A Guy Called Gerald (Gerald Simpson), one of the founding members of 808 State, was a leader of the "Madchester" movement with songs such as Emotions Electric and Voodoo Ray, a single off Hot Lemonade (Rham, 1988). The sound of that album, one of the very first albums of British techno, was still influenced by Chicago's "house" style but with strong psychedelic overtones.

High Life Low Profile (1991) was never released, but Automanikk (Sibscape, 1990) and 28-Gun Bad Boy (Juice Box, 1993), offered instead an original blend of American hip-hop, British synth-pop, Jamaican dub and mainstream pop-soul. The free-form jams of the debut album became melodic songs with a linear structure. The lyrics became even adult. The single Finly's Rainbow (1994) completed the artistic maturation.

With the sophisticated Black Secret Technology (Juicebox, 1995), perhaps his masterpiece, Simpson instead converted to ambient jungle, abandoning urban neurosis for metaphysical trance.

Simpson guided the conversion from acid-house to jungle with his 1995 milestone album. The long-awaited follow-up, mainly designed in 1997 when it was supposed to be titled Aquarius Rising, is belated released as Essence (Studio K7, 2000). The drugged reggae of Could You Understand and the experimental beats of The First Breath and Fever sound dated by the standards of the year 2000. Several tracks are mainly "songs" that highlight the guest female singers (Humanity, Beaches And Deserts, Hurry To Go Easy), but they still showcase his class as an arranger.

To All Things What They Need (K7, 2005) is a cocktail of sophisticated dance productions that borrow from different styles. Basically, muzak for discos.

Proto Acid (2006) marked a return to his acid-house roots.