John Higgs is an English writer, novelist, journalist and cultural historian. The work of Higgs has been published in the form of novels (under the pseudonym JMR Higgs), biographies and works of cultural history. In particular, Higgs has written about the so-called

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

, exemplified by writers, artists and activists such as

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

and

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

Career

Higgs began as a director of children’s television and was BAFTA-nominated for pre-school animation before going on to create and produce the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

quiz '' X Marks the Spot''. At

Climax Group Climax Studios is a British video game developer based in Portsmouth that is best known for their work on the 2004 action role-playing game ''Sudeki'' and the 2007 and 2009 survival horror video games '' Silent Hill: Origins'' and '' Silent Hi ...

studios he was videogame producer for games that appeared on

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...

and

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

including '' Crash 'n' Burn'' and '' ATV Quad Power Racing''. Higgs has written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''The

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine. As an author, Higgs has written the novels ''The First Church on the Moon'' and ''The Brandy of the Damned''; biographies of Timothy Leary and The KLF; and works of history and cultural analysis. Born in Rugby, Higgs grew up in

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

, North Wales and now lives with his family in Brighton.

Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! and Cosmic Trigger

In his 2013 book, ''KLF'', Higgs’s interest in the American counter culture writer Robert Anton Wilson led to him writing about the stage play version of Wilson's '' The Illuminatus Trilogy!'' books as directed by

Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...

and which were performed at the National Theatre in 1977. During Higgs’s research, he interviewed Campbell’s wife, the actress

Prunella Gee Prunella Mary Gee (born 17 February 1950) is an English counsellor, therapist and former actress, best known for her work as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the role of Doreen Heavey in ''Coronation Street'', a part she first played in ...

, and learned that their daughter,

Daisy Eris Campbell Daisy Eris Campbell (born 1978), is a British writer, actress and theatre director. Daughter of actor and director Ken Campbell and actress and therapist Prunella Gee. She staged '' The Warp'', a revival of Neil Oram's 24-hour play (which he ...

, was at the time thinking about staging a theatrical version of Wilson's ''

Cosmic Trigger ''Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of The Illuminati'' is the first book in the ''Cosmic Trigger'' series, first published in 1977 and the first of a three-volume autobiographical and philosophical work by Robert Anton Wilson. It has a forewor ...

''. Higgs supported and championed the production of the play with various talks around the country and the play was eventually staged in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2014 and staged again at The Cockpit Theatre in London in 2017. Higgs involvement in the ''Cosmic Trigger'' play led to Robert Anton Wilson's estate – the Robert Anton Wilson Trust – to ask him to write an introduction for a new edition of ''Cosmic Trigger: The Final Secret of the Illuminati'', published by the Wilson estate's new imprint, Hilaritas Press, in 2016.

Books

Biographies and history

* ''Love and Let Die: Bond, The Beatles and the British Psyche'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022) * ''William Blake vs the World'' (

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...

, 2021) * ''William Blake Now: Why He Matters More Than Ever'' (

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

UK, 2019) * ''The Future Starts Here: Adventures in the Twenty-First Century'' (

, 2019) *''

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past'' (

, 2017) *''Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016) * ''2000TC: Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On'' (2014), in a limited edition of 111 copies *''The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013) *''I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary'' (The Friday Project, 2006) *''Our Pet Queen: A New Perspective on Monarchy'' (Signal, 2014)

Fictional works as JMR Higgs

*''The First Church on the Moon'' (The Big Hand Books, 2013) *''The Brandy of the Damned'' (The Big Hand Books, 2012)Amazon: The Brandy of the Damned
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Contributor

* '' Cosmic Trigger - The Final Secret of the Illuminati'' - Introduction by John Higgs (Hilaritas Press, 2016) * ''

Who Killed the KLF? ''Who Killed the KLF?'' is a 2021 documentary film by Chris Atkins about The KLF. The unauthorised documentary includes reconstructions of the band's dramatic gestures, played by actors. KLF members Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond refused to tak ...

'' (Documentary)

References

External links

Website

John Higgs
at

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

John Higgs
at

Interview with John Higgs

Interview by The Quietus

Video interview on The Agenda

Interview by The Bookseller about Watling Street

Presentation at the University of Kent on the legacy of Timothy Leary

Video of Alan Moore and John Higgs in conversation

KLF: Chaos, Magic, Music, Money review by The Quietus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgs, John 1974 births British male journalists English columnists English writers English sceptics Living people The Guardian journalists