The KLF - Chaos, Magic, and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds written and narrated by John Higgs was a real blast from the past that warmed my cold, hard GenX heart. I remember vividly KLF exploding into the public consciousness with 3am eternal and What Time is Love, the clubs and Rave scene clamouring to push out the latest remixes, the huges popularity, then crickets. Nothing apart from a rumour of the KLF setting fire to all of their profits and disappearing like the smoke rising from the ashes.

Nothing until 2021 when a documentary was supposed to land, but was blocked by the band due to copyright... until now, this audiobook, and although it does not have music (fair) it has an interesting insight into the legend that is the KLF. It has an added extra spark than the usual muso biopics and if you dn't know the story of the KLF, you will be intrigued. If you are also GenX and lived it, you will defo learn a couple snippets that were not in the public eye

Well worth a listen/ read of you love your music and social history

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks and John Higgs for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Pure chaos in the best possible way. Tons of philosophical detours and pop culture rabbit holes. A magic trick of a book and I'm not sure how it got pulled off!

Well folks, The KLF: Magic, and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds. Whew! I know I liked listening to them back in the day, but I think they didn’t get much coverage in the US. Actually, having read this, I am certain they didn’t get nearly as much coverage in the US, and boy, did I not have any idea what I was getting into with John Higgs book. 

   Let me just say, if bonkers could ever describe a bands story, this is it. From deleting their musical catalog to burning the money they made (No, really, they set fire to it), its quite a ride! I had no idea this would have a lot to do with  Echo & The Bunnymen, the early days of Punk, nor any clue that I would read so much about the Illuminati in these pages 

    It led me down a musical rabbit hole, as I had to look up several of the songs mentioned in this book to give myself a better understanding, but I wont lie, I love when a book takes me on a musical journey as well. For example, the early days as a DJ set that put out songs sampling Whitney Houston in a way that was ahead of its time, as well as The Beatles and even a Dr. Who song. Then, of course, there is the infamous Brit Awards performance that included the metal band Extreme Noise Terror covering their song while they shot machine gun blanks into the audience. 

     Absolutely no idea that Tammy Wynette was singing lyrics surrounding Illuminati books when she was belting out Justified and Ancient, and I, right along with her. All bound

You may already know that this book is described as bizarre, eccentric, confusing, and explores magical thinking and conspiracy theories. But, let me repeat that one more time…this is a book that is bizarre, eccentric, confusing, etc., etc. So why did I continue listening to it? (I am reviewing the audiobook). Well, for one thing, the author and narrator, John Higgs, is the perfect reader for this book. He makes you think you know what he’s talking about. This is the bizarre thing about this book. You can’t stop listening because what you’re hearing makes no sense but you want to make sense of it so badly. No, it makes sense but the story is so unbelievable that you can’t really believe it. Really, I had so much fun learning about Bill Drummond, co-founder of the pop group, KLF, I drove myself mad to the very end. I do need to tell you a few tidbits contained herein. In 1987, Drummond called up his friend, Jimmy Cauty, and formed the band, The Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu. In 1993, they regrouped as the K Foundation, supposedly, an arts foundation. In 1994, they burned a million pounds, which is what remained of the KLF’s earnings. Oh, one more thing. Drummond stood for 17 hours, on a manhole cover on Mathew Street in Liverpool because, quoting Drummond in the orbific weblog, “[The interstellar ley line] comes careering in from outer space, hits the world in Iceland, bounces back up, writhing about like a conger eel, then down Mathew Street in Liverpool where the Cavern Club – and latterly Eric’s – is. Back up, twisting, turning, wriggling across the face of the earth until it reaches the uncharted mountains of New Guinea, where it shoots back into space… this interstellar ley line is a mega-powered one. Too much power coming down it for it not to writhe about. The only three fixed points on earth it travels through are Iceland, Mathew Street in Liverpool and New Guinea. Wherever something creatively or spiritually mega happens anywhere else on earth, it is because this interstellar ley line is momentarily powering through the territory.” Welcome to the chaos, magic and the band who burned a million pounds. Simply smashing!

An absolutely beautiful piece of batshittery. Largely an exercise in magical thinking dressed up as a music biography, the tale of KLF's Drummond and Cauty is deftly intertwined with discordianism and Doctor Who and the assassination of JFK and economics and chaos and the entire philosophy of existence. It is, at once, a discourse on how humans strive to give meaning to our own actions but also, self-admittedly, a complete load of codswallop.

I fucking loved this so much.

I’ve heard of the KLF and remember dancing to their song in high school and college so I thought it would be interesting to find out more about them. I’m still waiting to learn more about them. This book is about everything somewhat around them but not quite them and I gave up. I didn’t know the story about them burning money but I could have lived my life without knowing that story so that wasn’t compelling enough to keep going. I gave up. This was not for me. Those who made it through: at what point does it become more about them?

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Audio for the audiobook ARC!

I had never encountered the KLF prior to reading this book. So it was very interesting to learn about this enigmatic music group with so much extracurricular baggage. I also find it to be another example of the crazy grandiosity that perpetuates celebrity and stardom, and the fine line between mental illness and mere eccentricity. After reading this book, I'm still not quite sure where the KLF fall...

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the digital audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My introduction to Doctor Who was when I was in high school and we got this cool CD single from The Timelords/KLF, as seen above, Doctorin’ the Tardis. I had never heard or seen Dr. Who (I was not yet the PBS public television and British import nerd I am now) I still have the CD to this day. And then the group came out with a single called Justified and Ancient featuring country superstar Tammy Wynette. Great dance songs, but not chart-toppers in the U.S. I just looked it up and Justified made it to #11 on the charts, while 3 A.M. Eternal made it to #5–I have no memory of this song. Always interested in finding out more about pop culture of my generation, I listened to this audiobook to find out more about this music group that was a blip in my life.

I feel like I just experienced someone’s fever dream. You’ve really got to WANT to find out about the KLF to get through this book. While the narrator’s voice was pleasing, at times I had no idea what was going on. This is not a straight biography; rather, it’s a discourse of different philosophies and what drove the group members and at the same time, very little about the band members. The section on Doctorin’ the Tardis was the most interesting to me, obviously, yet it was such a small part of the book. I still find myself utterly confused and fascinated at the same time.

There are many books out there that attempt to explain bands, but this one is unlike all the others I've read in that it takes the reader on an unexpected journey into some rarely visited hinterlands. I didn't expect to learn about anarchism, dadaism, Discordianism, paganism, and other philosophies in a book about a popular electronic dance music band, but I did, and here I am, significantly smarter for having read this wonderful book.

This book starts with a mystery: why did The KLF burn a million pounds of paper currency and answers that question more fully than I could have ever dreamed to hope at the start of the journey. I can't say I understood it all, but I can say that I'm a big fan of the approach. We need more books like this in the category of music history.

(Disclaimer: received this copy via Netgalley. I receive 90% of my books for free from the California public library system, so the fact that I didn't have to pay doesn't and didn't make me somehow more likely to review it favorably.)

A fascinating look at a wild time in music. I had absolutely no idea about the origins of the KLF, and the wild and wacky events that lead to the money burning. The authors approach is gripping, and unravels like a great mystery. The narration is charismatic and crisp, and feel like a conversation with old friends about the stuff we loved when things were different. I especially ate up the connections to modern pop culture and conspiracy theories and Doctor Who. A brilliant ride through a truly unique part of music history.

"They're justified and they're ancient and they drive an ice cream van..."

Thirty-plus years after Tammy Wynette joined the KLF for one of my favorite pieces of pop culture, "Justified and Ancient," I included the song on a playlist for my daughter. As the song wound down, she piped up from the backseat and asked the question that I have pondered for years -- why isn't the song called "Mumu Land"?

Finally, after all these years, I understand more about what the KLF were trying to do lyrically in the song - and in many of their other songs. All of that is thanks to John Higgs' entertaining study of the band in the appropriately titled The KLF. Knowing a bit of the group's history, the context of their songs, and their influences has suddenly put a whole new spin on a lot of their songs and lyrics, making me want to jump back into their catalog and hear it all over again.

Like a lot of Doctor Who fans, I became aware of the group when they called themselves The Time Lords and produced a single featuring the Doctor Who theme and Daleks trying to rap. It featured a lot in the intros and outros of PBS pledge drives for my favorite show and it was an utterly delightful nugget of pop culture that said to me that my favorite show wasn't on its last legs but was still going strong. Unfortunately, this may not have been the case, as Higgs details in the chapter devoted to the song. The duo were trying to have a hit record and somehow got Doctor Who back in the public eye when it was waning a bit and really only loved by long-time rabid fans like yours truly.

I had the extended single of the song, and my buddy (also a Whovian) had their album "The History of the Jams" which he loaned me and I copied onto cassette and wore out -- mostly on headphones because the first sentence on track one was "Kick out the Jams m***********r!" For some reason, I found the entire album subversive and entertaining as all get out -- from the song where they sampled Whitney Houston joining the group to the one that ended by asking "What the f*** is going on?!?" I was probably way too young and naive to scratch the surface of the deeper philosophical subjects Bill Drummond and Jim Cauty were trying to delve into with their songs.

Listening to this audiobook, I felt like layers of an onion were being peeled back and I was finally understanding some things about the group and their songs for the time. At long last, I think I know the references to "mumu" (apparently, not the type of dress) and to being called the Jams. The book fills in many details I wasn't aware of, such as the group burning a million pounds of cash and withdrawing all of their artistic output from channels for two decades. I got so fired up again that I started looking for a copy of "The History of the Jams" on CD to listen to in the order I remember it -- no, not with my daughter in the car. She's not ready for the lyrics just yet.

Honestly, I don't think any of us are necessarily ready for the lyrics just yet. But that's part of what makes the KLF so intriguing.

Higgs' examination of them is less music biography and more about putting the KLF into context -- both in the moment and now. I found myself utterly fascinated in one moment, and utterly perplexed in the next. I will admit the chapter on Doctor Who during the Sylvester McCoy era from an outsider's point of view was difficult to read but eye-opening at the same time. A bit like the KLF was and continues to be.

If you're fascinated by a group that had great success but not as many people who should know them today do pick up this book. Like me, you may find yourself scrambling for more of their music on various streaming services as you try to figure out the significance of an ice cream van...

I received a digital ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a fan of music history or intrigued by the enigmatic tales of artists who push boundaries, The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds by John Higgs is an audiobook you won’t want to miss. Narrated with the same quirky brilliance that characterizes Higgs’s writing, this in-depth biography delves into one of music history's most bizarre and fascinating stories.



The KLF, a band that dominated the charts in the early 90s, left the music world reeling when they suddenly erased themselves from history and set fire to one million pounds in cash. In this fascinating biography, Higgs doesn’t just recount the events but seeks to understand the madness behind the band’s actions. The audiobook takes listeners on a journey through music history, chaos theory, Carl Jung’s psychology, and even Doctor Who, offering insights that are as surprising as they are thought-provoking.



Higgs’s narration is both engaging and informative. He makes complex ideas accessible while maintaining a narrative that is as mysterious as the band itself. His exploration of the KLF’s story is more than just a music biography; it’s a dive into the cultural and psychological forces that shaped the band and the era they were part of.



The audiobook is perfect for anyone who loves music, mysteries, or a good story that challenges our thoughts about reality. It’s no wonder *The KLF* has been praised by publications like The Guardian, The Independent, and MOJO magazine as one of the top music books of the year. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the band or new to their story, this audiobook offers a riveting experience that will leave you pondering long after the final chapter.



Rating: 5/5

This story is crazy. It starts in the 1700s and goes all the way until the 1990s. This is the story of the KLF, two men who were inspired by hip hop and sampling to create some very catchy house/rave music. They ultimately burn $1 million pounds and don't seem to know why they did it.

In the early 80s Drummond was a music fan who started a record label and helped along the popularity of Julian Cope and Echo and the Bunnymen. When he decided to quit the music business, he realized that you didn't need to sing, write or perform music to become a musician. That's when he started the KLF with Cauty.

The book not only discusses the KLF and their music career, but the philosophy that caused Drummond and Cauty to be inspired. There is a discussion of the Illuminati, which started in the 1700s, and Discordianism, a belief system, and how both inspired the KLF to start music and do some of their antics later in their career.

John HIggs, the author, narrates the audiobook and at first I thought his reading was a bit slow and quiet for my taste, but then I decided that his calm recitation of the story slows down your reading and makes the sometimes dry details about philosophy, history and belief systems much more impactful.

I knew of the KLF before reading this book but had no idea how many interesting things impacted their career. Higgs also discusses related history, such as how the KLF could get $1 million in cash to burn, what was going on society in the early 90s when the KLF came into popularity. I found this book to be a mash up of a rock and roll biography and an Erik Larson-type nonfiction book that compares them to the society they were born into.

A really interesting book of the 1980s-90s music scene, the KLF, performance art and likely a lot of drug use.

I recieved an advanced copy and am giving an honest review.

For those aware of the KLF, I think this would be an interesting peek behind the curtain. However, the KLF and the British music scene is not really my area of interest. The narrator does a great job, and it seems well-written - just not my thing.

I was surprised at this being less about the KLF's music and more about the ethos and worldview that produced it. A must-read for anyone even passingly familiar with the KLF and their work and for philosophically-inclined nerds in general.

Many readers, myself included, love a good rock music memoir; from the hardscrabble upbringing, to the heady discovery of music and like-minded band mates, to the struggles with greedy record execs/drugs/fame, to the eventual triumph. This is not that book. Reading this book is a little bit like being trapped in a bar or ferry terminal by a beardy dude who starts rambling nonsense at you. You start listening out of boredom or politeness. Then find yourself pulled down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, the meaning of art and money, the cultural moment of the early 90s, and only the lightest dusting of music. Once you stop fighting your expectations, it's quite a satisfying ride.

Wild. Provocative. Entertaining. I knew nothing about the history of this band not growing up during their hey day, but hey, it was entertaining. I think that says something about a biography when it’s entertaining!!!