Beginning in 1987 in London, England, Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) released hip hop-inspired and sample-heavy records as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu and, on one occasion (the British number one hit single "Doctorin' the Tardis"), as The Timelords. As The KLF, Drummond and Cauty pioneered the genres "stadium house" (rave music with a pop-rock production and sampled crowd noise) and "ambient house". The KLF released a series of international top-ten hits on their own KLF Communications record label, and became the highest internationally selling UK band of 1991. The duo also published a book, The Manual, and worked on a road movie called The White Room.
From the outset, they adopted the philosophy espoused by esoteric novels The Illuminatus! Trilogy, gaining notoriety for various anarchic situationist manifestations, including the defacement of billboard adverts, the posting of prominent cryptic advertisements in NME magazine and the mainstream press, and highly distinctive and unusual performances on Top of the Pops. Their most notorious performance was at the February 1992 Brit Awards, where they horrified the formal audience with a hardcore thrash version of "3 A.M. Eternal" (performed with the justifiably named Extreme Noise Terror) that also included Drummond spraying the crowd with blanks from an automatic rifle and the post-performance announcement, "The KLF have left the music industry." Topping their already extreme actions, Cauty and Drummond delivered the carcass of a dead sheep -- plus eight gallons of blood -- to the lobby of the hotel after-party. In May 1992 the duo deleted their entire back catalogue.
With The KLF's profits, Drummond and Cauty established the K Foundation and sought to subvert the art world, staging an alternative art award for the worst artist of the year and burning a million pounds sterling. Although Drummond and Cauty remained true to their word of May 1992—the KLF Communications catalogue remains deleted—they have released a small number of new tracks since then, as the K Foundation, The One World Orchestra and most recently, in 1997, as 2K. Cauty has provided remixing services for bands as diverse as Hawkwind and Placebo, under the name Scourge of the Earth.
The KLF catalogue remained absent from digital platforms until January 1, 2021, when an 8-track compilation of their 7" hit singles 1988-1991 - Solid State Logik 1 was released on streaming platforms, marking the 1st installment of a series called Samplecity Thru Trancentral.
Elvis on the Radio Steel Guitar in My Soul
The KLF Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
And a poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mother cries
Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
As the snow flies...
As the snow...
As the snow flies...
As the snow flies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
And a poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
The KLF's song "Elvis on the Radio Steel Guitar in My Soul" is a poignant reflection on poverty, social inequality, and the cycle of deprivation in parts of America's inner cities. The lyrics, particularly those of the chorus, evoke a deep sense of melancholy and despair, as they describe a cold and grey Chicago morning, where a baby is born to a distressed mother in the ghetto. The snow that falls outside symbolizes the harshness and bleakness of the environment in which the child is to grow up.
Despite the mother's love and concern for her child, she is unable to provide for it adequately due to her financial constraints. The line "Cause if there's one thing that she don't need, it's another hungry mouth to feed" highlights the grim reality of poverty, where even the basic necessities of life such as food are hard to come by. The repetition of the lines "As the snow flies" and "In the ghetto" emphasizes the cyclical nature of poverty, suggesting that generations of families are trapped in this vicious cycle, with little hope of change.
Overall, The KLF's "Elvis on the Radio Steel Guitar in My Soul" is a haunting and thought-provoking ballad that forces listeners to confront the grim realities of inner-city poverty in America. It is a powerful reminder of the systemic issues that give rise to poverty and the urgent need for social and economic reform to break the cycle of deprivation.
Line by Line Meaning
As the snow flies
The snow falls heavily, symbolizing the gloomy situation and the sense of hopelessness looming around.
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
The morning is bleak and lifeless in Chicago, adding to the somber atmosphere of the song.
And a poor little baby child is born
A mother gives birth to a baby, but it does not bring joy or hope. Instead, it only adds to the burdens of an already difficult life.
In the ghetto
The baby is born in the ghetto, an impoverished and troubled neighborhood with limited opportunities and resources.
And his mother cries
The mother is filled with despair and sadness, overwhelmed by the hardship of raising another child in such a dire environment.
Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
The mother is struggling to make ends meet and provide for the children she already has.
It's another hungry mouth to feed
She cannot afford to feed another child, adding to her woes and making her feel helpless and trapped.
As the snow flies...
The snow continues to fall, emphasizing the unrelenting harshness of life in the ghetto.
As the snow flies...
The snowfall persists, indicating that the hardships faced by the people in the ghetto are not going away anytime soon.
As the snow...
The snow is a metaphor for the many challenges and obstacles that the people in the ghetto face every day.
As the snow flies...
The snowfall accentuates the bleakness and despair of the scene, making it even more poignant and heartbreaking.
Writer(s): Ernest Drummond William Copyright: Zoo Music Ltd.
Contributed by Jordyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@canecreek00
This Album was our anthem of 1990, after we had been to all raves and our ears couldn't take music anymore we'd put on KLF chillout and play it over and over again. Without doubt the greatest post party album ever made. Its sad i sold my vinyl version on Ebay some years back, i originally bought KLF chillout along with KLF space (both vinyl) from Austin records in Middlesbrough brand new for £5 each, those were the days when music was exciting.
@JanacMeena
"when music was exciting"
@upfullsounds3116
Absolutely yes... Loved it.. it was like a wonderful, mysterious pillow after the rave and the drugs. Magical
@manteausacre2292
1¹❤❤
@pippawaldron9909
Many a strange night and sunrise to this album... I loved it so much that when I went into labour with my eldest I took it into hospital to listen too... complete did the midwives heads in!!!!
@rxhx
plz come back into all that energy and make me feel alive
@sw1rls
just genius
@jackrabbitslim059
This is and has been my mp3 alarm in my phone for the last 5-6 years. I wake up to this track every morning. Beautiful...
@doctorquid
As a capsule from 10years later: get it! We love you.
@squick1842
Never done acid or been to a rave. But ive listened to this since the 00's. I can see myself sitting in a house with cool british kids after a rave and listening to this.