KLF Biography

Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond started working together in January 1987.1987For the duration of 1987, Cauty and Drummond operated under the name The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu (The JAMs for short). Using the personal aliases Rockman Rock and King Boy D, The JAMs recorded two lps, '1987 (What The Fuck Is Going On?)' and 'Who Killed The Jams' as well as a number of 12" singles. These were released on their own label, KLF Communications.Although primitively recorded, their rap, rhyme and scratch approach to making music was the first to totally make use of the cheap new sampling and computer technology. Their liberal use of other artists' tracks within the construction of their own music led to the infamous court case with ABBA over the track 'Dancing Queen', which resulted in all unsold copies of the debut lp '1987' being destroyed.Throughout the year they gained much media exposure through their illegal but effective use of large scale graffiti on billboards and public buildings.1988Cauty and Drummond decided to have a Number One Record. They changed their name to The Timelords and recorded 'Doctorin' The Tardis'. It went to Number One in the UK national charts and repeated this success around the world. No Timelords follow-up was attempted.Cauty and Drummond then wrote a book, 'The Manual (How To Have A Number One The Easy Way)'.1989Now operating as The KLF, Cauty and Drummond released 'What Time Is Love?' and `3.A.M. Eternal'. Both tracks, described as `Pure Trance', went on to become anthems of the huge summer raves.'What Time Is Love?' inspired numerous cover versions and sound-alikes - the best of which The KLF collected together and released on one lp entitled 'The What Time Is Love Story'.As the rave season drew to a close, The KLF coined the phrase 'Ambient House' to describe a type of music they had been working on since the remix of 'Doctorin' The Tardis'.1990The KLF released 'Chill Out', the first 'ambient house' lp, in February.The KLF's own cover version of the now classic track 'What Time Is Love?' was released in July and reached Number Five in the national charts in the UK.1991The KLF re-recorded the 1989 track '3 A.M. Eternal' as the follow-up to 'What Time Is Love?'. Released in January, it became an international hit.In March they released an lp of songs that were originally written for the unfinished 'White Room' film. The lp was unimaginatively entitled 'The White Room'.In April The KLF released 'Last Train To Transcentral (Live From The Lost Continent)', the third and final single in what is now commonly known as 'The Stadium House Trilogy'. A further international hit.'Stadium House (the Trilogy)', a commercially available video containing the video clips for the three singles and a short feature entitled 'This Is Not What The KLF Are About' was released in June.To celebrate the summer solstice, The KLF returned to the isle of Jura. To document the events surrounding this celebration a short film entitled 'The Rites Of Mu' was made by Bill Butt and narrated by Martin Sheen. It has since been screened world-wide, including broadcasts on Channel 4 and MTV.Cauty and Drummond returned to their JAMs alias for 'It's Grim Up North' which was a Top Ten hit. The track was a re-mix of an ultra-rare 1990 12-inch. The JAMs took over a stretch of motorway for the video went on to graffiti a stretch of the M1 with the slogan. Questions were asked in the House Of Commons.Denied a Christmas No.1 slot by the death of Freddie Mercury, The KLF's 'Justified And Ancient' featured `The First Lady Of Country' Tammy Wynette.By the close of 1991 The KLF had sold more singles in the world than any other British group that year.1992The KLF won the best British group trophy at the Annual BRIT Awards. Invited to appear, they performed '3 A.M. Eternal' as a thrash metal version with hardcore band Extreme Noise Terror. They opened the show at London's Hammersmith Odeon and, denied being able to throw buckets of blood over the audience, settled for hailing them with blank bullets from a machine gun. At the close it was announced that, "Ladies and gentlemen, The KLF have now left the music business." At the post awards party at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, a freshly slaughtered sheep is left on the doorstep with a note attached: "I died for ewe. Bon appetit."The final KLF single - 'America; What Time Is Love' reached the UK Top 5.In May a full-page ad in the NME pronounced that: "For the foreseeable future there will be no further record releases from The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, The Timelords, The KLF and any past, present or future name attached to our activities."1993On the night of February 23, Cauty and Drummond began to invest much of the money that KLF Communications had made in setting up the K Foundation of which they are both trustees.In May they invited The Red Army Choir to record a piece of music entitled 'K Cera Cera (War Is Over If You Want It)'. This was to become the interstellar anthem of the K Foundation. The recording however, was only ever to be made available once world peace had been firmly established. This statement was the first from the K Foundation to appear in full-page advertisements in UK national newspapers.Throughout June and July a number of other intriguing/confusing full page ads appeared in the quality Sundays and national newspapers. These caused widespread editorial speculation. In August Cauty and Drummond launched the K Foundation Award - to be made on November 23 1993. The award was for the worst art of 1993. Their nominees were the same artists as those selected for the Turner Prize for best art, also being announced on November 23.The public were invited to make their choice for the K Foundation Award. By a quirk of fate it transpired that Rachel Whitbread won the awards for both best and worst art on that night. She was obliged to accept the £40,000 K Foundation prize or it would be burnt. Earlier that evening 40 people were transported to a secret location near London to witness and document the `amending of art history'. This was a private view of the K Foundation's first major body of work - `Money: A Major Body Of Cash (A Million Quid)'. The events of that night caused a major furore throughout the media, the K Foundation being dubbed as self-styled art terrorists.1994On 23 August Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond set fire to £1,000,000 of their own money and burnt the lot. This happened in a derelict boathouse on the Isle of Jura, Scotland. The £1,000,000 had been amassed from their career in pop music. The burning was filmed.1995On 23 August 1995, 'Watch The K Foundation Burn A Million Quid', a 63 minute film of unedited footage was screened in the village hall on Jura. It was followed by a debate with the islanders. The following month a full page national broadsheet ad asked `Why did The K Foundation burn a million quid?' Cauty and Drummond took the film to a series of locations after which they would question the audience in order to find the answer.The K Foundation was also the subject of a BBC Omnibus documentary looking into their motives for burning the money.In September The K Foundation set about recording a track with Robbie Williams, formerly of Take That, for the 'Help' album. He was on holiday with his mum in Turkey. They recorded 'The Magnificent' without him as The One World Orchestra Featuring The Massed Pipes & Drums Of the Children's Free Revolutionary Volunteer Guard.At the close of the year The K Foundation pronounced a 23 year moratorium, banning themselves from discussing why they burnt a million quid for that period. The film remains in the hands of Gimpo who actually shot the film and who is still free to exhibit it. To celebrate the moratorium, on Christmas Eve they distributed 6237 cans of Tennents Super from the back of a lorry to London's street drinkers.1997Young British artist Jeremy Deller devises 'Acid Brass', a concept that initially resulted in two public performances (in Liverpool and London) and a 1000 CD limited live edition by the Williams Fairey Brass Band (UK Champions 1996 & 7) of eight acid house anthems. Among these is 'What Time Is Love'. Cauty and Drummond attend the London performance. In June, Cauty and Drummond enter the studio to produce a new interpretation of this version of their track.2KTwo full page advertisements in Time Out on August 25th heralded a new work by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, the creative partnership that, since January 1987, has been responsible for The JAMs, The Timelords, The KLF, The K Foundation and now 2K.Rockman & King Boy DThe first ad pronounced: "They're Back. The Creators Of Trance. The Lords Of Ambient. The Kings Of Stadium House. The Godfathers Of Techno Metal. The Greatest Rave Band In The World Ever. For 23 minutes only."The second ad was headed: "Jeremy Deller presents - 1997 What The Fuck's Going On."The sold out performance took place at The Barbican Main Hall, Wednesday 17th September 1997. This 23 minute performance represented the entire life-span of 2K.A single will be released by Blast First on October 13th. Titled '***k The Millenium'/'Fuck The Millennium', it was produced by the artists forever known as the Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu.The performance itself, the epitome of organised chaos, was introduced by Anthony H Wilson and directed by noted thespian Ken Campbell. It featured a cast of hundreds, including a choir of Old Salts and the William Fairey Brass Band with individual performances from the legendary Gimpo and Mark Manning (alias Zodiac Mindwarp) as the Reverend Bitumin Hoarfrost. Two elderly gentlemen, reeking of Dettol, caused havoc in their motorised wheelchairs. These old reprobates, bearing a grandfatherly resemblance to messrs Cauty and Drummond, claimed to have just been asked along. A massed troop of striking Liverpool dockers also invaded the stage carrying assorted banners including one 20 footer endorsing that 'The Liverpool Dockers Say Fuck The Millennium'. Presentation was by Jeremy Deller whose 'Acid Brass' concept originally instigated the proceedings.National TheatreCauty and Drummond last performed at the 1992 Brits Awards where they announced that "The KLF have now left the music business." A statement in May pronounced that there would be no further record releases under any of their aliases for the foreseeable future.They subsequently became trustees of The K Foundation Award. This was presented to Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread on November 23rd 1993 outside The Tate Gallery where the Turner Prize was also handed over. The following August, Cauty and Drummond burnt a million pounds cash of their own money in a small boathouse on the Isle of Jura.The 2K idea came about in response to Cauty and Drummond attending the London Queen Elizabeth Hall performance of Acid Brass. This featured the twice (1996 & 7) national champion William Fairey Brass Band performing acid house anthems, including The KLF's 'What Time Is Love'.2K Press ReleasePRESS RELEASEK2 Plant Hire Ltd is pleased to announce the result of its national referendum seeking the mandate of the people, as to whether it should fuck the millennium.Yes or no?Votes for no: two thousand, two hundred and twenty- seven.Votes for yes: eighteen thousand, four hundred and thirty- six.THE MILLENNIUM WILL BE FUCKED.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_K_Foundation_burn_a_million_quid