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

by John Higgs (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,208 ratings
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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

THE STRANGE TALE OF THE DEATH, LIFE AND LEGACY OF THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL BAND.

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 23.

Wildly unauthorised and unlike any other music biography, THE KLF is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful, accidental mythology.

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  1. Print length
    321 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  5. Publication date
    September 26, 2013
  6. File size
    2785 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Higgs is the author of William Blake vs the World, his first to be published in America, as well as other books published in Britain. John lives in England.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00EEBDFA8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Weidenfeld & Nicolson (September 26, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 26, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2785 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,208 ratings

About the authors

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  1. John Higgs

    John Higgs

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    John Higgs is a writer who specialises in finding previously unsuspected narratives, hidden in obscure corners of our history and culture, which can change the way we see the world.

    Terry Gilliam described his book The KLF as ‘Absolutely wonderful… Dense, intelligent, well-researched, silly, and, yes magically profound.’ The legendary comics writer Alan Moore has called his book Stranger Than We Can Imagine ‘An illuminating work of massive insight… I cannot recommend this magnificent work too highly.’ According to the Guardian, he is like ‘Adam Curtis brainstorming with Thomas Pynchon’. MOJO magazine has said that ‘Reading John Higgs is like being shot with a diamond. Suddenly everything becomes terrifyingly clear.’

    A prolific public speaker, Higgs has spoken at events and festivals including Wilderness, The Secret Garden Party, Tate Britain, the Brighton Festival, Women In Art, the Port Eliot Literary Festival and LonCon3 (the World Science Fiction Convention). He has received the ultimate accolade for any British writer, in that an apartment block in Mega City One was named after him in a Judge Dredd comic.

    His books include I Have America Surrounded (2006), The KLF (2012), Stranger Than We Can Imagine (2015), Watling Street (2017), The Future Starts Here (2019), William Blake Now (2019) and William Blake Vs The World (2020). He has also written two short novels under the name JMR Higgs, The Brandy of the Damned (2012) and The First Church on the Moon (2013).

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  2. John Higgs

    John Higgs

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,208 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-bending
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2021
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A novel that simultaneously makes and unmakes its own story...creating and questioning its self-referential reality tunnel. If you’re thoroughly steeped in the western world and western ideology, this book will give a much needed introduction you to magic...if you are already rooted in a non-western culture, which rejects the need to confuse models with reality, you might still enjoy this book, and take comfort in the fact that the western civilization’s habit of confusing and insisting a specific model of material REALITY will eventually unmake them...just looking forward to the day we can all get off this stupid roller coaster created by an unnatural need for comfort, safety, and certainty....
5 people found this helpful
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Dr. Coffey
4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2014
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Author needs a good copy editor and the book needs to be typeset by a professional (not outputted from Word), but he writes well enough and the story is fascinating. Great for music industry buffs and fans of Robert Anton Wilson. I think it helps if you are familiar with some of the esoteric concepts; otherwise you may be scared away by some of what may seem ridiculous. Highly recommended for the story and concepts. Perhaps magically life-changing.
One person found this helpful
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Chaostrophy
5.0 out of 5 stars Stranger Than I Imagined!
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2012
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I recently read the authors "Brandy Of The Damned", I knew a little about the band, and I've read damn near everything Robert Anton Wilson ever wrote, so take this as a RAW fan (musically, I'm more punk/industrial/Detroit techno) perspective.

I found it to be quite amazing, a truly amazing story, solidly grounded in the history of the eras it took place in. I didn't read anything else until I was done.

The only thing I have that is close to criticism is that I think the author may want to read "Debt: The First 5000 Years" (it is by an anthropologist who has been involved with the Occupy movement, the stories we tell ourselves about the history of money are not anything like the truth, read the book!), and then perhaps add a bit to some of the sections on money and the economy.

Recommended, strongly to RAW fans and Discordians everywhere, I'd think everyone else would would like it too, but then why isn't RAW heralded as a great writer, and the Illuminatus trilogy as a great work?
20 people found this helpful
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M. Wellard
5.0 out of 5 stars Magical Reading
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2013
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Nothing I can say in this review will do justice to this extraordinary, thought-provoking, funny, fascinating book. Despite previously considering myself to be someone who "knew about" the JAMS, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of reading this. The closest I've ever come to feeling as mentally exercised and excited after reading a non-fiction book was after completing Godel, Escher, Bach; which whilst thought provoking in the extreme, never produced as many out-loud laughs on the bus to work as this.
Whether you're a fan of the JAMS or if you've never heard of them before, this book will take you to some very odd places and introduce you to some fascinating history and ideas. A thread is sewn between JFK, Dr Who, Chaos, Money, Alan Moore, Ken Campbell, Tammy Wynette, Life, The Universe and Everything fnord; we even get to understand why two men would burn a million pounds on the Isle of Jura. Sort of.
8 people found this helpful
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Nathan L. Wilcox
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect book on the KLF
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2022
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I understand the group, why it matters and why it doesn't much better than before I read this book.
And
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A Pirate Family
4.0 out of 5 stars great band that help to define the music of the ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2016
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Very interesting read, and a look into the minds of a once? great band that help to define the music of the dance/rave scene, I'm sure if they tried they could make a grand return to the scene...
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TJMahal
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read but is it more?
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2013
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I like this but I can't say it's for everybody. Are you a person who likes weird stuff, but is skeptical who likes rave bands from the late eighties and likes conspiracy theories just for entertainment value. Do you like Tammy Wynette? Do you like philosophical systems that seek to undermine philosophical systems by masquerading as philosophical systems? These are some of the questions you should ask before reading this. Do you like Dr. Who? Dadaism? If so then I think you will enjoy this bit of history(?). I think it captures a moment in a way-late eighties/early nineties- that was a transitional period. To what? From what? Note sure. Is what it is. The book is a fun read. Not sure it is more than that but it might lead to other things?
3 people found this helpful
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justin ismond
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and informative
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2016
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I got this book to find out more about the KLF and their contemporaries such as the Orb, and it surprised me how much thought provoking content shows up. The author takes the reader on a whirlwind of situations and influence carefully detailing the context that such a tale could arise from. It plants the seeds of deeper concepts that stay with your mind long after putting it down as it comes up in conversation and so on. Definitely worth checking out for fans of esoteric concepts and astute observations on time in cultural paradigms.
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Top reviews from other countries

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MR H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, best thing I’ve read for ages.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2023
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There are very few bands whose musical output is eclipsed by their legend as much as the KLF. This book tells the story of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, pop’s most unusual act since well, ever? It also tells plenty of adjacent stories, of the discordian movement, of chaos magic, and of Bill and Jimmy’s influences both in the musical world and beyond. It is also very, very funny.

Was the infamous burning of the million pounds a, in Alan Moore’s words, ‘powerful magical event? Or was it just Bill and Jimmy being a ‘pair of attention seeking a*holes’ (Higgs)? Why not both? As per Drummond’s philosophy, sometimes you need to accept the contradictions.
One person found this helpful
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G. Silva
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!!
Reviewed in Brazil on February 5, 2020
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What a story! Fascinating, magickal, chaotic and surrounding by geniuses souls like RAW, Alan Moore, Jung and many other anarchic minds that brought to this world some welcomed chaos to open our minds....a map of the end of 20th century .
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OSCAR GADEA UGARTE
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly entertaining
Reviewed in Spain on September 10, 2019
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Nothing can be really said about this novel that is fair enough. If you like electronic music from the 90s and you enjoy surprises, you definitely need to read this.
One person found this helpful
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Neuromante
4.0 out of 5 stars Libro divertente ma un pò incasinato
Reviewed in Italy on May 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
Bruciare un milione di sterline, Gli Illuminati, numero 23, Doctor Who, Doctorin' the Tardis, Justified and Ancient of Mu Mu, Sample dagli ABBA non legali, bruciare dischi illegali in un prato di un contadino e farsi sparare addosso, 2 tipi poco stabili mentalmente, LSD e MDMA, KLF (King Lucifer Forever o Kopyright Liberation Front), tirare una pecora morta + sangue a un gruppo Death Metal vegetariano, Caos, squat, casino, mondo dello spettaccolo, Stadium House music, Chill Out...ciò di cui parla un pò il libro, ma pochissimi riferimenti alla loro bellissima musica.
Libro pazzo, inglese scorrevole.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Real fun
Reviewed in Australia on January 15, 2020
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This is a great read, fun, engaging, interesting and mind expanding. A good introduction to majick chaos and other related topics...i went out and bought the illuminatus trilogy immediately after reading this.
One person found this helpful
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