Gary Clail began his career in Bristol where he worked improvising raps on tapes released by On-U artists. He was taken in by the label to work with Tackhead and the On U Sound System in the late '80s, resulting in a series of 12" releases from 1985-87 before his first full-length split release for Nettwerk, Tackhead Tape Time by Gary Clail & Tackhead. In 1989, he had his true debut album in Gary Clail & On-U Sound System, released by the On U Sound label. The album helped forge him a place in the Bristol electronic underground, and paved the way for his later releases on RCA, which feature a number of singles and EPs as well as one full-length, 1991's Emotional Hooligan. He also released another full-length for Yelen Records in 1996, Keep the Faith.