A Certain Ratio was formed in 1977 within the post-punk scene in the English city of Manchester. His music absorbed elements of funk, disco and dub, finding similarities with the works of artists that emerged decades later like The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem.

His first four albums - The Graveyard and the Ballroom (1979),  To Each... (1981) , Sextet (1982), I'd Like To See You Again (1982) and Force (1986) - were released by the mythological Factory Records, record label that had in its catalog works by artists such as Joy Division, New Order, Durutti Column and Happy Mondays. Produced by Martin Hannett, The Graveyard and the Ballroom was originally released on cassette.

The formation of A Certain Ratio has Martin Moscrop (guitar) and Jez Kerr (bass, vocals) as permanent members.

After the phase at Factory Records, the band released the albums Good Together (1989), acr:mcr (1990), Up In Downsville (1992), Change The Station (1997) and Mind Made Up (2008). The group returned in 2020 with ACR Loco, their first album in twelve years.