Knuckles To The Wall

 

A Certain Ratio - Backs To The Wall [ACRY 517 UK 1989 24-Bit FLAC]

In theory, getting Frankie Knuckles to make a twelve inch remix of ACR's Backs To The Wall sounded like a great idea. Whilst these days, the track may sound like just any other dated pop/house remix, but at the time these were all the rage and his regal Knuckles was in great demand. 

Here is where it all went wrong: A&M financed a lavish (and possibly quite expensive) pop video filmed as a dance party on a River Thames riverboat during the summer of 1989 as a promotional tool and it was prime MTV material. The single was then released on the 28th August 1989 - one week after 51 people tragically died on the Thames in the Marchioness party-boat disaster. Consequently, the video was never aired beyond A&M instore promotional videos. 

The single never sold in any quantity and failed to chart. The Knuckles remix does give the originally funky album track a bouncy club-ready feel, with Dojo's vocals pushed well forward in the mix. ACR aficionados will appreciate this version even more as it is backed with the rarer original mix of Be What You Wanna Be which still today forms part of the band's live repertoire.

A1 Backs To The Wall (Frankie Knuckles Remix)

B1 Backs To The Wall (Frankie Knuckles Instrumental Mix)

B2 Be What You Wanna Be