The KLF

:This article refers to the band The KLF (Kopyright Liberation Front). For other "KLF" articles, see KLF (disambiguation).

Mythology and references

Some people believe that the seriousness of the whole enterprise may be best indicated by Cauty and Drummond's appearance in one videoclip as leather-jacketed, sunglass-wearing rockers playing sitar. The vast number of sheep references in their work may also be a clue. Some people have compared the group to The Residents for their antics, if not their music.

Related Topics:
Sitar - The Residents

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Drummond and Cauty make heavy references to Discordianism, made famous by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson in The Illuminatus! Trilogy, but originally described in Principia Discordia, by Malaclypse The Younger.

Related Topics:
Discordianism - Robert Shea - Robert Anton Wilson - The Illuminatus! Trilogy - Principia Discordia - Malaclypse The Younger

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some people claim that 3AM Eternal was a reference to their 1987: What the Fuck's Going On? album. The album suffered major legal setbacks because of its use of ABBA's Dancing Queen, and Drummond and Cauty were sued and ordered to destroy all remaining copies of the offending record. After a failed audience with ABBA, they burned the records, as legend has it, at 3AM. The album, minus the offending samples, was later released as a 12" single, complete with instructions on how to create the original album.

Related Topics:
ABBA - Dancing Queen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another theory has it that "3AM Eternal" is mentioned somewhere in Schrödinger's Cat, with another obscure reference to an art gallery with a 'picture' consisting of a frame with lots of bills nailed to it, but this has yet to be proven.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

KLF also performed a live version of the song, augmented by thrash punk rock band Extreme Noise Terror, at the 1992 Brit Awards ceremony. The band had reputedly also planned to throw buckets of sheep's blood over the audience, but were apparently prevented from doing so due to opposition from BBC lawyers and the 'hardcore vegetarian' Extreme Noise Terror http://www.illitrate.co.uk/klf/FAQ/faq4004.html. The performance was, instead, garnished by a kilted, cigar-chomping Drummond firing blanks from an automatic weapon over the heads of the crowd. Later in the evening the band allegedly dumped a dead sheep with the message "I died for ewe - bon appetit" tied around its waist at the entrance to one of the post ceremony parties.

Related Topics:
Punk rock - Extreme Noise Terror - 1992 - Brit Awards - BBC - Vegetarian - Blanks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Their singles combined dance beats with surprisingly "rock" guitar, and a sequential narrative about the fictional "Mu Mu land", derived from The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an art college student, Drummond had originally been involved with the set design for the first ever stage production of the Illuminatus! Trilogy, which opened in Liverpool on the November 23, 1976. The play featured Illuminatus! author Robert Anton Wilson as a naked extra, and the 23-strong cast contained a number of actors, who would later enjoy considerable success. The play moved to London where it was eventually seen by the young Jimmy Cauty.

Related Topics:
November 23 - 1976 - Illuminatus! - Robert Anton Wilson - London

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~