of Joy Division, but with better clothes” – 24 Hour Party People

“In tandem with the city that surrounded them, they had evolved, expanded, grasped a new diversity and, not least, surged to new levels of musicality.” – The Quietus

“Soulful, smooth and packed with proper anthems” – The Vinyl Factory

‘acr:mcr’ pressed on clear double vinyl and remastered at 45rpm for optimum sound quality. Includes digital download code.

‘I’d Like To See You Again’ pressed on transparent yellow vinyl.