The KLF: Beyond The Band That Burnt £1,000,000 I New British Canon

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  • Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
  • If you’ve heard of the KLF, you probably know them as a band that burnt a million pounds. But that is only the conclusion to their story. The journey that led them to the Isle of Jura on that fateful August morning in 1994 is even more fascinating.
    A journey that includes getting sued by ABBA, gaining a number one single in the guise of a talking car, pioneering at least one genre of dance music and becoming one of the most successful singles bands of the early 90s. They were two men compelled by the forces of chaos to spread as much confusion as possible and they transformed that into a pop career. This is New British Canon and this is the Story of The KLF.
    #theklf #90sdancemusic #musicdocumentary
    Fact-checking by Serenity Autumn and Chad Van Wagner.
    Thanks also to Rex The Younger for having archived a lot of this footage
    Also thanks to @ROBERTTONUS for uploading footage of The KLF show at Helter Skelter
    00:00 Introduction
    00:48 It Begins: The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
    07:33 The Rise & Destruction of The Timelords
    13:37 The KLF, Pure Trance & Chill Out
    21:05 Stadium House: The KLF Chart Takeover
    26:04 Justified and Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)
    30:58 Burning a Million: The End of The KLF
    Bibliography
    The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds by John Higgs, 2013, W&N
    The Manual (How to Have a Number One The Easy Way by Bill Drummond & Jimmy Cauty, 1988, KLF
    How Soon is Now?: The Madmen and Mavericks who made Independent Music 1975-2005 by Richard King, 2017, Faber & Faber
    Who Killed the KLF? (2021) dir. Chris Atkins
    KLF - The Rites Of Mu (1991) dir. Bill Butt
    The KLF Burn a Million (£1M) Pounds (1995) dir. Kevin Hull
    Music for Misfits - The Story of Indie (2015) dir. Mike Connolly & Siobhan Logue
    Top of the Pops - The Story of 1991 (2021) dir. Verity Newman
    Scottish Pop Music: The Story Of The KLF (2018) dir. Pete Stanton
    "The KLF - Interview" Rapido, 1991 ( • The KLF - Interview Ra... )
    "The KLF - The Manual" Reportage, 1989 ( • The KLF - Reportage - ... )
    "Bill Drummond Interview" The Tom Robinson Show, 2004 (www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p05...)
    "The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu: Feeling The Pinch" James Brown, Sounds, May 1987
    "The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu: Physical Graffiti" Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, Jul 1987
    "The JAMS: Wizards of Scam" Jack Barron, NME, Jun 1988
    "The KLF" Martin Aston, Independent, Feb 1990
    "The KLF" Push, Melody Maker, Mar 1990
    "KLF: Tales From The White Room" John McCready, The Face, Sep 1990
    "The KLF: Doctorin' The Charts" Roy Wilkinson, Sounds, Nov 1990
    "The KLF: Pranks for the Memory" David Stubbs, Melody Maker, Feb 1991
    "KLF: Hang On! I've Got An Idea!" Andy Gill, Q Magazine, Mar 1991
    "The KLF: Off The Orbitals" Simon Reynolds, The Observer, Apr 1991
    "Inside The KLF" Mark Prendergast, Sound on Sound, Apr 1991
    "The KLF: Great Luminaries of Our Time" Roy Wilkinson, Sounds, May 1991
    "KLF IS GONNA ROCK YOU" Ernie Longmire, X Magazine, Jul 1991
    "Big in Japan: Where Are They Now?" Martin Aston, Q Magazine, Jan 1992
    "Who Killed The KLF?" William Shaw, Select, Jul 1992
    "Stand By Your Van: Tammy Meets the KLF" Terry Staunton, NME, Nov 1992
    "Hey, DJ - The chilled-out charms of ambient techno" Pat Blashill, Details, Nov 1993
    "Burning question: The KLF" Andrew Smith, The Observer, Feb 2000
    "Bill Drummond: Pop's prankster heads for destruction" Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, Aug 2008
    "The KLF: Getting Arrested With Bill & Jimmy" David Stubbs, The Quietus, Aug 2008
    "Bill Drummond: Recorded Music Has Run Its Course" John Doran, The Quietus, Aug 2008
    "IN ABOUT FOUR SECONDS A TEACHER WILL BEGIN TO SPEAK-DR. ALEX PATERSON OF THE ORB" Rich Thomas, Magnetic Magazine, Nov 2011
    "From the Crate: KLF - The White Room" Ed Jupp, Gods in the TV Zine, Mar 2016
    "Your guide to The KLF, pop music’s original pranksters" Jack Needham, Dazed, Jan 2017
    "Who Were The KLF?" Jonny Coleman, Pitchfork, Feb 2017
    "Return of the KLF: ‘They were agents of chaos. Now the world they anticipated is here’" Andrew Harrison, The Guardian, Apr 2017
    "KLF's Welcome to the Dark Ages: What time is chaos?" Barbara Ellen, The Observer, Aug 2017
    "The KLF's Greatest Protégés Didn't Really Know What Was Going On" Jason Roth, The Record, Jul 2017
    "The KLF “3 A.M. Eternal”" Jonny Coleman, Insomniac, Aug 2017
    "Chill Out The KLF Review" Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, Feb 2020
    "When the KLF and Extreme Noise Terror outgunned the Brits: what happened next?" Ian Winwood, Daily Telegraph, Feb 2020
    "What Time Is Love? The KLF Primer" Nick Roseblade, Clash, Jan 2021
    "Making KLF: The White Room" Mark Lindores, Classic Pop, Feb 2022
    Soundtrack
    Luar - Citrine ( / luarbeats )
    Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
    Luar - Anchor ( / luarbeats )
    You can also follow me here:
    Twitter: / trashtheory
    Facebook: / trashtheoryyt
    Or support me on Patreon:
    / trashtheory

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,4 тис.

  • @roolaing
    @roolaing Рік тому +570

    What I respect about the KLF is their integrity. It's inarguable. They're the most punk band ever, without being punk. They worked out the nonsense, contrived music business and could write banging tunes with a captivating element of mystique. Quitting at the top, after firing a machine gun over the heads, quite literally, of the pop music establishment they understood and loathed. Disillusionment done right. Perfect.

    • @basedsouljah
      @basedsouljah Рік тому +20

      It's literally something I don't think that CAN ever be seen again. They "Player 1" 'd the fuck out of the music industry lmfao AND BEAT THE BOSS

    • @luminosway5249
      @luminosway5249 Рік тому +22

      As a kid in the early 90's, watching all these great tunes roll out on the radio and music video shows... I might even go as far as calling the KLF "THE SOUND OF 1991".... I had no idea all this anarchy was going on. Mucho, mucho respeto.

    • @Davivd2
      @Davivd2 Рік тому +17

      They literally stole an album from a man and you respect their integrity? Ok....

    • @LiquidShivaz
      @LiquidShivaz Рік тому +5

      @@Davivd2 exact that, don’t mind sampling on itself, but they sound entitled

    • @roolaing
      @roolaing Рік тому +4

      @@Davivd2 I typed this before I heard that part. Yeah, that's not on... I didn't once consider them perfect.

  • @vicdmise
    @vicdmise Рік тому +427

    I'm 50 years old, I'm a New Yorker, I'm a musician, I'm an avid music lover of multiple genres, I've been in bands, I've worked as a recording engineer, I've been a music producer, I've been a DJ, I've been an electronics repair guy and a music sales guy. I've worked with famous names and with nobodies. I still find new stuff whenever I watch one of your videos. These are absolutely the best music docs out there.

    • @memyselfandi8544
      @memyselfandi8544 Рік тому +3

      Because it’s witchcraft.

    • @FunkyAve69
      @FunkyAve69 Рік тому +3

      And now I’m subscribing- thanks!

    • @tim_odonovan
      @tim_odonovan Рік тому +3

      Now that’s a portfolio career 👏😎

    • @vicdmise
      @vicdmise Рік тому +1

      @@tim_odonovan I wish, but thanks. At least it's been consistent.

    • @andrewhime7701
      @andrewhime7701 Рік тому +2

      and he didn't even mention The Black Room...

  • @ob1quixote
    @ob1quixote Рік тому +372

    “A sound system loud enough to bother the surrounding islands. The event ended with the burning of a wicker man and a rave. As usual, no explanation was given.” Absolute legends.

    • @IAgreeLetsGoBrandon
      @IAgreeLetsGoBrandon Рік тому +11

      The original Burning Man

    • @OriginalGabriel
      @OriginalGabriel Рік тому +6

      @@IAgreeLetsGoBrandon not really; that happened in 1991, Burning Man started in 1986

    • @manuel-xax
      @manuel-xax Рік тому +2

      +1, er, fuck that : +2k !

    • @manuel-xax
      @manuel-xax Рік тому +7

      @@OriginalGabriel The festival, yup.
      Not sure how close it was related to the 1973 movie (The wicker man), based on a 1967 novel 🙂

    • @davidfox7983
      @davidfox7983 Рік тому +2

      Legends Definitely

  • @magzdilluh
    @magzdilluh Рік тому +217

    I was a dumb kid in rural Missouri that was fed a musical diet of Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey: hearing 3 AM Eternal for the first time was a revelation and it broke my preadolescent brain

    • @wonko-the-often-sane
      @wonko-the-often-sane 11 місяців тому +4

      As a dude in his early 20s in-between pretty much everything is his life, driving through Lake Jackson while listening to Dreamtime in Lake Jackson was a pretty defining experience.

    • @TheFrottola
      @TheFrottola 10 місяців тому +2

      Poor you! And congratulations for finding superb music.

    • @leewightman8619
      @leewightman8619 2 місяці тому

      Garth brooks ha ha

    • @keithroberts9869
      @keithroberts9869 Місяць тому +1

      I hear ya, I was a youth in Montana and heard 3 AM Eternal and was blown away (and hooked)

  • @derrickmapp2391
    @derrickmapp2391 Рік тому +139

    still get chills from 3AM and their other hits

    • @vampoftrance
      @vampoftrance Рік тому +6

      3 AM Eternal KLF

    • @gullf1sk
      @gullf1sk 6 місяців тому

      24:23 this hook man it gets me every time

  • @seagrey75
    @seagrey75 8 місяців тому +21

    A legendary band along with 808 State, The Prodigy, Bomb the Bass and The Shamen.

  • @popesalty2934
    @popesalty2934 Рік тому +324

    the KLF / Tammy Wynette combination is, in my humble but correct opinion, the greatest collaboration in the history of popular music. On sheer WTF-ness alone, it stands unrivaled. It's what a collaboration should be: A collision of disparate worlds that, somehow, still works.

    • @nolesy34
      @nolesy34 Рік тому +17

      Forever i had thought this lady was like a country goddess who had been kidnapped and taken to a country of pyramids and somehow the poor KLF had to also be kidnapped
      Tammy had to praise the moomooians and say they were justified... having had no knowledge of moomooian culture i had to take her word

    • @skyblazeeterno
      @skyblazeeterno Рік тому +8

      I also like Ex Page 3 Girl Samantha Fox teaming up with Hawkwind to do a version of Gimme Shelter

    • @SunburntHands
      @SunburntHands Рік тому +6

      It's magic, in every sense including the literal.

    • @neilandrews2995
      @neilandrews2995 Рік тому +3

      In the year of our lord 993.. correction 992

    • @francisbtube
      @francisbtube Рік тому +1

      Would you be in reading an article I wrote about this song?

  • @djsquarewave
    @djsquarewave Рік тому +138

    My favorite KLF tangent has to do with German dancepop band Scooter. Apparently when they broke in the UK, people were contacting radio stations and their label demanding they admit that Scooter was secretly a KLF project. HP Baxxter has said in interviews that being compared to The KLF like that is the greatest compliment the band could ever get.

    • @misorodzinak8829
      @misorodzinak8829 Рік тому +14

      HOW MUCH IS DA FIIIIISSSSHHH?!?!?

    • @nolesy34
      @nolesy34 Рік тому +3

      @@misorodzinak8829 IM NOT SURE BUT ITS A SLIPPERY LITTLE SUCKER

    • @djsquarewave
      @djsquarewave Рік тому +16

      Respect to the man in the ice cream van.

    • @nolesy34
      @nolesy34 Рік тому

      @@djsquarewave Mmmm.. sometimes ive chased that fker down block after block like predator after Arnie only to get a pasteurized creamy milk treat and say.. well i had more enjoyment in the quest rather than the attainment

    • @KelmutHool
      @KelmutHool Рік тому +9

      it's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.

  • @gtabro1337
    @gtabro1337 Рік тому +227

    Just last year I watched the documentary on them called Who Killed the KLF? and I am still flabbergasted about how they were the biggest band in the world... and then just decided to stop. Truly made music for the sake of art and when they felt they've said everything they wanted they moved on.

    • @ethanprince356
      @ethanprince356 Рік тому +5

      Yeah that is a brilliant documentary.

    • @OrgaNik_Music
      @OrgaNik_Music Рік тому +3

      I just watched that last week and now this one dropped.

    • @kildogery
      @kildogery Рік тому +5

      Haha, that's why this seemed so familiar, I've seen that.

    • @vicdmise
      @vicdmise Рік тому +12

      I definitely wouldn't call them the biggest band in the world, but they were definitely everywhere for a few minutes, and they left their mark.

    • @volodymyrbilyk555
      @volodymyrbilyk555 Рік тому +3

      This documentary is superb. KLF crew needs more love all the time. Thesr guys are legit

  • @salo7227
    @salo7227 Рік тому +199

    LOVE them. LOOOOOVE. The world needs batshit insane pop art geniuses who genuinely don't play by any established rules. I fear we'll not see anyone as remotely talented or frothingly unhinged as these two ever again.

    • @benwatson8244
      @benwatson8244 Рік тому

      Check out AMM All-Stars, baby.

    • @AutPen38
      @AutPen38 Рік тому +11

      There are a lot of unhinged people, both inside and outside the music industry, but having the talent to make a bunch of top 5 singles doesn't normally come along at the same time as that level of derangement. Most of pop's mad people can only do one or the other. (Syd Barrett, Kurt Cobain, and Kanye West are in the same conversation, but none of those could make pure radio-friendly pop while doped up to the eyeballs in a squat. The KLF were special).

    • @BDF30
      @BDF30 Рік тому

      Yeah - yeah... The 90s was the explosion of techno sound in Europe and all the world... I have listen to hundreds talented electronic musician like the KLF...

    • @oTgNinJAFTW
      @oTgNinJAFTW Рік тому +4

      Death Grips did a few things like the KLF, mainly only to fuck with the corporate music labels though, not so much the press

    • @variovent
      @variovent Рік тому +2

      If these two blocks were "geniuses", my poop is the holly grail.

  • @georgeprice4212
    @georgeprice4212 Рік тому +97

    They deserve my thanks for giving Tammy Wynette one last chart appearance, even if it wasn’t on Country!

    • @refitdan
      @refitdan Рік тому +24

      I love how she just embraced it totally.

    • @izzzzzzzzzzzie
      @izzzzzzzzzzzie Рік тому +10

      Jimmy actually had Dolly Parton in mind but as Bill pointed out it wouldn't have worked without Tammy. Try and track down the doco "Who Killed the KLF" you'll thank yourself.

    • @littlewoodimp
      @littlewoodimp Рік тому +11

      I absolutely loved her for getting involved with such pure silliness, it was so joyful.

    • @CheapSushi
      @CheapSushi 7 місяців тому

      what a Queen, that was awesome

    • @DavidBozek92109
      @DavidBozek92109 2 місяці тому

      IMHO, great documentary. The subject of such? Somehow a cross between Spinal Tap and a pop version of an “Emperor wears no clothes” sort of phenom.
      The doc captured my attention far longer than any of the “music” could have.

  • @tomhekker
    @tomhekker Рік тому +43

    Their track “It’s Grim Up North” is still a song that gives me the chills. One of the hardest, most raw techno tracks I’ve ever heard. Fucking masterpiece.

    • @izzzzzzzzzzzie
      @izzzzzzzzzzzie Рік тому +1

      And funny too [Major] sorry [stranger] Tom.

    • @acidmack1041
      @acidmack1041 Рік тому +11

      That breakdown into Jerusalem at the end is 👌

    • @tomhekker
      @tomhekker Рік тому +4

      @@acidmack1041 Yup. Couldn’t have been a better ending. The north will rise again

    • @kerkiraz
      @kerkiraz 6 місяців тому +1

      @@tomhekker the north will always be culturally rich but unfortunately will forever be a geographical social backwater.

  • @Thejesusegg
    @Thejesusegg Рік тому +48

    I got the album when I was 13 and fell in love with it. Now I have a six year old kid that will rock out to Last Train to Trancentral with me in the car.

  • @l1fef0rm
    @l1fef0rm Рік тому +25

    Very cool that you covered this. "KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds" is a fantastic book on the subject.

  • @jomartinkelly1
    @jomartinkelly1 Рік тому +7

    Right, here's my KLF story. I was a kid. One day, living in Paisley, Scotland, I found my parents rubbing graffiti off my front door. Someone had spraypainted "KLF" on our front door. Apparently several cars on the street had it done too. They were scraping and scraping and I asked my dad, what does KLF mean. He played me Last Train To Trancentral. He had a KLF tape. I remember how deep the biro was on the tape label. It was serious. K. L. F. He played them to me. They started my journey into being creative, being a musician, being an artist. My first album was The While Room. The KLF are sacred to me, almost holy. Thank you for thus video. Because I always had this patchy recollection of the KLF. All I know is that they started my creative career. Thank you so much for doing this video. I'm going to send it to my dad.

    • @DeflatingAtheism
      @DeflatingAtheism Рік тому +1

      Okay, obvious question… was it the KLF who spraypainted “KLF” on your door?

    • @jomartinkelly1
      @jomartinkelly1 Рік тому +1

      @@DeflatingAtheism I really, really like to think it was.

  • @cockbeard
    @cockbeard Рік тому +81

    Colour me excited, met Bill several times and he's always been an absolute gent but clearly with an artistic bent that pushes beyond. Loved the music at the time, then later fell in love with the movement, around six years ago was lucky enough to be at Toxteth Day of the Dead, ended up dancing with Jarvis Cocker as I'd come straight from work and we were the only two guys in suits

  • @quser1
    @quser1 11 місяців тому +16

    That’s 36 minutes of absolute music history. I don’t know why I got this in my feed, but after this video I’m fan of yours. I’ve known some of their story, but you gave all the background to it.

  • @pearldivan6969
    @pearldivan6969 Рік тому +14

    No mention of "America: what time is love"? I blew my speakers with that track back then - twice.. and the video to that one can be descriped with one word: AWESOME

    • @QualityCandor
      @QualityCandor 2 місяці тому

      Was surprised by that myself, especially seeing as it managed to pull off another surprise guest appearance by the Voice of Rock himself, Glenn Hughes, singing at the top of his bent with Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" thundering across the track.

  • @chathamcrescent
    @chathamcrescent Рік тому +21

    I bought The White Room on cassette in 1991, and loved all of the songs. Then Justified & Ancient hit the airwaves, and I was further blown away…mind-bending and gloriously insane! 🤯😱😃

  • @mixell2021
    @mixell2021 Рік тому +25

    Chill out is a great album. Never gets old.

    • @TheNaFun
      @TheNaFun 21 хвилина тому

      Made to be timeless, a fitting masterpiece by the Timelords

  • @Livi_Noelle
    @Livi_Noelle Рік тому +38

    I read the title and my brain instantly shouted, "KLF is gonna rock ya!"

  • @drwex
    @drwex Рік тому +22

    I'm so glad you did this one. I was incredibly into their music but as an American I had no idea what the act was about or their non-philosophy. In those days it was pretty rare for Americans even to know about, let alone be into, Dr Who. But it was huge in the nerd culture circles I inhabited, particularly the Tom Baker years. So that hook made The KLF also instant hits in those circles.

    • @bonniecreevy2642
      @bonniecreevy2642 5 місяців тому

      I’m American. I loved Doctering the Tardis and loved KLF. But I had no idea it was their song. This is all so interesting to learn.

  • @Willysmb44
    @Willysmb44 Рік тому +17

    Thank you for posting this. As an American, I only knew of some of their music at the time, and none of the peripheral things they had done. Clearly, I missed out on the cleverest people to get into pop!

  • @tehutiboi
    @tehutiboi Рік тому +61

    I still listen to the Chill Out album once a year or so. The first time I heard it was as a teen after a rave in the early 90s coming down from an acid trip and dancing all night. Gorgeous album! Great video here, so interesting to learn their background. I had no idea their history, this is amazing!

    • @jamesgrover2005
      @jamesgrover2005 Рік тому +8

      I'd recommend anyone to put it on late coming down with friends, it's brilliant.

    • @milton1969able
      @milton1969able Рік тому +4

      Its a great liston to when you're on a journey.

    • @halfabeet
      @halfabeet Рік тому +2

      The two and a half hour (or so) re-envisioning of Space (originally an Orb album), This Is Not What Space Is About, is fantastic too

    • @brandonthesteele
      @brandonthesteele Рік тому +4

      Chill Out is amazing. I discovered it when I was almost 30, but it was released right about the time I was born. It's like Chill Out is what the world sounded like when I entered it, and I was on my way to returning to it.
      It's good music for road trips (duh) but also in dealing with a loss.

    • @volodymyrbilyk555
      @volodymyrbilyk555 Рік тому +2

      Have you heard chill out re-release with no bigger samples? It is mostly the same, all the cool bits are still there, but segments that were changed bring different vibes

  • @Definatalie
    @Definatalie Рік тому +45

    About a year ago I went into a rabbithole reading about The KLF and I'm so stoked you've covered them in even more detail. I can't help but admire them.

    • @neilbiggs1353
      @neilbiggs1353 Рік тому +4

      If you didn't find Bill Drummond's book 45 in your rabbit hole you should. It's one of the more unique books I've read! I also loved the Youw***res website they did, but I think that has been taken down now. It was a site where people listed ridiculous things they'd do for money and some were absurd, others were satirical. "I'll laugh at your Chihuahua" is a title of one of the entries...

    • @memyselfandi8544
      @memyselfandi8544 Рік тому +1

      You should read Albert Pikes “Morals and Dogma” page 321 if you really want to know where the rabbit hole goes. Believe me, it’s a very deep and dark destination.

    • @jagoisvara8178
      @jagoisvara8178 Рік тому

      ​​@@memyselfandi8544
      I just found this short clip about that page of the book. What does this have to do with the KLF?
      ua-cam.com/video/X0LCq780FPg/v-deo.html

    • @dbubd
      @dbubd Рік тому

      @@memyselfandi8544 Does this section of the rabbit hole have cliff notes?

    • @memyselfandi8544
      @memyselfandi8544 Рік тому

      @@dbubd ua-cam.com/video/XAx5W821tqQ/v-deo.html

  • @JayKaufman
    @JayKaufman Рік тому +37

    I love how the KLF remained subversive whilst having huge hits and pissing off all and sundry.
    I absolutely love this band and the more and I learn about them as I grow older (they were in their prime when I was about 13-17) the more I love them.

  • @Choralone422
    @Choralone422 Рік тому +18

    Excellent video!
    Growing up in the Midwest US I fell hard for the The KLF just before my teen years after I heard 3AM Eternal on MTV one day. I was a fan of stuff like Technotronic and Black Box but something about 3AM Eternal really hooked me. I got The White Room on CD and was in heaven! It just so happened that shortly after that I visited a cousin who was a few years older than I and he happened to be playing Chill Out and I recognized one of the melodies in it. Only then did I start to go down the rabbit hole that was The KLF and boy what a ride it was back then! I had to wait until the early 2000s before I got my hands on 1987 via internet file sharing but in the early 90s I had managed to find all the other singles & albums on CD from Doctorin' the Tardis through Justified and Ancient. I still listen to The White Room and Chill Out a couple of times each year!

  • @lagunagfx
    @lagunagfx Рік тому +16

    I was about to turn 14 when 3AM and the rest of the singles hit Spain, my country. Those tracks were huuuge! My parents listened to a lot of classic Jean Michel Jarre and new age synth/quasy ambient music, though that year was the first time I heard both floaty sounds and pumping beats in the same song... I was hooked for life!
    Many years later I fould a beautiful “Justified Ancients of Mu Mu” picture disc with the pyramid, the submarine and Tammy as the queen. Beautiful photo. Amazing collage of sounds. I also found the “What time is love (America we love you remix)” sleeve with the Viking ship and that redhead girl with sunglasses. I’m sure I didn’t pay more that 3 or 4 euros for each record.
    They’re now still on my wall, on display and on my playlist... Live from the Trancentral

    • @izzzzzzzzzzzie
      @izzzzzzzzzzzie Рік тому +1

      That is Jimmy Cauty's wife.

    • @lagunagfx
      @lagunagfx Рік тому

      @@izzzzzzzzzzzie i've wondeted who she was almost my whole life... thank you, man, for sure!

    • @AutPen38
      @AutPen38 Рік тому

      Cress *was* Jimmy Cauty's partner for over 20 years (she ran the KLF press office for most of it after her earlier pop career with June "Mo" Montana from Brilliant fizzled out), but they split up, she went to college and became a research biologist. Cauty hooked up with Alannah Currie (famous as a member of the Thompson Twins) a few years ago.

  • @anabltc
    @anabltc 10 місяців тому +16

    "this wasn't the woman I was expecting" sent me 💀💀💀💀
    I loved them then and I love them now
    and Tammy WAS precisely the right choice. Both legends, cool dames and great singers, but Dolly would have taken over the story bc she's more famous

  • @thevoid99
    @thevoid99 Рік тому +23

    KLF were rebels in pop. they were real artists and burning money in the end is just the icing of the cake.

    • @felixjones9198
      @felixjones9198 Рік тому

      As the K Foundation they also did an art exhibit called "Nailed to the Wall" where they hung two boards, each with half a million pounds nailed to it, to which they invited the "art establishment" press. The media absolutely shitcanned it as the worst 'art' ever, whilst simultaneously stealing around half the money. When Bill and Jimmy took the un-stolen money back to the bank, they allegedly said "we can't take this, it's all got holes in it."
      Subversion right at the intersection of genius and madness.

  • @BertLensch
    @BertLensch Рік тому +12

    Jesus... I had no idea the Orb and the KLF were even loosely related. And never really understood where either band came from or went after their rise in the early 1990's.

  • @davecool42
    @davecool42 Рік тому +6

    An incredibly comprehensive retrospective! Loved The KLF for 30+ years. Thank you! ❤

  • @BassStevie
    @BassStevie Рік тому +10

    Big fan of the KLF and the Chill Out record (I have the CD in my car). Love what you do.

  • @cockbeard
    @cockbeard Рік тому +14

    Loved it, wish you had enough time to do so many more of these, rarely do I not look forward a video, just this one hit a touch harder than normal and super well done (not intentionally patronising sorry) for showing that they were in their very own way so much more than merely a band

  • @TheCharlesAtoz
    @TheCharlesAtoz 11 місяців тому +2

    This is one of my top channels! When I want to learn something new, here I am. Great voice btw!!

  • @matsbluckert
    @matsbluckert Рік тому +5

    Great short story, but missed the "It´s grim up north" part and also no mention of the ice cream van & the 99s :-)

  • @mattymcfattydoe6375
    @mattymcfattydoe6375 Рік тому +4

    This is a really well put together piece of music journalism!

  • @DrLove-ql1wh
    @DrLove-ql1wh Рік тому +24

    Good doc about a great band. I have definitely appreciated them more as I have gotten older (I was a bit young at the time). Glad they are still doing their thing.

  • @schroecat1
    @schroecat1 Рік тому +6

    I remember hearing The KLF in the 90s and really enjoying their music, but i had no idea why they just disappeared until recently. I guess i do now. Thanks for the awesome documentary.

  • @LividImp
    @LividImp Рік тому +18

    In the US, Doctorin the Tardis was an accidentally subversive masterpiece. You used to have these overly serious tough guys dancing to a mix of a nerdy theme song and a glitter rock band, both which were the height of uncool at the time. It was everything those guys would be mortified to be associated with, and were once it was revealed to them. I think that is why it had such a short spike in popularity in the US. Seemed like it was on the radio for one week then it disappeared without a trace. If I had not had taped it off the radio, you could have convinced me it never existed a week later.
    But it only works because it is genuinely so good, despite the creators apparent disdain for it. It takes a certain mentality, knowledge and talent to successfully meld such disparate forms of music. I've heard a million other attempts to do something similar and it rarely pans out.

    • @50Personas
      @50Personas Рік тому +5

      At least from about 2000 to 2014, that song was a staple in a legendary club in São Paulo, Brazil, called Madame Satã. The kicker? It's primarily a goth/post-punk club.
      Just goes to show how wide is the reach of "Doctorin' the Tardis". It was played alongside stuff like "Go" from Tones on Tail and "Rise" from PIL. Good times.

    • @LividImp
      @LividImp Рік тому +6

      @@50Personas I'm primarily an old punk/post-punk kind of guy that married a gothy girl, so that all checks out. When you really boil it all down, it's all basically the same kind of people with slightly different preferences.

    • @frustrateduser9933
      @frustrateduser9933 11 місяців тому +2

      I saw a copy of Doctorin the Tardis at a small town Record Bar. I recognized it thanks to MTV's '120 Minutes' air play but figured I'd come back later and get it. I spent the next 5 years looking for a copy.

  • @wellurban
    @wellurban Рік тому +22

    At first I was bewildered by your opening comment “If you’ve heard of The KLF, it’s probably as the band that burned a million pounds”. Eh?! Who hasn’t heard of the KLF? Who doesn’t know them for their brilliant music? But it dawned on me that for those who were too young to remember 1991, the fact that they deleted their catalogue meant that it was easy for their music to slip into oblivion. Some of us kept hold of our copies of the White Room or Chill Out, and never forgot what a timeless series of bangers the Stadium House Trilogy was. There were a lot of great dance tracks in the charts at the time (including Canadian national anthem Pump Up The Jam), but The KLF had a level of bizarre mystique about them that fired the imagination. It’ll be great to have new people introduced to their energy and inventiveness, as well as retelling all their art anarchist bonkers brilliance.

    • @doctornova3015
      @doctornova3015 Рік тому

      I barely remember them can't even remember what their annoying hit song was.

    • @stuartmorley6894
      @stuartmorley6894 Рік тому +8

      ​@@doctornova3015 presumably watching the video will help. They had a bunch of hit singles so there's a few you don't remember but felt the need to tell everyone about not remembering.

    • @dennismcdonald2607
      @dennismcdonald2607 Рік тому +1

      Translation: 'I'm old!' 😅

    • @widicamdotnet
      @widicamdotnet Рік тому

      Has any other band "deleted their catalogue" like this? I was only introduced to EDM and pop music in general in 1994 and missed them entirely. When the re-releases popped up in my feed in 2021, it was ...ear-opening? Over 25 years worth of Scooter tracks had hammered a lot of seemingly nonsensical lyrics and weird samples into my brain - and now I realized that a LOT of those, including their overall "stadium house" style, were references to the KLF. If you will, a continuation of this mass-market EDM segment that KLF had started and now refused to serve.

  • @vlnow
    @vlnow Рік тому +19

    The best thing about the klf is all of their remixes and mixes of their songs now available to listen to all over the internet.

    • @acidmack1041
      @acidmack1041 Рік тому

      They have all been on UA-cam since UA-cam started

    • @BDF30
      @BDF30 Рік тому

      Always was available over the internet and the music exchanging programs...

    • @dreamyrhodes
      @dreamyrhodes Рік тому +2

      That's because they dropped copyright on everything that was released under their label.

  • @datchucktaylor
    @datchucktaylor Рік тому +2

    Whenever my listening gets stuck on the same stuff, these video always either remind me of or introduce something else to check out. Nice work!

  • @raphdroidt692
    @raphdroidt692 10 місяців тому +1

    Wow. What a great video. Enjoyed every second
    Thank you very much!!!

  • @ichiban8558
    @ichiban8558 Рік тому +5

    Great video, well researched and narrated skillfully.

  • @StereoAnthony
    @StereoAnthony Рік тому +11

    3AM Eternal was a music beacon for me when I discovered it as a 13 yr old in a northern town with no culture.
    It sounded so unique and futuristic. On clear days a radio station 2hrs south of me came through, and I remember recording it off the radio everyday for the week it was in the top 10 count down so I could listen to it over and over again in a row.

  • @pdzombie1906
    @pdzombie1906 7 місяців тому +1

    Always loved 3 am, never could have imagined such a compelling history behind it. Great as usual!! Thanx!!!

  • @cjgb2368
    @cjgb2368 Рік тому +1

    Damn good documentation! So many informations not only about the band but what was going on musically during that time. Really well done!

  • @azynkron
    @azynkron Рік тому +26

    "Lets make a hit single then.. we haven't tried that hard.."
    Creates arguably the best dance tracks in history.

    • @nolesy34
      @nolesy34 Рік тому +4

      Sometimes it's just a few piano keys and a drum machine .. look at kraftwerk

  • @MVBriscoVolante
    @MVBriscoVolante Рік тому +4

    Back again, they never kicked us out. 20,000 years of shout shout shout!

  • @jasonmfalconer
    @jasonmfalconer Рік тому +1

    Magnificent my man. Well done real pleasure to see that shenanigans in some sort of logical time frame rather than snippets of memories. Essential watch for anyone 50ish years young. What I love the most is the way 'Chill out' rooms and the word Chill out is now used in almost every primary school across the UK. R.I.P Ricardo Da Force

  • @cricket555
    @cricket555 Рік тому +2

    DUDE!! I love this channel, I was literally driving home from work listening to the KLF and thinking about this!!!

  • @jurijus01
    @jurijus01 Рік тому +15

    There was a talk show on British TV featuring THE KLF. There they admitted the plan of burning 1 mln quid was to show the ashes on their future gigs. The documentary never really mentions the KLF is Kopyright Liberation Front. It is a great documentary by Trash Theory, definitely one of the best. Kudos for the author!

    • @bearhustler
      @bearhustler Рік тому +7

      They changed what KLF meant all the time. At one stage it was the Kallisti Love Foundation.

    • @izzzzzzzzzzzie
      @izzzzzzzzzzzie Рік тому

      @@bearhustler Try and find the doco "Who Killed the KLF" all your answers [and prayers] will materialise. i.e. King Lucifer Forever, Kopyright Liberation Front, Kings of Low Frequencies, *Kiss Lick Fuck *more a street interpretation.

    • @acidmack1041
      @acidmack1041 Рік тому +6

      ​​@@bearhustler also Kings Of Low Frequencies and King Lucifer Forever.
      Truth is The KLF didn't mean anything, like the majority of stuff they did 😂

    • @zimriel
      @zimriel Рік тому +2

      I think mostly it was Kopyright Liberation Front tho'. With a nod to the Kurds still struggling for freedom in ErdoStan.

  • @IzzyWanShinobi
    @IzzyWanShinobi Рік тому +4

    I’ve picked up bits and pieces of this story over the years - owning to the fact 3AM Eternal was the first song dance song I remember hearing at 10 years old - but never knew the whole story!
    Awesome work🎉

  • @guandjs
    @guandjs 8 місяців тому

    Excellent video! Very well done! Always love the KLF classics.

  • @lefroy1
    @lefroy1 Рік тому +1

    Wickedly good doc man. Thoroughly enjoyed that.

  • @Bodyknowledge77
    @Bodyknowledge77 Рік тому +4

    Fascinating edutainment. Thanks T.T as usual! I get quite the laugh(etc) myself sampling audio from various sources and making semi-non sequiturs.

  • @fitosolares
    @fitosolares Рік тому +12

    Sadly no mention of one of the masterpieces of this band "It's Grim Up North", a song like absolutely no other and even nostalgic for those of us who have had the privilege of living near the Yorkshire Moors at one time or another. Fucking geniuses.

  • @PACKYCSONE80
    @PACKYCSONE80 Рік тому +1

    Love it, amazing work! Cheers mate!

  • @2.7petabytes
    @2.7petabytes Рік тому +1

    You make EXCELLENT music documentaries!! Kudos to The KLF

  • @TheClumsyFairy
    @TheClumsyFairy Рік тому +5

    My god, I just spent 36 min beaming with a MASSIVE grin on my face, as you took me through my Youth...
    I never knew that about the Orb... FFS... MY Business in SK Was Called Orb s.r.o. after that band, and it's music is still my life. Just incredible when you've nommed a couple of bits of blotting paper...
    What a totally bangin video.. Cheers Mate!

  • @cAPSlOCKrOXX
    @cAPSlOCKrOXX Рік тому +4

    I’m absolutely loving the dance/edm adjacent topics lately. Fingers crossed we’ll get an episode about Underworld someday ;)

  • @robertsonrobertson5918
    @robertsonrobertson5918 Місяць тому

    Great documentary. Your stuff is so well researched and edited. Kudos to you..🙌🙌🙌

  • @DokkaChapman
    @DokkaChapman Рік тому +2

    Honestly thought you'd covered KLF before, nice to see you give them the spotlight in this series. :)

  • @RandomEye1131
    @RandomEye1131 Рік тому +5

    What a bizarre story. Brilliant, but bloody weird.

  • @bulasev
    @bulasev Рік тому +5

    Thanks for this amazingly detailed video. I loved the hell out of KLF and I never understood why did they disappeared. Interestingly enough... I also loved The Orb... not knowing there was a connection. The KLF was more 'punk' than most punk bands. They went out with a bang and I love them even more for it. Legends.

  • @sydneybull4851
    @sydneybull4851 Рік тому +1

    I was so hoping you'd make a vid about the KLF! Thank you! Brilliant vid and such an interesting moment in the British cultural narrative

  • @oursongs7554
    @oursongs7554 11 місяців тому

    Very very good video you make. KLF, it a shame we cannot hear anymore of their new project. Thanks for those music you made.

  • @damobdaking
    @damobdaking Рік тому +5

    In NZ you could hardly go out to the club in the 90's and not hear the KLF. Same in Aussie in the late 90's.

  • @StefanMedici
    @StefanMedici Рік тому +7

    Loved KLF, they were my gateway drug to so much different music.

  • @obsquresales
    @obsquresales Рік тому +1

    Good job on the lil mini doc..most information I have read/seen/lived through. Few nee nuggets there I hadn't come across before. Decent watch.

  • @colinscutt5104
    @colinscutt5104 Рік тому

    Top quality documentary mate ,ive watched three or four on the KLF and this is the best by far

  • @SezShares
    @SezShares Рік тому +4

    Loved the songs as a teenager. Had no idea about the chaos. Thank you for a fantastic video essay! Now off to rock out to Justified and Ancient which I STILL know all lyrics of 30+ years later.

  • @xfoolsgoldx
    @xfoolsgoldx Рік тому +3

    This channel is amazeballs👍💙✌️

  • @sacredk1
    @sacredk1 Рік тому

    This is such an awesome documentary. Thanks so muchm, really.

  • @leopas
    @leopas Рік тому

    Thank you for make this documentary about KLF!
    The future generations must know and appreciate their legacy, not only in the music aspect, but how the music industry is about

  • @Caffeine_Club
    @Caffeine_Club Рік тому +16

    "However because the British public fucking love the 'Doctor Who' theme, and that beat is undeniable, in June 1988, 'Doctorin' the Tardis' went to number 1." - Brilliant prose. 😂

  • @andrewedis9907
    @andrewedis9907 Рік тому +3

    KLF is gonna rock ya ........

  • @zakcole2229
    @zakcole2229 Рік тому

    Epic! Watched it in one go… and loved it. Keep it up!

  • @paultorbert6929
    @paultorbert6929 Рік тому +1

    GAZ Williams sent me here 😊
    Enjoyed the documentary !!!!
    Subbed and notifications on.

  • @mindriot69
    @mindriot69 Рік тому +3

    Jesus!!! Your videos are ALWAYS so damn great and informative. This video is amongst my favorites. The KLF were/ are amazing in what they did. They art-ed by the seat of their pants. They were basically an acid trip come to life and expression. ✌🏽❤️🎸🍄

  • @rodneyanonymous666
    @rodneyanonymous666 Рік тому +8

    Greatest band of all time. I wish they were well known in the states

  • @alemmingsdeath
    @alemmingsdeath 8 місяців тому

    Nice one! I hope you've got a vid coming for Dr. Alex and company, which I'm sure you know is it's own roller coaster ride. Thanks for the great work TT.

  • @MrJediAl
    @MrJediAl Рік тому

    Excellent stuff, thanks for the video.

  • @pyenapple
    @pyenapple Рік тому +20

    Anyone who wants to know more, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the John Higgs book “KLF: Chaos, Magick, and the Band Who Burned A Million Pounds”. It’s incredible.

    • @Bruisewillies
      @Bruisewillies Рік тому

      Drummond's book 45 (not 33) is a great read too!

    • @pyenapple
      @pyenapple Рік тому +1

      @@Bruisewillies 45?

    • @arun6004
      @arun6004 Рік тому +1

      That was my introduction to the band. John Higgs is an incredible writer!

    • @Bruisewillies
      @Bruisewillies Рік тому

      Yes 45! Not sure why I had it in my head that it was 33

  • @gpcube
    @gpcube Рік тому +11

    I love this band and I recommend their books.

    • @quintessenceSL
      @quintessenceSL Рік тому +2

      Being non-British, I had a giggle at all the mentions of "put a kettle on" in The Manual.

  • @H11X11N
    @H11X11N 11 місяців тому

    Thank you so much for the amazing video, I’ve always been a huge fan of The KLF, since I was possibly seven years old when I first came across them when I first heard them on MTV. I wish everyone in all records nothing but the best!!

  • @juliaogara8794
    @juliaogara8794 2 місяці тому

    I'm binge watching your channel and I thank you for what you do. Being a late 60's child you are covering music I grew up and still to this day enjoy and in many cases, play loud.
    I look forward to learning more.

  • @robertpreteroti3459
    @robertpreteroti3459 Рік тому +4

    Never heard of these guys, gonna check ‘em out, thanks!

    • @nolesy34
      @nolesy34 Рік тому +1

      If you can try listen to the music first (just put them in a tab) no video
      Because... once you watch the videos yo-
      I'll let you figure it out

  • @nathanm5594
    @nathanm5594 Рік тому +12

    Mate! This is actually a great insight into the band. I just wish you mentioned their 2 greatest records: as the JAAMs Its Grim Up North, Bill D just listing Northern towns before mixing into Jerusalem and America: what time is love a rock/trance version of WTIL with Glenn Hughes off Deep Purple on vocals!

    • @bearhustler
      @bearhustler Рік тому +2

      Yeah, I thought the same. It should be the national anthem (and I'm not from the North)

    • @anthonylea8456
      @anthonylea8456 Рік тому +1

      No mention of their sample heavy track for the Warchild charity compilation or Fuck the Millennium either ☹️ still a good watch tho. Reminds me that I need to play The White Room to the kids! 😆

  • @cryptocomds
    @cryptocomds Місяць тому

    Thank you for this. Filled in a lot of the missing connections in my own musical adventure! Excellent and inspiring documentary. 👍👍

  • @Aquatarkus96
    @Aquatarkus96 Рік тому +2

    Chill Out and The Orb's Adventures beyond the Ultraworld are some of my favorite albums. I love the random samples of jets, trains, and animals. Thanks for the great video!

    • @ridley68
      @ridley68 8 місяців тому

      They are mine too, abtu is just genius

  • @MVBriscoVolante
    @MVBriscoVolante Рік тому +10

    The JAMs are absolutely more than music, they are extremely important to human civilization. Everyone should read bill drummond’s book 45 for a great inside look at how the British music industry was, but by far his best written work is the incredible schizophrenic and neo-illuminatus not-a-novel Bad Wisdom. Co-written by Mark Manning. Absolutely incredible story about the journey of saving the world by burring a portrait of Elvis at the North Pole

  • @Dazreil
    @Dazreil Рік тому +5

    I would suggest everyone reads “The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds” it’s a trip.

  • @RevJock
    @RevJock Рік тому

    Brilliantly put together, thank you :-)

  • @Hiznogood
    @Hiznogood Рік тому +1

    Thanks for this video! Loved their music and have the White Room album on CD. Played it a lot of times wondering where KLF just disappeared. Thanks for telling their story, these guys are truly geniuses! Greetings from Sweden

  • @omenrose
    @omenrose Рік тому +3

    3 A.M. Eternal blew my little teen mind back in the day.

  • @WizardOfOss
    @WizardOfOss Рік тому +10

    Great video, great story! I loved their hits as a kid and still actually enjoy them, and I knew they went out with some drama....but never knew the extent of that. As for the Timelords, I've seen them only once perform on TV and never seen or heard it again, but that image always stayed with me. Only recently I came across the song again after over 3 decades, but (obviously) immediately recognized it. And that bit about Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton cracked me up 😂
    As much as they joke about it all with their "manual", they made some great, groundbreaking music that stood the test of time.

  • @1powelrainbow2
    @1powelrainbow2 Рік тому +2

    Fantastic mini documentary!! Love it

  • @thehairyclevage1645
    @thehairyclevage1645 Рік тому +1

    This is your greatest work. OK I'm showing bias, KLF are in my favorites of all time. But this was absolutely magnificent.