45

by Bill Drummond

Bill Drummond is known variously as wayward genius, art terrorist, a hoaxer with integrity, and the ex-pop star who broke up his band, the KLF, at the height of its success to wage an idiosyncratic war against the art world. He's also a loving, if exasperated, father of five, a thoughtful critic, and a wry observer of the mad, hysterical worlds of music and art which he has inhabited for well over 20 years. At the age of 45, Drummond has paused to take stock of his often bizarre, usually chaotic, life.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Art, Autobiography, Cultural

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Godzilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seem to re-read this book more and more frequently. The words and ideas flow from Bill Drummond so easily it seems. He turns the mundane into something of interest and wonder.

I'm envious of the ability to spend time is such a free way, the ability to be self deprecating and open. Not all the essays work perfectly, but generally there's a kernel of something within each one wihich fires the synapses.

Re-reading this in my 45th year, it seems more than ever to speak to me, and has inspired me to be more creative and appreciative of everything around me, cheers Bill.

[Mr Disco · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most exquisitely-written books I've ever read. Incredibly poignant and essential if you are a fan of The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, pop music, or you are a man.

[Mark Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this book? As a long-term old-time fan of the KLF, JAMMS, etc this was the first of Bill Drummond's books (other than "The Manual") that I read, about 10 years ago. Since then I've read nearly everything he's written (even the virtually impenetrable "Wild Highway") and followed his many varied exploits as he has struggled to slough his Kingboy D persona and find his voice as both an author and artist (although I'm sure he would disagree with there being any distinction).

I've recently had the privilege of working with The Man on a project (http://collectivedischarge.blogspot.c...) and found him to be every bit as good as his word. It was in that context that I recently decided to re-read 45, as for my money (although not a million pounds of it) it is his finest work.

This collection of short 'stories' (mainly autobiographical reflections and musings) is hard to describe - in the same down to earth manner he describes his domestic routines, artistic quests, pranks and anything else that comes to mind.

Brilliant, endearing, provoking and testimony to his "anyone can do it" attitude, this is essential reading for fans and newcomers alike.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

he's a funny guy, very secretive, with a great history in pop - Echo & The Bunnymen/Teardrop Explodes/KLF

but this is a shallow collection of articles/ chapters/ self-mythologising but very little self-analysis I would have liked more on the madness that led the KLF to burn a million pounds, and more articulation of why he hates (some) modern art so much.

even for an autobiography, this is self-indulgent tosh.

[John R Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill writes a series of loosely connected snapshots of his lie as an artist and a reluctant rock star. The writing covers his early days managing Echo & the Bunnymen to his scary and hilarious art-world pranks. He reflects on the infamous burning of a million pounds, though he has said that he is not quite sure why he did this. He can look quite deeply inside himself, and at the next moment make some outrageous jokes. He is a a man who seems to enjoy being perpetually at odds with conventional norms. Thanks for the music, Bill, and for being such an inspiration to those of us seeking to make our own paths through life.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much between the lines writing. So much stuck in being some sort of particularly manly man but not.
I think guys in their early 40s will find commonalities with these essays, I think artists will find some as well.
I'm not sure I'd recommend it, even though I enjoyed reading it.

[Gary Duckworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I have always loved The Bunnymen and was immediately thrilled by The KLF, this is the first Bill Drummond book I’ve read. I thought I must, he’s so quoted here there and everywhere I go! The book reads like an anarchic version of Brian Eno’s diaries. Particularly about Yugoslavia. The voice in my head sounded similar. Cooking soup in Belfast.

It’s a great read about the early 80s incredible Liverpool scene, that I devoured whole at the time, and the 90s,that I only experienced obliquely. I’d always wondered about the Jung plaque on Mathew Street. Brian Griffin has only recently left us. I love his photos. Black Country Dada, the Bunnymen album covers. Good to see Griffin mentioned.

I liked the observational nature of the route to the library, at the library and across to the shopping centre. Here’s to contemporaneous note taking. Reminded me of Tom McCarthy. And that’s a compliment. I love Tom McCarthy. The voices and movement of the three lifts. And the M25, and London at Christmas Eve and the cube of 6250 cans.

[Kevin McAllion · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the great characters in the history of modern British music, Bill Drummond's memoir is typically enigmatic and charming. Anyone looking for a detailed account of his time alongside Jimmy Cauty as the great KLF will be disappointed, as will those seeking fly on the wall insights into life as manager of Echo and Bunnymen. Should we have expected anything else from one of the great eccentrics? The most famous aspects of Drummond's career only really get passing mentions as he mostly details his 45th year on the planet. Given I was 44 when I read this book, it certainly struck a chord with me and his musings on music, football and mostly art were fascinating. Drummond and Cauty were always artists rather than musicians and this comes across throughout this book as he embarks on a series of fascinating projects that never fail to entertain.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of writings by one of the art/music world's most eccentric minds. At times, equally hilarious and introspective, he goes on long-form rambles about modern life, nationalism, art buying, pop music and disillusionment. Some of the stories go a bit off the rails and had me skimming the pages, but I really enjoy his ability to take some of life's most mundane moments and reframe them in an absurdist context.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quote on the cover of 45, taken from a Times review, sums up the book perfectly: “A wonderful memoir... wise, poignant and amusing.” Bill Drummmond is a true maverick who documents his madcap schemes (he famously burned a million pounds of his own money) and with far more heart and intelligence than the typical rock star autobiography. Recommended whether or not you are a fan of KLF.

[Ali Miremadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, insightful, sporadically well-written collection of diary entries. Drummond himself, rereading his work in Aylesbury library, remarks, “on reading these stories one after the other I’m confronted with the incessant self-mythologising vanity of them all’. I suppose that is the point. And, despite the truth of Drummond’s observation, there is more to it.

[Jeroen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who lived through the early 90’s dragging their air max through dusty dancefloors for 20 hours straight, this is an epic piece of work from someone that had the same ideas as you had but did something with them. Bill Drummond is an amazing character and this book is a fast and poignant read through the many cool things he’s done. Dont miss this.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this if you want to hear all the amazing hijinks the KLF were famous for. Read this if you want to read interesting minutae behind the group as well as insightful thoughts on art across all mediums and his process of aging.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another selection from the Scotland Street bookswap box. I figured Bill Drummond might have a better book in him than he did albums and for all that anyone of about my age must have a certain amount of nostalgia for hearing Tammy Wynette declare that “they're justified and they're ancient, and they drive an ice cream van” having finished this book, I'd say that assessment was about right.

Nominally an account of Drummond's 45th year, it's really just a collection of mostly quite short accounts of his life in the music and (to a lesser extent) conceptual art business. The book begins with his observations on taking his children to a Michael Jackson concert (about which, as you might expect, he maintains a suitable dry detachment) before moving to a longer piece about his time in the early 1980s managing Echo and the Bunnymen. Before reading this book I had no idea about his time as a rock band manager, still less that my one-time next door neighbour, Roger Eagle, had also been involved with them (I forwarded Drummond's description of him to my mum, who agreed with his one sentence summation of him as 'towering and glowering') Certainly, when I lived next door to him in the mid 1990s, it was obscure dub reggae that I heard through the walls rather than 80s indie rock.

I've always wondered exactly how the KLF sold the idea of singing on 'Justified and Ancient' to Tammy Wynette. On Drummond's account, she, and her manager were game for it from the start, if baffled by the idea of being in a band that didn't play live shows (they might have slightly over-stated the extent of their commercial success when they described themselves as the biggest group in the UK in 1991 but to be fair, at least as I recall they were a fairly constant feature in the charts.) Elsewhere, there is the account of recording their drum and bass take on 'The Magnificent' for the 1995 charity record 'The Help Album' for War Child where they reveal that prior to settling on a Serbian DJ saying [check quote] their original intent had been to have Robbie Williams appear on the track but they found his manager (an old-style clubland hustler) uncooperative and clearly suspicious of two men whom he regarded as much less famous than his star.

Elsewhere, there are accounts that may or may not be wild flights of fancy about abortive plans to demolish Stonehenge (almost certainly never serious) and to get hold of two dead cows and nail their carcasses to trees with the words 'mu' and 'mu' attached to each of them (also possibly a work of fiction, but on the other hand, this is the pair that marked winning a 'Best Group' award at the Brits by walking out, leaving Extreme Noise Terror to perform a radio-unfriendly version of their greatest hit and leaving a dead sheep at the door.

It's hard on occasion not to ask quite what the point of it all is, though Drummond is self-aware enough to realise the question is likely to occur to the reader, remarking on the fact that the amount the War Child record is seeking to raise is remarkably similar to the sum that the KLF had just set light to on a remote Scottish island (and sparing the reader his take on why the break-up of Take That was a bit like the break-up of Yugoslavia as 'that might be taking a metaphor too far'). On the other hand, what's the point in being a really big pop star if you don't use it as an opportunity to make a grand, pointless gesture.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. Its style and content appeal to my personality and ethos, so your feelings about literary value may vary.

[Ed Garbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but I found it occasionally a bit boring

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Mel Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

soup chapter was probably the most metaphorical method on creating the perfect meal (song)

[Galactic Hero · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

I liked this book a lot. These are convoluted stories about harebrained schemes for art projects that, more often than not, don't ever make it beyond the what-if stage. But Drummond somehow has enough talent and credibility to still make it a delightful read. Still, there are only so many detailed bus ride depictions I have time for...

[Keith Astbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, some chapters are better than others, but this is a very good book. Even the mundanities of his 'modern life' were interesting. To me at least!

[Jonny Brick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maverick who broke up the band and pratted about for a bit. Here's the pratting written down.

[George Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

45 is a collection of essays written during Bill Drummond’s 45th year. It’s a mix of autobiographical sketches and anecdotes, and autobiographically inspired musings on a theme. These range broadly from his early years of managing Echo and the Bunnymen, through to pre-publication of this paperback edition – the last three essays are a foreword to the book, and two on getting the foreword written and accepted for this edition.

At the beginning Drummond thinks of the title as linking his age to a 45rpm record, with the end of his music career and the beginning of his writing career having come at 33 1/3 years old (he kept making music). However, midway through he recollects asking his dad when the best period of life is, and his dad answering ‘45, son’. Who knows if this is true, but the answer and Drummond’s thinking around it – about the benefits of less hormones, less desperation - clearly informs this work. Drummond seems to battle throughout with what he knows is a childish need for attention and applause, for public approbation. The lessening of this desperation allows him more space here.

This is partly why I liked this book so much: the underlying theme of being (more) content at 45. As a mid –life autobiography it works well as a counter to Miranda Sawyer’s Out of Time, which I read last year. There youth itself is the thing. Of course, for her a lot is finding the loss of freedom that comes from family responsibilities stifling (who doesn’t, at least sometimes), but the over-riding sense is that she just misses being young (to avoid misunderstanding – I enjoyed Sawyer’s book and recommend it to anyone who is as similarly middle aged as me). Here, for Drummond, youth was certainly good for the lack of commitments allowing more time for doing things, for getting out and following ideas, but the possibilities are not over (amusingly, he mentions a couple of times that he now has a familial curfew of midnight for his ‘art-terrorist’ activities, which rather undercuts their anarchic intent).

As he writes at the end of ‘Towers, Tunnels and Elderflower Wine’, where ate flowering elderflower serves as a metaphor for mid-life possibility:

At my stage in life the last thing I need is tempting opportunities to disrupt the order of my days. Especially those tempting opportunities I would have relished in my younger years. I had already arrived at a comforting acceptance that it was all too late, and nothing could be done. But no, even at this late stage there is still time to make elderflower wine. I push my foot down on the accelerator and pull out into the speeding traffic.

Drummond accuses his book of ‘incessant self-mythologizing vanity’. He also admits to casting himself more lone hero than is reality, largely ignoring the role of relationships in his life (‘maybe it’s because, like many of us, I only ever feel truly alive when I’m out here on my own. Wandering unnoticed, invisible as can be.’), and to being a not entirely reliable narrator. I did not mind any of this at all – reading him reflecting on and discussing his work and projects was fascinating. Even the way he narrates his everyday routine around Aylesbury library is fascinating: what starts as a sideways thought experiment en route to work – an homage to the trainspotter tendencies of American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman – develops into an engaging reflection on habit and working practice. Despite the occasional deliberate mis-direction (later confessed to) one of the strengths of the less autobiographical essays is his honesty as he works through an issue, attested to by the role the essays play in exorcising issues that trouble him – he mentions several times the cathartic effect of writing on Scottish nationalism. He can then be forgiven these confessed flaws.

Drummond writes well. Some of the episodes here are pointless (driving round the M25 25 times) or self-indulgent and childish (suspending dead cows from a tree) but taken together they give an invigorating insight into a mind it was a pleasure to watch at work.

[Tom M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually really good. Unlike 2023...

[Neal Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Drummond probably wouldn’t mind the assertion that his music (KLF etc) was rubbish but what mattered was the way he did it. Here we have an assortment of memories from managing Echo and the Bunnymen in Liverpool to being a regular at a Buckinghamshire public library, via a slew of imaginary bands, and what would be recognised as installations and performance art if they’d been done by someone interested in presenting them as such.

On the contemporary art scene: “Very little of this discussion promotes what is essentially important about contemporary art. What gets promoted is fame, names to know, behind-the-scenes movers and shakers and, of course, prices. But worse than all this is that contemporary art is made safe, unchallenging, boxed off, neutered and summarised. This prevents it from performing its most vital function: helping us to see, feel, understand, celebrate, challenge and wonder at the world we are living in right now, in ways never before known.”

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idiosyncratic journalish musings from Bill Drummond, the former KLF frontman / art prankster / Scottish ex-nationalist / middle aged da'.

The pieces are written in a meandering, unbuttoned style, but Drummond can be quite charming if you're in the mood. There's something sympathetic about his failed art projects and compulsion to write.

He drives around the London orbital for 25 hours, builds a cube of 20,000 Tennants cans to distribute to the homeless, buys and destroys fine art, makes soup for 30, catalogs every sign seen in a day. There's talk bout football and fatherhood and the KLF (they left a dead sheep at the Brit Awards and burned a million pounds)

He takes long pointless walks that trace out the shape of his initials written into the local map. Man this guy loves to walk. He sees it as invisible graffiti.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one after Julian Cope's autobiography Head On/ Repossessed.

Whether you think he is a tosser or not, Bill Drummond has always thought of ways to trick the public. Take for instance his stunts as THE KLF - not to mention his impact on the music industry: Inventing Chill Out, Bizzarre promo tricks which can't be emulated and introducing Echo and The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes to the world.

It's all documented here and in short bite sized chapters. At times the premise wears thin, just how many times are we going to read about his pranks, but it's a fun bio.

[Mark Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One half of the most influential English dance music acts in this country, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty were The KLF. Their art terrorism and anti capitalist ideas assaulted the music industry for a couple of years that brought us mu-mu land, ice cream vans, dead sheep and the burning of a million pounds. They also produced the most punk rock moment of the punk starved 90's when he opened fire on the crowd of movers, shakers and luminaries of the 1992 Brit Awards with an M16 full of blanks, whilst reconstituting their hit with a thrash metal band from Ipswich. Brilliant.

[Gary Fowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bill Drummond, KLF fan from way back, own far too many versions of What Time is Love?, always found what they got up to interesting rather than attention seeking as some people did.

Anyway, it turns out Drummond’s real calling is as an author. I’ve read most of his books numerous times and he has a voice that is distinctively his.

45 is a collection of stories from across Drummond’s life. Some will make you smile, others might make you wince but all will make you want to turn the page to see what comes next.

A perfect book.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a huge soft spot for Bill's former band The KLF / Justified Ancients of Mu Mu / The Timelords and all of their strange antics. The story involving cow corpses in this, for want of a better word, 'autobiography' was a bit off-putting and made me feel slightly ill, but on the whole Drummond's thoughts and stories about the music industry and the art world are hugely entertaining and, despite his predisposition towards self-mythologising, he comes across as an extremely likeable narrator.

[Ray Charbonneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, maybe a 3.5. It's a little self-indulgent to write about how your art is self-indulgent crap, but his heart's in the right place.

I liked the idea of walking routes that spell out something. Might be a good idea for a group run someday.