Taking things a bit too far? I wonder in what way they meant.

I'm not sure what I meant. Probably that the Prodigy were unashamedly making very accessible hardcore dance records full of samples and Altern 8 only had plans to do it in the short term before going back to more serious stuff. Anyway, Altern 8 wore "The Dodgy Experience" t-shirts in the Brutal-8-E video and the Prodigy seemed to follow up with an Altern 8 character! All the fun of the rave world

 

There's an interview with Mark Archer where he pretty much denies anything really went on though:

http://www.thecommunic8r.com/2009/09/communic8-with-altern-8

 

Then, of course, there was the time Chris Peat stood for Parliament in Stafford for the "Hardcore - U Know The Score" party and beat the Natural Law Party candiadate!

 

 

KLF featuring Tammy Wynette - Justified and Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)

 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/justified%20and%20ancient.jpg

 

Date 1st Dec 1991

6 Weeks

Official Chart Run 5-3-3-4-2-2-4-10-14-26-52-71 (12 weeks)

*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.

 

 

While the JAMM's track It's Grim Up North could only manage to reach 4th best selling dance single in November (behind Get Ready For This, K-Klass' Rhythm is a Mystery and Bassheads' Is There Anybody Out There?) nothing stood in the way of the band when they reverted to using the KLF name.

 

In fact, several factors conspired to mean that Justified and Ancient would become their biggest selling hit. For a start, it was a wildly different version than the one on its parent album The White Room and so only available in single formats. Secondly, the camp catchiness of the chorus lent it a decidedly celebratory and some would say novelty sound to aid in selling bucket loads in December and of course, the marketing coup of resurrecting Tammy Wynette for vocal duties; the subtitle referencing her hit Stand By Your Man.

 

Like most of their hits, the song dates back to an earlier time and an earlier incarnation. The vocal melody and lyrics had existed in song form on the 1987 track Hey Hey We Are Not The Monkees taken from their album What the Fuck is Going On? It re-appeared on Chill-Out in 1990 as part of a track called Justified & Ancient Seems a Long Time Ago. And as mentioned above it featured on The White Room album released in March in 1991, but with vocals done by Black Steel.

 

The style was a departure from their previous one - no crowd noise, no opening samples, a lighter tone and a more conventional song structure. Critics noted that this was at the expense of the darker, comparatively dangerous atmosphere of their earlier material but most agreed that the fun of the whole thing was irresistible.

 

Only a re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody could keep it from reaching the official summit at the turn of 1992 but success of the song and the now inescapable popularity of their music took its toll on the mood of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty who felt uncomfortable with acceptance by the music industry and by the subsequent requests to resurrect the careers of other almost forgotten start by duetting with them.

 

This would be a pivotal moment in the bands intentional demise. They were starting to feel like they had achieved everything that they could achieve, subverted everything that could be subverted and made the most exciting music that they could make.

 

 

This ending would be played out over the following months - in very public fashion.

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe

1991 at a glance......

 

 

13-01-1991 C+C Music Factory ft. Freedom Williams - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) (1 week)

20-01-1991 The KLF ft. The Children Of The Revolution - 3A.M. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) (4 weeks)

17-02-1991 Nomad ft. MC Mikee Freedom - (I Wanna Give You) Devotion (2 weeks)

03-03-1991 The Source ft. Candi Staton - You Got The Love (2 weeks)

17-03-1991 Quartz introducing Dina Carroll - It’s Too Late (3 weeks)

07-04-1991 N-Joi - Anthem (2 weeks)

21-04-1991 Gary Clail On-U Sound System - Human Nature (1 week)

28-04-1991 The KLF ft. The Children Of The Revolution - Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent) (3 weeks)

19-05-1991 Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (4 weeks)

16-06-1991 LaTour - People Are Still Having Sex (2 weeks)

30-06-1991 Incognito ft. Jocelyn Brown - Always There (2 weeks)

14-07-1991 C + C Music Factory ft. Freedom Williams - Things That Make You Go Hmmm… (2 weeks)

28-07-1991 The Shamen - Move Any Mountain (Progen ’91) (4 weeks)

25-08-1991 The Prodigy - Charly (3 weeks)

15-09-1991 Oceanic - Insanity (5 weeks)

20-10-1991 2 Unlimited – Get Ready for This (5 weeks)

24-11-1991 Altern-8 - Activ-8 (Come with Me) (1 week)

01-12-1991 The KLF ft. Tammy Wynette – Justified and Ancient (6 weeks)

 

 

 

Top 10 Sellers

 

01 Oceanic - Insanity (1)

02 2 Unlimited - Get Ready for This (1)

03 The KLF & Children of the Revolution - 3am Eternal (1)

04 Nomad feat MC Mikee Freedom - (I Wanna Give You) Devotion (1)

05 The Prodigy - Charly (1)

06 The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette - Justified and Ancient (1)

07 The KLF & Children of the Revolution - Last Train to Trancentral (1)

08 Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got the Love (1)

09 Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee) (1)

10 The Shamen - Move Any Mountain (1)

Edited August 3, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe

I still think getting country music LEGEND Tammy Wynette to sing They’re justified and ancient, and they drive an ice cream van was a stroke of genius!

Great jam all in all. Everything about the song and the video are both wonderfully kooky! :dance:

Only a re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody could keep it from reaching the official summit at the turn of 1992

 

For those two weeks the top 2 were both UK acts with an African-born member.

I still think getting country music LEGEND Tammy Wynette to sing They’re justified and ancient, and they drive an ice cream van was a stroke of genius!

Yes!

 

Gotta say these are great commentaries that really do justice to the classic songs featured here. I especially think so with 'Justified & Ancient' which is a personal fave. Provides excellent context for those of us who were too young to follow music at the time.

Yes, the commentaries are excellent.

 

Have either of you read "The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds"? It's an excellent read.

 

I'm expecting good stuff of 1992 - up until the early autumn where, Shamen, Chemical Bros, Leftfield (?) and a few others aside, I feel the quality will take a rather horrible dip downwards for the rest of the decade.

Have either of you read "The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds"? It's an excellent read.

 

Yes! I got it for Christmas - can echo your thoughts and sourced it for my final commentary on the KLF (coming up in 1992). :D

Justified and Ancient followed by The Prodigy's Everybody In The Place would have been two incredible #1s, both blocked off the top by Bohemian Rhapsody.

Edited August 7, 20159 yr by BillyH

And that's why we're doing this, BillyH

 

Into 1992 and, for some, a classic year for dance music. It's the 1995 to 1991's 1994 (or something)

 

The Prodigy - Everybody In The Place

 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/1992_-_Everybody_in_The_Place_EP.jpg

 

Date 12th Jan 1991

2 Weeks

Official Chart Run 48-10-2-3-5-11-23-46-71-69 (10 weeks)

*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.

 

 

For their follow up to Charly, The Prodigy re-mixed a track from their debut EP What Evil Lurks. Their musicianship, if you could call it that (and I do), had advanced a great deal in the months between the release of that EP and the emergence of the new more hook-filled version of Everybody in the Place at the end of December 1991.

 

This new version was titled The Fairground Mix as one of the prominent swooping sounds used in the song reminded the band of rollercoaster ride - hence also the art work for the single, a photo of the now longer functional Corkscrew roller coaster at Alton Towers.

 

The remix is an increase in BPM since Charly. The frantic pace sees them introduce their knack for ricocheting, key changing rave riffs with one of their very best. The only samples used were non-musical. The vocal sample in Everybody in The Place is from a speech by The Magnificent Ben Chapman and can be found on a track called We come to Rock by Freska Allstars and the closing passage is from Al Caiola and His Orchestra's For a Few Dollars More.

 

Last year, the main sample inspired Hardwell to make his own track called Everybody is in the Place.

 

 

Edited August 9, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe

Love “Everybody In The Place” (though it's not my favourite Prodigy release in ’92) - Liam's hip-hop influences quite clearly on show here with the aforementioned Hustlers Convention sample from which the track takes its name, also the frenetic beats that would go on to dominate their next LP in 1994. Great start to 1992! :D

Edited August 8, 20159 yr by Doctor Blind

2 Unlimited - Twilight Zone

 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/Twilight_Zone.jpg

 

Date 2nd Feb 1992

4 Weeks

Official Chart Run 9-3-2-3-8-11-17-29-40-72 (10 weeks)

*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.

 

And also returning in 1992 following a major chart debut in 1991 were 2 Unlimited. Similarly to Get Ready For This, the UK market were treated with a rap-free version courtesy of Pete Waterman's PWL. However, this time Anita had some vocals duties. The song came out in multiple forms - seven remixes in total, with six of the seven being available to listeners in the Benelux counties on once maxi-single disc.

 

The second movement in the song came courtesy of a sample from 80s synthpop singer Sandra and her 1985 continental smash (I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena which was a top 5 hit in 14 European countries and number 1 in 10 of them, remaining largely unknown in the UK where it reached number 91.

 

Twilight Zone did well in the US reaching the Dance Chart's number 5 position - remaining the band's biggest success hitting number 49 in the Billboard chart. Like many European dance its it became used as a prominent theme for sports games in the US. In this instance a loop of it was used during National Hockey League games.

 

More from 2 Unlimited later.

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe

Twilight Zone feels lifeless without Ray's raps, but it's still a great song, as is Everybody In The Place.

Yes, the commentaries are excellent.

 

Have either of you read "The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds"? It's an excellent read.

 

I'm expecting good stuff of 1992 - up until the early autumn where, Shamen, Chemical Bros, Leftfield (?) and a few others aside, I feel the quality will take a rather horrible dip downwards for the rest of the decade.

 

I only just read this now. No I haven't read it but I will do In the past few years I have a real hunger for information and knowledge on the history of the band.

 

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the commentary.

Shouldn't Twilight Zone have 4 weeks (the week at #3 before it was #2 as well as the 3 listed)?

 

Amazing that despite all the big dance hits in the latter part of 1991 and early 1992 there had (at the end of February 1992) still not been a dance #1 since 3AM Eternal.

Shouldn't Twilight Zone have 4 weeks (the week at #3 before it was #2 as well as the 3 listed)?

 

 

Indeed you are correct. I've changed that now. My spreadsheet had 4 weeks so the error came from my own mistaken mind!

 

 

 

Opus III - It’s A Fine Day

 

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_opus_iii_zpsugvs1bjs.png

 

Date 23rd February 1992

2 Weeks

Official Chart Run 10-5-5-6-10-22-44-66 (8 weeks)

*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.

 

The perfect lullaby for a generation that never slept, “It’s A Fine Day” started out as a haunting a cappella recorded by an unknown singer simply listed as ‘Jane’, which gained exposure thanks to infamous Radio 1 DJ John Peel. That singer was actually 22 year-old Jane Lancaster, the then girlfriend to unconventional Manchester poet/artist Owain (Edward) Barton, whose very British poem entitled “It’s A Fine Day” was sang a cappella by Jane and subsequently released as a single in June 1983, making it to #87. Opus III singer Kirsty Hawkshaw, the daughter of famous British composer Alan Hawkshaw - who amongst others composed the TV theme tunes for Channel 4 News, Grange Hill and Countdown - recreated the vocals from the original, with the remainder of the group (a trio of producers/musicians comprising Kevin Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel Walton), then sampling these and transforming it into an uplifting club anthem which immediately launched into the Top 10 in February.

 

The comforting optimism, simplicity and nostalgic feel of “It’s A Fine Day” works brilliantly with the accompaniment of a giddy, thundering breakbeat (even if the sax and piano-loop rather date it somewhat), and the refrain of “It’s going to be a fine night tonight” chimes well with the optimism of youth culture at the time. The Britishness of the original poem is really brought out in that oft-celebrated Anglo weather obsession with the celebration of a break where ’People open windows. They leave their houses, just for a short walk’ - it does work really well. However this anthem was to be bettered in September of 1992 by quite some way when Sevenoaks duo, Orbital, re-sampled, chopped up and reversed Kirsty’s vocals to create the hook in “Halcyon”, in which Kirsty even agreed to appear in the video - however despite this it peaked at a measly #37. As for Opus III, subsequent singles failed to gain traction with the general public as “I Talk To The Wind” and “When You Made The Mountain” crashed in at #52 and #71 respectively.

Wonderful. Adore this song!

Edited August 11, 20159 yr by Ne Plus Ultra