The KLF
The KLF (Kopyright Liberation Front), more recently known as the K Foundation, also known as The Timelords, furthermore known as The JAMs were one of the seminal bands around the time of the Acid House movement in Britain in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Founded by Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D, Time Boy) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock, Lord Rock) in the wake of the disbandment of the sampling outfit The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the KLF went on to release a series of world-wide hits.
History
Their first taste of UK number one success was the single, Doctorin' The Tardis, by The Timelords. Drummond would later lament about the decision not to release the single under the JAMs moniker.
They also published the infamous The Manual, and gained notoriety for various anarchic situationist manifestations which included a Brit awards protest involving a dead sheep and buckets of blood, weird mainstream press adverts, the staging of an alternative art award for the worst artist of the year (The Alternative Turner Prize), and burning a million pounds sterling. The resultant film, Watch The K-Foundation Burn A Million Quid, was toured around the UK. Drummond and Cauty signed a contract preventing them from talking about the incident for 23 years.
The group are often compared to The Residents for their antics, if not their music.
Their hit singles include What Time Is Love?, 3AM Eternal, Last Train to Transcentral, and Justified And Ancient, which featured vocals from American country performer Tammy Wynette. Their "Stadium House" singles were taken from their 1991 UK number one album, The White Room.
The song "3AM Eternal" was allegedly a reference to their 1987: What the Fuck's Going On? album. The album suffered major legal setbacks because of its use of ABBA's Dancing Queen, and Drummond and Cauty were sued and ordered to destroy all remaining copies of the offending record. After a failed audience with ABBA, they burned the records, as legend has it, at 3AM. The album, minus the offending samples, was later released as a 12" single, complete with instructions on how to create the original album.
Another theory has it that "3AM Eternal" is mentioned somewhere in Schroedinger's Cat, with another obscure reference to an art gallery with a 'picture' consisting of a frame with lots of bills nailed to it, but this has yet to be proven. KLF also performed a live version of the song, augmented by thrash punk rock band Extreme Noise Terror, at the 1992 Brit Awards ceremony. The band had reputedly also planned to throw buckets of blood over the audience, but were apparently prevented from doing so due to opposition from BBC lawyers and the 'hardcore vegetarian' Extreme Noise Terror [1].
Their singles combined dance beats with surprisingly "rock" guitar, and a sequential narrative about the fictional "Mu Mu land", derived from The Illuminatus! Trilogy.
As an art college student, Drummond had originally been involved with the set design for the first ever stage production of the Illuminatus! Trilogy, which opened in Liverpool on the November 23, 1976. The play featured Illuminatus! author Robert Anton Wilson as a naked extra, and the 23-strong cast contained a number of actors, who would later enjoy considerable success. The play moved to London where it was eventually seen by the young Jimmy Cauty.
Some people believe that the seriousness of the whole enterprise may be best indicated by Cauty and Drummond's appearance in one videoclip as leather-jacketed, sunglass-wearing rockers playing sitar. The vast number of sheep references in their work may also be a clue.
Related Organisations
Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
Singles
- All You Need Is Love (1987)
- Whitney Joins the JAMs (1987)
- Down Town (1987)
- Burn the Beat (1988)
- It's Grim Up North (1991)
Albums
- 1987: What the Fuck's Going On? (1987)
- Who Killed the JaMS? (1988)
- The History of the JaMS aka the Timelords (1988)
- Shag Times (1989)
The Timelords
Singles
- Doctorin' the Tardis (1988)
The KLF
Singles
- What Time Is Love? (1988)
- Kylie Said to Jason (1989)
- What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral) (1990)
- 3AM Eternal (1990)
- Last Train to Trancentral (1991)
- What Time Is Love? (1991)
- Justified and Ancient (1991)
- MU (1991)
- America: What Time Is Love? (1991)
Albums
- Chill Out(1990)
- The White Room (1991)
2K
Singles
- Fuck the Millennium (1997)
Referenced By
11 February | 11th February | 1992 | 99Flake | Bill Drummond | Brit Awards | February 11 | February 11th | Michael K | Suburban Vegetable | The Brit Awards | The Manual | The Manual, or How to Have Your Number One the Easy Way | The Orb | The Timelords | The White Room
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