The Manual (How To Have a Number One the Easy Way) | Complete Audiobook |

Written in 1988 by James Cauty and Bill Drummond of The KLF , (aka Justified Ancients of MuMu, aka the JAMs) "The Manual" is a humorous and informative guide that guarantees that "you too can have a #1 hit", if you follow their instructions to the letter. It explains all the steps needed to guarantee success, as pioneered by The Timelords (another alias) with 'Doctorin' the Tardis'.
The Manual is an unparalleled expose of the reality behind the pop-music business and while names may have changed since its first issue, the mechanics of financing, producing and promoting a hit set out here remain absolutely relevant.
I've always really enjoyed this book and wanted to share it with those friends and Family who prefer audiobooks to reading.
Audiobook reading by Paul Ian Bailey
Previously recorded and uploaded in 7 parts, with new audio processing

[@LukiO4500]

Well I'm going to give it a shot. wish me luck everyone.

[@ChrisField13]

How’s it going?

[@michaelcoyote8528]

It worked for FatBoy Slim, it can work for you too...

[@lingusdingua4889]

Good luck, bro!

[@phillymopwater]

thanx for doing this! This is actually a really charming and useable (and still relevant) guide.

[@Finegritmusicofficial]

Glad you're enjoying it. Definitely agree!

[@leoninocat5070]

A must read

[@waynepayne864]

thank you paul

[@priesverhon]

25 likes.#page257 reporting in #2023 #umbrick

[@acoustically9201]

Some interesting ideas...but... Bill Drummond was late 30s during the KLFs heyday. He makes it sound that you could just bunk off class and with almost no ability or experience and get some studiohands to produce you a single that would be #1, while you make the tea. Highly unlikely then - and also now. The illusion that anyone in their bedoom can do this is constantly sold to aspiring youngsters but it is basically nonsense. Drummond is not telling you that he was in the industry for a decade beforehand and at a decent level too. He knew the business inside out. Check his wikipedia page....

[@Finegritmusicofficial]

I think they don't talk much about the musical side of things because they basically did just hodge things together that were "Cool" and let the experienced people around them guide it to the finish. I've worked in studios with labels and can attest to a lot of what is presented as likely being real in a time when the record industry was more compartmentalized. Talking things up to all the different compartments and floating nonexistent money between them is the moral to the story to me. Though gaining access and trust to these different pockets was likely done while Bill was an A&R. That's what I sort of love about KLF and this book is that they pointed out very early on that talent and good songwriting are NOT what it takes to make a hit record, it's more about politics and appeasing the cool kids. It's definitely a little pessimistic so to say but I find it brilliant, and don't find it misleading. How else does a guy write a book about the details of the music business if he's not involved?

[@acoustically9201]

@@Finegritmusicofficial I'll bow to you knowledge here as I've not made original recordings in a studio.
Where I'm taking it all with a pinch of salt is... that the story of newbies just breaking through from nowhere is/has always been massively exaggerated. I'm sure it does happen - but mostly these are people with a background in music or family ties to the industry.
The story is ''old'' (e.g. Elvis Costello busking outside the record company until he was invited in... and you later find out his dad was a lifelong pro performer.
Also all the Laurel Canyon ''summer of love'' acts of the 60s - all very well connected... )
The industry HAS to sell youngsters ''the dream''. But in reality there is a glass ceiling just like every other industry. That is of couse not a reason for not pursuing one's dream.
I accept a lot of what they say as having some ''truth'' though....particularly what they say about groove, tempo, and ''borrowing ideas''. They nailed it there and it shows in their success.

[@Finegritmusicofficial]

@@acoustically9201 Definitely what you say is true.Connections and politics are what put people in those positions. I just didn't see them as trying to hide it in the book, it came off to me like Bill found the "cheat code" and they ran with it. I appreciated this book on the honesty of that. Also definitely true on Laural Canyon, etc. When the most popular forms of music don't take talent to make or perform, you can have your nephew or cousin do the "job". Especially if you consider that almost all popular waves of music are formed around the drug of the time. Awfully convenient to have an inside man with a good excuse traveling the country conveniently "entertaining" the druggies of the city.....People rarely make the connection that for example Grateful Dead's sound engineer was manufacturing a high percentage of the LSD at the time. Do we think this is a one time coincidence? So with this is mind, note that the 2 from KLF started by writing actual songs and failing and switched over to drug induced house music of the time. I'm thinking a lot of their money didn't just come from music performance...
If you were secretly pushing drugs around, using music as a front, would you have some super talented stranger do it or your semi talented nephew you can trust?

[@acoustically9201]

@@Finegritmusicofficial You've gone way beyond ny knowledge here, save to say, that the music industry exists mainly as a social engineering project. The main role is to move the ''Overton Window'' each decade, or with each new movement/genre