3 a.m. Eternal
Encyclopedia
"3 a.m. Eternal" is a song by The KLF
, numerous versions of which were released as singles
between 1989 and 1992. In January 1991, an acid house
pop
version of the song became an international top ten hit single, hitting #1 in the UK Singles Chart
and #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100
, and leading to The KLF becoming the internationally biggest-selling singles band of 1991. When, the following year, The KLF accepted an invitation to perform at the BRIT Awards
ceremony, they caused controversy with a succession of anti-establishment
gestures that included a duet performance of "3 a.m. Eternal" with crust punk
band Extreme Noise Terror
, during which The KLF co-founder Bill Drummond
fired machine-gun blanks
over the audience of music industry luminaries. A studio-produced version of this song was issued a limited edition mail order 7" single, the final release by The KLF
and their independent record label
, KLF Communications
.
and The Moody Boys
).
# 1 in the UK singles chart
and # 5 in the US
Billboard Hot 100
. This version featured a rap
by Ricardo da Force
. The "S.S.L." in the subtitle refers to a Solid State Logic
mixing desk. Although a lot of crowd noise features on the mix, it is in fact a purely studio-based creation. The seven inch version of this mix appears on the album The White Room
. Concurrent with the chart-topping version, yet another 12" was released, featuring resolutely underground remixes by The Moody Boys.
/crust punk
band Extreme Noise Terror
. The two bands also performed a live version of the song at that year's BRIT Awards
ceremony. The Brits performance was garnished by a limping, kilted, cigar-chomping Drummond firing blank
s from an automatic weapon over the heads of the crowd. After viewing the rehearsals, NME
writer Danny Kelly said: "Compared to what's preceded it, this is a turbo-powered metallic wolf breaking into a coop full of particularly sick doves... And the noise? Well, the noise is hardcore punk thrash through a disco Techno hit played by crusties. All bases covered, brilliantly. Clever, clever bastards." At the end of the performance, Scott Piering
announced to a stunned crowd that "The KLF have now left the music business". Within a few months, they did just that - their records were deleted and The KLF retired from the industry.
Danny Kelly later described the Brits performance as The KLF's "self-destruction in an orgy of punk rock..., mock outrage ... and real bad taste".
as a "euro-flavoured deep house
pulser" with atmospheric chanting and a "cathedral-like resonance".
In a January 1991 feature on The KLF
, NME
writer Roger Morton described the "Pure Trance Original" as a "classic club track" and the "Live at the S.S.L." version as "murderously powerful". As Record Mirror 's "Single of the Week", the "Live at the S.S.L." version was regarded as "a magnificent pulsating beast combining bleeps and body heat". Appraising the track retrospectively in 2000, The Guardian
referred to the "Live at the S.S.L." version as an "epic pop masterpiece".
in May 1989. "3 a.m. Eternal (Live from the S.S.L.)" was given an international release as a single on 7 January 1991. A single of remix
es by The Moody Boys
was given a limited release a week later. In January 1992, a one-sided 7" single of The KLF's collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror was released via mail order
only, from a limited pressing of 1000 copies.
Key
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, numerous versions of which were released as singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
between 1989 and 1992. In January 1991, an acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
version of the song became an international top ten hit single, hitting #1 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and leading to The KLF becoming the internationally biggest-selling singles band of 1991. When, the following year, The KLF accepted an invitation to perform at the BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
ceremony, they caused controversy with a succession of anti-establishment
Anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
gestures that included a duet performance of "3 a.m. Eternal" with crust punk
Crust punk
Crust punk is a form of music influenced by anarcho-punk, hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the mid-1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills...
band Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror are a British crust punk / grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the...
, during which The KLF co-founder Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
fired machine-gun blanks
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
over the audience of music industry luminaries. A studio-produced version of this song was issued a limited edition mail order 7" single, the final release by The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
and their independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, KLF Communications
KLF Communications
This discography lists the key British and notable international releases of The KLF and the other pseudonyms of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. It also details the other releases on their independent record label, KLF Communications, by KLF-spinoff Disco 2000 and Space...
.
Origins
The original 1989 12" single release constituted the second of The KLF's "Pure Trance" series. There were two issues, numbered 005T (pink writing on a black sleeve, featuring two KLF mixes) and 005R (black writing on a pink sleeve, featuring four more mixes, including remixes by The OrbThe Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
and The Moody Boys
The Moody Boys
The Moody Boys was a UK house music production and remix outfit active since 1988 , consisting of Tony Thorpe and, until 1992, Jimmy Cauty.-History:...
).
Stadium House version
A version heavily reworked for a mainstream audience, "3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)", was issued in January 1991 and hitHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
# 1 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and # 5 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. This version featured a rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
by Ricardo da Force
Ricardo da Force
Jervis Ricardo Alfonso Lyte known professionally as Ricardo da Force is an English male vocalist, most notable for contributing vocals to dance music tracks by artists The KLF on "3 a.m...
. The "S.S.L." in the subtitle refers to a Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
mixing desk. Although a lot of crowd noise features on the mix, it is in fact a purely studio-based creation. The seven inch version of this mix appears on the album The White Room
The White Room
Allmusic said that The White Room "represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house" and Q magazine called it "strikingly imaginative" and "a more subtle form of subterfuge" than previous works...
. Concurrent with the chart-topping version, yet another 12" was released, featuring resolutely underground remixes by The Moody Boys.
Video
There are two video versions for the SSL Video, the American and the European. The American includes an opening with a travel through the mythical "Land of Mu Mu" where the KLF are performing inside a pyramid scenery with singers in a stadium. The European shows the KLF vehicle voyage with the Rapper Ricardo Da Force singing in the backseat and a rave showing at the background.The KLF vs Extreme Noise Terror
In 1992, The KLF released a limited edition mail order only single containing a new version of "3 a.m." featuring the grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
/crust punk
Crust punk
Crust punk is a form of music influenced by anarcho-punk, hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the mid-1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills...
band Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror are a British crust punk / grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the...
. The two bands also performed a live version of the song at that year's BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
ceremony. The Brits performance was garnished by a limping, kilted, cigar-chomping Drummond firing blank
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
s from an automatic weapon over the heads of the crowd. After viewing the rehearsals, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
writer Danny Kelly said: "Compared to what's preceded it, this is a turbo-powered metallic wolf breaking into a coop full of particularly sick doves... And the noise? Well, the noise is hardcore punk thrash through a disco Techno hit played by crusties. All bases covered, brilliantly. Clever, clever bastards." At the end of the performance, Scott Piering
Scott Piering
Scott Piering was a successful and influential American-born music publicist for many British music acts, including Pulp, The KLF, The Smiths, Stereophonics, The Orb, Placebo, Underworld and The Prodigy...
announced to a stunned crowd that "The KLF have now left the music business". Within a few months, they did just that - their records were deleted and The KLF retired from the industry.
Danny Kelly later described the Brits performance as The KLF's "self-destruction in an orgy of punk rock..., mock outrage ... and real bad taste".
Reviews
The "Pure Trance Original" was described by Record MirrorRecord Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
as a "euro-flavoured deep house
Deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...
pulser" with atmospheric chanting and a "cathedral-like resonance".
In a January 1991 feature on The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
writer Roger Morton described the "Pure Trance Original" as a "classic club track" and the "Live at the S.S.L." version as "murderously powerful". As Record Mirror 's "Single of the Week", the "Live at the S.S.L." version was regarded as "a magnificent pulsating beast combining bleeps and body heat". Appraising the track retrospectively in 2000, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
referred to the "Live at the S.S.L." version as an "epic pop masterpiece".
Formats and track listings
"3 a.m. Eternal (Pure Trance Original)" was aired as a UK 12" single12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
in May 1989. "3 a.m. Eternal (Live from the S.S.L.)" was given an international release as a single on 7 January 1991. A single of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es by The Moody Boys
The Moody Boys
The Moody Boys was a UK house music production and remix outfit active since 1988 , consisting of Tony Thorpe and, until 1992, Jimmy Cauty.-History:...
was given a limited release a week later. In January 1992, a one-sided 7" single of The KLF's collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror was released via mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
only, from a limited pressing of 1000 copies.
| Format (and countries) | Track number | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Pure Trance Original | ||||
| 12" (KLF Communications KLF Communications This discography lists the key British and notable international releases of The KLF and the other pseudonyms of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. It also details the other releases on their independent record label, KLF Communications, by KLF-spinoff Disco 2000 and Space... KLF 005T) |
P | B | ||
| 12" (KLF Communications KLF 005R) | p | O | M | E |
| Live at the S.S.L. | ||||
| 7" single, cassette single | l | g | ||
| 12" single (US) | L | G2 | K | W |
| 12" single (elsewhere) | L | G | ||
| CD single (Japan) | l | G | B | W |
| CD single (elsewhere) | l | G | B | |
| KLF Present the Moody Boys Selection | ||||
| 12" single, CD single | W | R | K | |
| The KLF vs ENT version | ||||
| 7" single (limited edition of 1000 copies) | T | |||
Key
| p - "3 a.m. Eternal (Pure Trance Original)" (edit) (3:38) | g - "3 a.m. Eternal (Guns of Mu Mu)" (edit) (3:30) |
| P - "3 a.m. Eternal (Pure Trance Original)" (5:55) | G - "3 a.m. Eternal (Guns of Mu Mu)" (5:09) |
| B - "3 a.m. Eternal (Break for Love)" (5:39) | G2 - "3 a.m. Eternal (Guns of Mu Mu)" (12" version) (5:20) |
| O - "3 a.m. Eternal (Blue Danube Orbital)" (7:35) | W - "3 a.m. Eternal (Wayward Dub Version)" (6:54) |
| M - "3 a.m. Eternal (Moody Boy)" (6:50) | R - "3 a.m. Eternal (Rankin' Club Version)" (4:34) |
| E - "3 p.m. Electro" (5:58) | K - "3 a.m. Eternal (Klonk Blip Every Trip)" (5:48) |
| l - "3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)" (edit) (3:42) | T - "3 a.m. Eternal (The KLF vs Extreme Noise Terror: TOTP version)" (2:43) |
| L - "3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)" (5:50) | |
Charts
| End of year chart (1991) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |