A CELEBRATION OF CHAOS, CREATIVITY AND THE PEOPLE’S PYRAMID
Bill Drummond returns to Liverpool for the People’s Day of Death: A celebration of chaos, creativity and the people’s pyramid. The maverick genius that is Bill Drummond will be back in his spiritual home of Liverpool on the 23rd of November with the annual People’s Day of Death. This annual ‘celebration’ involves Bill (alias King Boy D) and his collaborator Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) hosting a Skool of Death before processing to the Pier Head, where the Krossing will see the Brick Bearers carry the 26 bricks that will be laid in The People’s Pyramid. Then, of course, there will be a huge party at Future Yard.
As I’ve been writing this, I’ve just realised how mad this sounds – but if you have followed the career of Big Bill Drummond, as I have, then it all makes perfect sense.
I’ve been aware of Bill since I was 15 years old when he was in a gloriously chaotic yet brilliant band called Big In Japan. I loved this group, which struggled to contain the combined talents and egos not only of Bill but also of Holly Johnson, Ian Broudie, drummer Budgie, and, on vocals, the legend that is Jayne Casey. Over 40 years later, I still remember their rowdy, joyous gigs, though their lifespan was inevitably short. Nevertheless, each individual achieved fame in their own right.
Bill went on to mastermind the careers of two other Eric’s bands: Echo & the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes. Yet he ‘managed’ these bands in a completely unconventional way that has come to typify his career. At the height of their fame, when the Bunnymen should have been cashing in with US tours and the like, Bill instead sent the band on a completely unlucrative tour of the Hebrides because he believed the presence of ley lines should dictate their schedule. The Bunnymen were my favourite band, and I will be forever grateful to Bill and the band themselves for special gigs like the secret show in Buxton, the Crystal Day gig at St George’s, and my personal favourite when we Bunny fans took over Stratford-upon-Avon as the group became the first (and maybe still the only) band to play at the lovely RSC theatre.
Bill next made a mark when he joined up with Jimmy Cauty in 1987. Jimmy had been a member of a band that Bill had signed while working at Warners. Over the next four or five years, they took on the music industry and won!
Bill and Jimmy—or King Boy D and Rockman Rock, as they were now known—created some of the most interesting music of the period under various incarnations, but they are best known for their work as the JAMS (Justified Ancients of MuMu) and, of course, The KLF. (They also managed a number-one single with ‘Doctorin’ the Tardis’ as The Timelords. It’s a novelty record, even if it is a great one).
Despite their complete disregard for the way things ‘should’ be done, they were the biggest-selling singles band in the world in 1991. Easy to write, but that is a huge deal, and their records from this period still sound amazing.
Drummond was never going to build a career in the way any ‘normal’ artist would, and Bill and Jimmy effectively began to kill their own career with an incendiary performance at the industry schmoozefest that is the BRITS in 1992. Their initial idea was to embellish their live performance at the awards by throwing buckets of blood over the industry audience. Instead, the performance concluded with Bill firing blanks from an automatic weapon over the heads of the audience while an associate announced, “The KLF have now left the music business”. A few months later, the KLF, in typical style, announced their immediate retirement from the music industry and deleted their entire back catalogue (it has only recently become available on streaming services).
Then there was all the understandable fuss over their burning a million quid, which got loads of attention, but for me, it’s far from the most interesting thing they did. They have always had a brilliant sense of mischief. I remember reporting on a show at the Comedy Festival in 1990 (the festival was curated by Bill’s old bandmate Jayne Casey) where Bill and Jimmy turned up in an ice cream van and served ice cream to punters.
Drummond is a great writer too, and I’m lucky enough to own a copy of a small pamphlet he wrote entitled Brutality, Religion, and a Dance Beat, which is a beautiful tribute to Eric’s co-owner and manager Roger Eagle after his death.
Things seemed to go relatively quiet on the JAMS and KLF front for a long while, until in 2017 I was delighted to see posters announcing the return of the Justified Ancients of MuMu with a three-day event in Liverpool called Welcome to the Dark Ages. It was, as you’d expect, a gloriously bonkers few days that I’m not even going to attempt to describe, but my abiding memory is of a mad final night at the Wind Factory. (I still have my yellow sou’wester and certificate signed by Rockman Rock and King Boy D from that night). It was during this event that The JAMs announced their plans for a People’s Pyramid, which would be built from bricks each containing 23 grams of human ashes (Bill and Jimmy have a thing about numbers, and for some reason, 23 is special). The event on the 23rd of November is all about adding new bricks, with the ashes contained within, to the pyramid. It all makes complete sense!
You could write about the extravagant creativity of Bill and Jimmy forever, but a few things always stick in my mind, especially in relation to Bill. Firstly, his huge presence on stage with the wonderful Big In Japan, who will always be a favourite band of my youth.
That is a very personal thing, but you can all share another standout memory I have because I am sure it’s out there for everyone to enjoy. It’s a performance of It’s Grim Up North by the Justified Ancients of MuMu. The huge, imposing figure of Big Bill Drummond dominates the stage while he reads out a list of northern towns and cities before an occasional spoken ‘chorus’ of the line, “It’s Grim Up North.” In front of a backdrop proclaiming The North Will Rise Again, Jimmy Cauty strides around manically, battering his bass guitar. Just to make things even weirder, the rest of the stage is filled with Morris dancers doing what Morris dancers do. I’m not going to spoil all the fun for you, but it gets even weirder. Enjoy and give thanks to those musical gods of mischief and mayhem, King Boy D and Rockman Rock.
Bill Drummond Returns to Liverpool for the People’s Day of Death: A Celebration of Chaos, Creativity, and the People’s Pyramid. Visit the official website for the latest event details.
Written by Kevin Mcmanus
