Солтустіктің Сұры Көрінісі

1991 single by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

"It's Grim Up North", with its markedly darker tone than the KLF records, an album which Cauty said would be "so heavy it will just pin you to the floor" released in March 1991. A recurring theme of "It's Grim Up North" was drab greyness, representing the dreary, overcast skies of the "grim" North. The original issue featuring Pete Wylie was on grey vinyl, and the same colour was retained for the sleeve of the 1991 release (pictured above). The video for "It's Grim Up North" was filmed in black and white, and shows The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu performing in the pouring rain. The sleevenotes further elaborated on The JAMs' inspiration: "Through the downpour and diesel roar, Rockman and Kingboy D can feel a regular dull thud. Whether this is the eternal echo of a Victorian steam driven revolution or the turbo kick of a distant Northern rave is irrelevant. Thus inspired, The JAMS climb into the back of their truck and work."

"It's Grim Up North (Part 1)" is a 10 minute composition with two distinct segueing sections. The seven minute first section is a heavy, pounding industrial techno track, over which Drummond lists the names of some towns and cities in the North of England. Between verses, Drummond's distorted voice urgently alerts the listener that "It's grim up north". The instrumentation is in a minor key and is frequently discordant, featuring synthesised sounds reminiscent of passing heavy goods vehicles and train whistles. Although the underlying rhythm keeps a 4/4 time signature, several instruments keep 3/16 and 3/4 time throughout the track, including a deep second drum line—the "regular dull thud"—which juxtaposes when the 4/4 instruments and percussion drop out. The second section is a fully orchestrated arrangement of Jerusalem, with the sounds of brass, strings, organs, drums and choir. The instrumentation and vocals of the first section gradually diminish to nothing over a period of nearly two minutes. Following the climax of the hymn, howling wind and crow calls are heard and then fade out. A re recorded version with Bill Drummond on vocals received a regular release on KLF Communications in October 1991, These recordings were the first releases under The KLF's "JAMs" pseudonym since the 1988 compilation album Shag Times, and were to be the last under that name. the graffiti – painted on a bridge over the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway – had been the subject of an early day motion in the British House of Commons on 21 October 1991. The JAMs "categorically denied" to the same publication that they were responsible for the vandalism. In awarding the 1991 release "single of the week", NME said: "The Scotsman [Drummond] picks over the place names with gruesome relish, the backing track pummels and tweaks, blasts and buffets him round the furthest God forsaken reaches of this demi paradise, this land of kings, this sceptred isle, this England A thing of feverish, fiendish irreverence and conceptual genius ". In 2005, Freaky Trigger placed it at number 81 in their list of "The Top 100 Songs of All Time," with a writer for the webzine saying the record is "not a fucking joke. It’s the best British single of the 1990s." In 1999, the website's founder Tom Ewing also included the song at number 75 in his list of the "Top 100 Singles of the 1990s", saying "“It’s Grim Up North” is a document of one of pop's most individual bands at their imaginative peak. It boils down to a man in his late 30s, and a mate, doing exactly what they want to do, without fear or compromise or cant, and getting it into the Top 40 to boot. And that makes this not only an excellent single, but a genuinely inspirational one".

"Bolton, Barnsley, Nelson, Colne, Burnley, Bradford, Buxton, Crewe, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan, Leeds, Northwich, Nantwich, Knutsford, Hull, Sale, Salford, Southport, Leigh, Kirkby, Kearsley, Keighley, Maghull, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Oldham, Lancs (Lancaster), Grimsby, Glossop, Hebden Bridge."

"Brighouse, Bootle, Featherstone, Speke, Runcorn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Barrow, Morecambe, Macclesfield, Lytham St Annes, Clitheroe, Cleethorpes, the M62." (Note: this verse appears in the full length version only; it is not present on the radio edit.)

"Pendlebury, Prestwich, Preston, York, Skipton, Scunthorpe, Scarborough on Sea, Chester, Chorley, Cheadle Hulme (could also be interpreted as the equally valid Cheadle, Hulme), Ormskirk, Accrington, Stanley (could also be interpreted as the football club, Accrington Stanley F. C.), and Leigh, Ossett, Otley, Ilkley Moor, Sheffield, Manchester, Castleford, Skem (Skelmersdale), Doncaster, Dewsbury, Halifax, Bingley, Bramhall, are all in the North."

"It's Grim Up North" was originally released as a limited edition one side promotional 12" on 17 December 1990. Reworked with Drummond's vocals, the track was given a European single release on 28 October 1991.</small>