3 a.m. Eternal

"3 a.m. Eternal"
Pure Trance Original (005T) cover
Single by the KLF
from the album The White Room
Released
  • May 1989 (Pure Trance 2)
  • 7 January 1991 (live at the S.S.L.)
  • January 1992 (The KLF vs ENT version)
GenreHouse
Length
  • 5:55 (Pure Trance original)
  • 5:50 (Live at the S.S.L.)
  • 2:43 (The KLF vs ENT version)
LabelKLF Communications
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bill Drummond
  • Jimmy Cauty
Drummond & Cauty singles chronology
"What Time Is Love? (Pure Trance)"
(1988)
"3 a.m. Eternal"
(1989)
"Kylie Said to Jason"
(1989)

"What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral)"
(1990)

"3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)"
(1991)

"Last Train to Trancentral (Live from the Lost Continent)"
(1991)

"Justified and Ancient (Stand by The JAMs)"
(1991)

"3 a.m. Eternal (The KLF vs ENT version)"
(1992)

"K Cera Cera"
(1993)
Alternative cover
"Live at the S.S.L." cover
Music video
The KLF - 3AM Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.) (Official Video) on YouTube

"3 a.m. Eternal" is a song by British acid house group the KLF, taken from their fourth and final studio album, The White Room (1991). Numerous versions of the song were released as singles between 1989 and 1992 by their label KLF Communications. In January 1991, an acid house pop version of the song became an international top ten hit single, reaching number-one on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the UK Dance Singles Chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, and leading to the KLF becoming the internationally biggest-selling singles band of 1991.[1][2]

The following year, when the KLF accepted an invitation to perform at the 1992 BRIT Awards ceremony, they caused controversy with a succession of anti-establishment gestures that included a duet performance of "3 a.m. Eternal" with the crust punk band Extreme Noise Terror, during which 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 as a limited edition mail order 7-inch single, the final release by the KLF and their independent record label, KLF Communications. Q Magazine ranked "3 a.m. Eternal" number 150 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.[3]

  1. ^ Bush, John. KLF at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Timelords gentlemen, please!". NME. 16 May 1992. Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 11 October 2016.Wikipedia:WikiProject The KLF/LibraryOfMu/309
  3. ^ "Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)".