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John Higgs

The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds Paperback – 26 Sept. 2013

by John Higgs (Author)

396 ratings

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Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W&N
Publication date

26 Sept. 2013
Dimensions

12.8 x 2.2 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

1780226551
ISBN-13

978-1780226552
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W&N (26 Sept. 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1780226551
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1780226552
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 2.2 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 26,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 3 in Musical Philosophy & Social Aspects
- 115 in Other Art Media & Techniques
- 124 in British Historical Social & Urban History Biographies

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Review

'By far the best book this year, brilliant, discursive and wise' -- Ben Goldacre

The book brilliant 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

''John Higgs's book about the KLF is - like its subject - a thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius'' -- Alexis Petridis

Book of the Century. Most pop biographies are a dull patchwork of clippings - this is something else -- Rob Manuel ― B3ta

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

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. -- Dorian Lynskey ― THE GUARDIAN

I am going to bang on about The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds rather a lot. Fascinating... Enthralling. -- ROBIN INCE

Book Description

'By far the best book this year, brilliant, discursive and wise' BEN GOLDACRE. The strange tale of the death, life and legacy of the hugely successful band. Updated with new material.

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Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		16%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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Keith Brady

Few too many tangents, but very well written.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2017

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Be warned; if you're looking for a straightforward account of the history of The KLF, this is not the book for you. Higgs shoots off on whatever tangent catches his fancy to try and put this unique group in context. Personally, there's only so much I can read on Situationism, Operation Mindfuck and MindSpace before my eyes start to glaze over. The upside is that the parts covering the band itself, namely Drummond and Cauty, are absolutely fascinating. Some of their antics are so utterly bizarre, and crazy, it's amazing they weren't locked up long ago. If you're in the mood for something a bit different, give this book a go, it's well worth your time.

8 people found this helpful

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Tariki

Constantly engrossing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2019

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Very entertaining story of how two guys, of the NLF, burnt 1m quid - for real. And why. But John Higgs, after making his case, hints that his own "why" has possibly no more validity than anyone elses. But his own "why" proves constantly engrossing, digging deep into the counter culture and other more esoteric philosophies, theories and notions, some of which I had never heard of. No need to know about "pop" or even the group itself - the KLF were entirely new to me, I must have been looking the other way when they aired on Top of the Pops. Really enjoyed the book. As serious as you want it to be.

One person found this helpful

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Literary Junkie

Excellently written and well researched

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2020

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I read Bill Drummond's "45" last year and enjoyed it. This book goes much deeper looking into Ideaspace, situationism and chaos in ways I hadn't though of before. The research must have been a phenomenal effort I learned so much about art and the music industry that I didn't know, and how economies evolved to create the climate that could result in two individuals burning a million pounds. I also get it now. I get the headspace and ethics.

This would make such a good documentary (rockumentary) too!

The only thing that would have made this better is direct help from Bill and Jimmy in creating it - which for some reason, I had assumed there was. It was still an excellent read.

One person found this helpful

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Mr. A Richardson

Prevented from redundancy by quality and breadth

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2020

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This is like a combination of an excellent stoned Wikipedia binge and Drummond's own 45 but it has a synergy all its own.

Alan Moore is mentioned and quoted enough to be considered a featured actor. Would be interested in similar treatise of his work.

Well worthwhile for the fan or as a primer to what these folk probably thought they were up to.

You will have weird dreams.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Well worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2021

Verified Purchase

recommended by a friend, hadn't read a book for years (am I bad) but this was very interesting. Didn't know anything about The KLF even though I was in my 20's at the time and living in Liverpool. The story is based on The KLF and the two characters, their early years, their ties to Scotland and Liverpool and their amazing influence on music and "art"..........You WILL learn many things during the read, go for it!

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Disappearing Act

A weird map

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 August 2014

Verified Purchase

If you drew a map of this book, you would have a very weird map. Such a map is well suited to the task of navigating the strange waters of the KLF. Higgs' book drags an arcane mix of references into his mix -- Robert Anton Wilson and his Illuminatus, the assassination of JFK, Julian Cope, daemonic rabbits, Alan Moore. This book is not a musical biography of KLF, JAMs and K Foundation. It focuses on the burning of a million quid. Higgs doesn't try to explain why the band would do such a thing, but -- ingeniously, I think -- shows how such an action resists precise definition, and definitive meaning. The book is a wild ride -- charming, crazy, brilliant, a bit like the KLF.

5 people found this helpful

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N. Tucker

The best spur of the moment book I've ever bought

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 April 2021

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This is about so much more than the KLF. So much more that you don't need to know who the KLF are to buy it. But it might help if you have a smattering of interest in post-punk psychedelia and trance music, or just generally pop, art, ideas and (Alan) Moore. John Higgs writes beautifully, moving nimbly from topic to topic with a keen intelligence that he wears incredibly lightly. I have given this book as a present five times since I read it about two weeks ago.

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chris sables

effervescent delight. It's illuminating and playful and quite inspiring in ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 March 2017

Verified Purchase

You don't have to have much interest in the KLF to find this book a soaring, effervescent delight. It's illuminating and playful and quite inspiring in ways I find hard to explain. I read it during the first week/s of Trumps so called presidency and found it helpful. That gives you some idea how good it is.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

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