The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds

(Hardback)

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'The best non-fiction book I've ever read. It's magical. Stunning' Dan Schreiber, No Such Thing As a Fish

'A pop biography for people who don't read pop biographies' Dorian Lynskey, Guardian

'Brilliant, discursive and wise' Ben Goldacre

'Utterly irresistible and totally brilliant' The Quietus

'A thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius' Alexis Petridis

They were the bestselling singles band in the world. They had awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom. Then they deleted their records, erased themselves from musical history and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura. And they couldn't say why.

This is not just the story of The KLF. It is a book about Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave, the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who and the special power of the number twenty-three. Wildly unauthorised and unlike any other music biography, THE KLF is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful, accidental mythology.

10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIAL

Reviews

The best non-fiction book I've ever read. It's magical. Stunning -- Dan Schreiber * NO SUCH THING AS A FISH *
The best non-fiction book I've ever read. It's magical. Stunning * NO SUCH THING AS A FISH *
A pop biography for people who don't read pop biographies. Higgs approaches the short career of the early 90s top 10 provocateurs like Adam Curtis brainstorming with Thomas Pynchon, exploring all manner of magical thinking and conspiracy theories. Touching on Dada, Doctor Who and Discordianism, it's as playful and sui generis as the KLF themselves, which is saying something * GUARDIAN *
A pop biography for people who don't read pop biographies. Higgs approaches the short career of the early 90s top 10 provocateurs like Adam Curtis brainstorming with Thomas Pynchon, exploring all manner of magical thinking and conspiracy theories. Touching on Dada, Doctor Who and Discordianism, it's as playful and sui generis as the KLF themselves, which is saying something * GUARDIAN *
Might well be the best music book of the 2010s . . . eccentric, bizarre, confusing, hilarious and more than a little pretentious but utterly irresistible and totally brilliant -- Cay McDermott * THE QUIETUS *
Might well be the best music book of the 2010s . . . eccentric, bizarre, confusing, hilarious and more than a little pretentious but utterly irresistible and totally brilliant * THE QUIETUS *
The book brilliantly captures the anti-establishment attitude of Drummond and Cauty, and makes you wish the pop charts were full of such madness these days * THE BIG ISSUE *
The book brilliantly captures the anti-establishment attitude of Drummond and Cauty, and makes you wish the pop charts were full of such madness these days * THE BIG ISSUE *
This wildly entertaining thesis speculates on how the KLF arrived at a crowning act of transgression even they did not understand, drawing together threads including practical magic, strange patterns of coincidence and punk * MOJO *
This wildly entertaining thesis speculates on how the KLF arrived at a crowning act of transgression even they did not understand, drawing together threads including practical magic, strange patterns of coincidence and punk * MOJO *
Succeeds by ignoring music for much of the story, in favour of the group's philosophical and psycho-geographical underpinnings in Discordianism, situationism, art and magic. Sometimes, the music is just a means to an end - in their case, a million-quid bonfire that Higgs suggests may be "a magical act that forged the 21st century". Well, maybe . . . * INDEPENDENT *
Succeeds by ignoring music for much of the story, in favour of the group's philosophical and psycho-geographical underpinnings in Discordianism, situationism, art and magic. Sometimes, the music is just a means to an end - in their case, a million-quid bonfire that Higgs suggests may be "a magical act that forged the 21st century". Well, maybe . . . -- Andy Gill * INDEPENDENT *
Book of the Century. Most pop biographies are a dull patchwork of clippings - this is something else
Book of the Century. Most pop biographies are a dull patchwork of clippings - this is something else
By far the best book this year, brilliant, discursive and wise
By far the best book this year, brilliant, discursive and wise
I am going to bang on about THE KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds rather a lot. Fascinating . . . Enthralling'
I am going to bang on about THE KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds rather a lot. Fascinating . . . Enthralling'
John Higgs's book about the KLF is - like its subject - a thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius
John Higgs's book about the KLF is - like its subject - a thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius

Author Bio

John Higgs is the author I HAVE AMERICA SURROUNDED, THE KLF, STRANGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE, WATLING STREET, THE FUTURE STARTS HERE, WILLIAM BLAKE NOW, WILLIAM BLAKE VS THE WORLD and LOVE AND LET DIE. He lives in Brighton with his wife and their two children.