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

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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN7o7lmbp8Y)
“The KLF – The Manual” Reportage, 1989 (https://youtu.be/_2kbZLcsQUo?si=Jgj8wVrPvGxcyvbA)
“Bill Drummond Interview” The Tom Robinson Show, 2004 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p05df1zd)
“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 (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Jesse Gallagher – The Golden Present
Luar – Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)

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Written by Trash Theory