This discography lists the key British and notable international releases of The KLF and the other pseudonyms of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. It also details the other releases on their independent record label, KLF Communications, by KLF-spinoff Disco 2000 and Space (a Cauty solo work). In the United Kingdom—their home country—Drummond and Cauty released six albums and a wide array of 12 " singles on KLF Communications. In other territories their material was typically issued under licence by local labels.
Although the duo's early works as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (The JAMs) aroused media interest, with many singles being awarded "single of the week" by various music publications,[1] Drummond and Cauty neither sought nor found mainstream chart success until the release of The Timelords' million-selling DIY release "Doctorin' the Tardis" in May 1988.[2] The KLF's single "Kylie Said to Jason", from The White Room soundtrack, was designed for chart success, but failed to reach the UK Top 100.[3] However, The KLF achieved international chart success with the string of pop-house singles that began with "What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral)", and they became the internationally highest-selling singles band of 1991.[4][5]
Note that this is a not a complete list; compilation appearances of otherwise available tracks, bootleg recordings, and certain very limited edition remix and promotional singles have been excluded.[6]
Contents |
| Year | Artist | Album information | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[7] | UK Indie [8] | US[9] | AT[10] | AU[11] | CH[12] | SE[13] | NLD[14] | |||
| 1987 | The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu | 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?)
|
— | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988 | The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu | Who Killed The JAMs?
The original vinyl LP came with the first KLF 'release', KLF Communications KLF 001: "The 1987 Completist List", the label's complete discography at the time.[15] |
— | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu/The KLF | Shag Times
Compilation album. A similar compilation was issued on TVT Records in the USA as The History of The JAMs a.k.a. The Timelords. |
— | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The KLF/Various Artists | The "What Time Is Love?" Story
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | The KLF | Chill Out
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Space | Space
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1991 | The KLF | The White Room
|
3 | — | 39 | 13 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 14 |
| 1997 | Kopyright Liberation Front (The KLF) | Waiting for the Rights of Mu
Presumed to be a bootleg release but was sold for a limited time through normal retail channels.[16] |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Key:
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7][21] | UK Indie [8] | NL[22] | AT [10] | AU [11] | CH [12][23] | IRL | NO [24] | SE [13][25] | U.S. Hot 100 [26] | U.S. Dance Play[26] | U.S. Dance Sales[26] | U.S. Modern Rock[26] | ||
| 1987 | "All You Need Is Love" | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Whitney Joins The JAMs" | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "1987 (The JAMS 45 Edits)" | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Down Town" | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Burn the Bastards" / "Burn the Beat" | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Doctorin' the Tardis" | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 4 | 10 | — | 66 | 16 | 18 | — | |
| "Kylie Said to Jason" | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral)" | 5 | 23 | 23 | 73 | 23 | — | — | 14 | — | 13 | — | — | |
| "3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)" | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | — | ||
| 1991 | "Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)" | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | — | 4 | 5 | — | 17 | — | — | |
| "America: What Time Is Love?" | 4 | 6 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 57 | 10 | — | — | ||
| "It's Grim Up North" | 10 | — | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Justified and Ancient (Stand by The JAMs)" | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 21 | ||
| 1997 | "Fuck the Millennium" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 29 | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes that the release that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
The following tracks were remixed by The KLF:
| Year | Original Artist | Song | Remix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Depeche Mode | "Policy of Truth" | "Trancentral Mix" |
| Pet Shop Boys | "So Hard" | "The KLF vs Pet Shop Boys" | |
| "It Must Be Obvious" | "UFO Mix" | ||
| 1991 | Moody Boys | "What is Dub?" | "Kings of Low Frequency Dub Version" |
| "Dub is What?" |
In 1989, as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the duo produced the Moody Boys' single "First National Rapper" and its B-side, "Funky Zulu".
The following tracks and remixes were made available only on Various Artists compilation albums. Compilation appearances by tracks which were also released on an album or single are not included. Mixes for DJs and megamixes are also excluded.
| Year | Artist | Song | Compilation Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Discotec 2000 | "Feel This" | Eternity Project One |
| 1990 | The KLF | "Build a Fire (Lenny Dee Remix)"[27] | Energy - DJ's In The House |
| 1991 | The KLF | "What Time Was Love"[28] | Give Peace A Dance: A CND Compilation |
| 1995 | One World Orchestra | "The Magnificent" | The Help Album |
All titles credited to The KLF and released on VHS video.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Waiting | KLF VT007. Ambient house film with an original soundtrack. |
| 1991 | The Stadium House Trilogy | Picture Music International. Video performances of "3 a.m. Eternal", "Last Train to Trancentral", and "What Time Is Love?"; and a new instrumental piece, "This Is Not What The KLF Is About". |
| The Rites of Mu | Promotional VHS only; KLF VT014. "Documentary" filmed on the Isle of Jura. Aired on MTV Europe, 24 June 1992. |
The following K Foundation films have all had public screenings, but have not been released on any home video format.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Watch the K Foundation Burn a Million Quid | 55 minutes of footage showing the K Foundation (Cauty and Drummond) burning one million pounds. Premiered on 23 August 1995 on the Isle of Jura. |
| 1995 | Pissing in the Wind | Footage of Drummond, Cauty and Mark Hawker urinating into the wind. Shot on 3 November 1995 and premiered at Glasgow University on the same day. |
| 1997 | This Brick | 4 minutes of a still picture of a brick made from the ashes of the million pounds incinerated by the K Foundation. Premiered at the Barbican Hall, London on 17 September 1997. |
| Year | Authors | Title | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Jimmy Cauty Bill Drummond |
The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way) | KLF Publications | ISBN 0-86359-616-9 |
The following KLF projects were announced but not released. Some of these, but by no means all, circulate as bootleg recordings/videos; some may not have been recorded at all.[29]
| Year | Format | Project | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Flexidisc | "Deep Shit (Part 1)" | Given catalogue number DS 1. KLF Communications Information Sheet 8 (1990) claimed that 500 copies had been pressed but had "never been deemed safe to release".[3] |
| Graphic novel | "Deep Shit (The Further Adventures Of The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu)" | A comic book or graphic novel drawn by Cauty (with words by Drummond) was mentioned in NME and The Face and various KLF Information Sheets.[30][31][32] | |
| Single | "Love Trance" ["Pure Trance 3"] | KLF 006. Sleeves and labels printed. | |
| Single | "Turn Up the Strobe" ["Pure Trance 4"] | KLF 007. Sleeves printed. | |
| Single | "E-Train To Trancentral" ["Pure Trance 5"] | KLF 008. Sleeves and labels printed. | |
| Single | "The Lovers' Side" ["Pure Trance 5"] | This song also featured on the unreleased version of the album The White Room (see below). | |
| 1989 | Single | "Deep Shit (Part 3)" | KLF 010R. Reportedly, 6 copies were pressed.[3] |
| Album | The White Room - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | JAMS LP4. Very different from the White Room album eventually released, this widely bootlegged recording was scrapped after the commercial failure of the single "Kylie Said to Jason".[3] | |
| Film | The White Room | KLF VT006. The KLF's road movie. A rough version was completed in 1989, before The KLF decided to film an "Outer Film" to augment it.[3] This was never completed. The "Inner Film" has been screened privately, and bootleg copies of it circulate. | |
| 1992 | Album | The Black Room | The KLF started work on a final album, but it remains unfinished and unissued.[33] |
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