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.
Its grim up north
The KLF Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brighouse, Bootle, Featherstone, Speke, Runcorn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Barrow, Morecambe, Macclesfield, Lytham St. Annes, Clitheroe, Cleethorpes, the M62.
Pendlebury, Prestwich, Preston, York, Skipton, Scunthorpe, Scarborough-on-Sea, Chester, Chorley, Cheadle Hulme, Ormskirk, Accrington, Stanley, and Leigh, Ossett, Otley, Ilkley Moor, Sheffield, Manchester, Castleford, Skem, Doncaster, Dewsbury, Halifax, Bingley, Bramhall, are all in the North.
The KLF's "It's Grim Up North" is an ode to the industrial landscape of Northern England. The song lists a series of towns, cities, and locations in Northern England, painting a picture of a once-thriving region that has fallen on hard times. The lyrics suggest that despite the hardship and difficult conditions, the people of the North remain resilient, tough, and proud of their heritage.
The song's lyrics are presented in a rapid-fire style, with a repeated refrain of "It's grim up North." The repetition of this phrase adds to the sense of despair and resignation that saturates the song. The list of towns and cities becomes a litany of decline and decay, as if the region has been abandoned by the rest of the country.
The chorus, "It's grim up North," is a bleak statement of fact, but it is also infused with a sense of defiance. The people of the North are not defeated, despite the harsh conditions they face. Instead, they are survivors, making the best of a difficult situation and holding on to what they have.
Line by Line Meaning
Bolton, Barnsley, Nelson, Colne, Burnley, Bradford, Buxton, Crewe, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan, Leeds, Northwich, Nantwich, Knutsford, Hull, Sale, Salford, Southport, Leigh, Kirkby, Kearsley, Keighley, Maghull, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Oldham, Lancs, Grimsby, Glossop, Hebden Bridge.
These are all towns or cities located in the North, and the song is highlighting how rough some of these places can be.
Brighouse, Bootle, Featherstone, Speke, Runcorn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Barrow, Morecambe, Macclesfield, Lytham St. Annes, Clitheroe, Cleethorpes, the M62.
These are more towns and geographical locations in the North, emphasizing how extensive and vast the North can be. The mention of the M62, a major motorway in the region, adds to this concept of geography and travel.
Pendlebury, Prestwich, Preston, York, Skipton, Scunthorpe, Scarborough-on-Sea, Chester, Chorley, Cheadle Hulme, Ormskirk, Accrington, Stanley, and Leigh, Ossett, Otley, Ilkley Moor, Sheffield, Manchester, Castleford, Skem, Doncaster, Dewsbury, Halifax, Bingley, Bramhall, are all in the North.
Another list of northern towns and cities. The repetition emphasizes that these places are all part of the same area and that many people in the North experience similar daily struggles and isolation.
Contributed by Josiah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dafunkester
Please stand for the national anthem of the north.
@lewisner
it makes me want to cry when i hear Jerusalem
@Maclabhruinn
When I hear those first few notes of 'Jerusalem' kick in, I'm ready to pick up my broadsword and start marching south down the M1.
@alanoneill3065
THAT made me chuckle
@paulmidsussex3409
You wont make it past Newport Pagnell, malnutrition, its grim up North.
@fraxis2007
Their performance of this on Top Of The Pops was, IMHO, the absolute pinnacle of that show's 42 year history.
@alanoneill3065
You made me do this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSGS2Jvq3RQ
@GMS1981
There performance on the Brit Awards was surely their best performance, all the suits clapping at the end, no idea what they’d just watched! 😂
https://youtu.be/TGNz0IW8vQw?si=YbwUKhlfRYlsTGZD
@manuelaklotzing9054
I loved this song so much when it came out. It's ingenious just to name citys along a motorway and make a song out of it. I loved this band so much. They were my heros when I was 13 and I still think that they are magnificent! Hope Bill and Jimmy are gong to publish "The black room" one day. I'm still waiting!!!
@narc78
Lol, same here! We had definitely a good taste in music in our early teen years.