Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

The most frequently asked questions regarding The KLF. This is where you should start reading about the work of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty to explore the History of the JAMS.


Record Details

Differences between international releases. the recording of Chill Out and the other sound of Mu, covering the early Brilliant releases as well as the K Foundation and the One World Orchestra.


Bootlegs

Bootlegs of rare KLF releases have been released aplenty over the time. While some of them can be easily spotted, others are hard to distinguish from the original issues.

Bootlegs

Vinyl Releases

We know of at least two different bootlegs of the Space LP.

The first version, released in 1995, is only distinguishable upon closer inspection. Some of the elements on the back cover look like they have been cut out from the original artwork, then pasted onto a black background.

The second version is actually easier to tell apart from the original due to its stamped runout groove and the omission of the barcode on the back cover.

CD Releases

There are two different CD bootlegs as well. The manufacturers tried to duplicate the Space CD identically, and apart from a slightly botched print job almost managed. Both versions are easily recognisable though, for a large black area after the phonograph right and copyright symbols and before the words “MADE IN ENGLAND”, whereas the original KLF Communications release says “1990 KLF COMMUNICATIONS” in that area.

The CD itself is distinguishable because of the “fake” compact disc logo and the fact that the text that runs along the edges of the CD is only on the top, as opposed to being on the top and bottom of the original.

Filed under Bootlegs
Tags: bootleg, space

Bootleg. This was never released by KLF Communications but appears on ‘Wix Trax! Records’. The sleeve is an amalgamation of Chill Out and Space sleeves, and the CD itself plays Chill Out as individual tracks, but cuts of the end of ‘The Lights of Baton Rouge Pass By’ to break into a single track of Space. CD Cat no. is ODY 026 KLF 1

Filed under Bootlegs

What does […] sound like?

Some of the more rare and obscure tracks and projects can be hard to track down, so these should give you an idea of what to expect.


Other Creative Exploits

The never ending list of things, events and projects from, around, before and after The KLF – from the never finished White Room Motion Picture to the infamous burning of a million pounds on the Isle of Jura.

The Partnership of “Rockman and Lx” was producing great results, not only with their own work, but elsewhere – the ´Blue Danube Orbital mix´ of the KLF´s 3 a.m. Eternal and the promo-only remixes of ´Money´ by Fischerman´s Friends, for example. But, according to Alex, some of those mixes came out in Germany credited as KLF remixes.

That was done by another company which neither of us had any control over, and we didn’t see the cover artwork until it was too late. I went mad, Jimmy went mad, Bill went mad – what was the KLF doing with the Orb? This type of music was meant to be Orb stuff.Alex Paterson (Record Collector, Jul 1993)

It led to a lot of confusion, though the only real confusion is knowing who were the members of the Orb at the time the record was released.

I didn’t think the ambient thing was going anywhere. The ‘Chill Out’ LP said whatever needed to be said and there was a lot of confusion with being in two bands, as well as Alex and I wanting to do different things.Jimmy Cauty (Record Mirror, 12 Jan 1991)

In fact it was a row over this very question, of linking the KLF with the Orb, that fractured the original Patterson/Cauty pairing. Alex Patterson remembers that “the Sun Electric project (O’locco) was recorded at Trancentral, and Jimmy didn’t want to be known on the record as Jimmy Cauty so we called him Gavin Cauty. That was how ridiculous the whole scenario was becoming.”

Consequently, details of the Orb’s activities around this time are a little sketchy. But we do know that an Orb album was recorded by Alex and Jimmy early in 1990, and that Alex departed in April 1990, taking the group name with him.

Space was then released on KLF Communications, attributed simply to Space, and with only Jimmy credited by name. The split was decided acrimonious. Jimmy and Bill were keen that the Orb should join them on KLF Communications, but Alex felt that it was unfair, as “I felt the Orb was myself, with Jimmy working with me”. Jimmy already had the KLF and it appeared that that he wanted the Orb as well (Alex is at pains to stress that the argument is long forgotten, as he and Jimmy have since completely made up.)

The official KLF press release accompanying “Space” claimed that it was originally intended as the Orb’s debut album, but was now simply Jimmy’s own creation, as he’d removed all of Alex’s contributions. Alex accepts this: “Space was done solely by Jimmy. At the end of the day, he took out all of my ideas and replaced them, or just left them as empty spaces.” Alex has got the original version of Space, but as far as he is concerned, there’s no need for that to ever see the light of day. Others claimed that there has nothing been removed and that Alex simply isn’t credited at all.


Merchandise

From T-Shirts to Books, from Promo Videos to home-made DVDs – there have been many non-CD releases and collectibles during all those years. Read more about them and find out wether they are still available.


Miscellaneous

Questions that didn’t fit into any other category so we had to create one for them.