Fatboy Slim
From Housemartins bassist to big beat headliner: how Norman Cook built Fatboy Slim in Brighton, with Skint Records, “Praise You” and a beach full of dancers.
- Alias of Norman Cook, born 31 July 1963 in Bromley and based in Brighton since his student years.
- Former bassist of the Housemartins (“Caravan of Love”, UK No. 1) and leader of Beats International (“Dub Be Good to Me”, UK No. 1).
- As Fatboy Slim on Skint Records: “Praise You” (UK No. 1, 1999) and the No. 1 album You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.
Fatboy Slim is the name Norman Cook took when he pushed big beat out of a Brighton club and into the charts. Breakbeats, rock riffs, acid squelch and old soul samples: by early 1999 the formula had given him a UK No. 1 single and a No. 1 album, more than a decade after his first No. 1 with the Housemartins.
Bassist, pop star, house producer
Cook was born Quentin Leo Cook in Bromley, Kent, and moved to Brighton to study at Brighton Polytechnic from 1982 to 1985. In 1985 he joined the Housemartins as bassist, and their 1986 cover of “Caravan of Love” went to No. 1. After the band split he formed Beats International, whose “Dub Be Good to Me” topped the UK chart in 1990.
Two more projects followed before Fatboy Slim. Freak Power, an acid jazz band, released “Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out” on Island in 1993. The same year Cook started Pizzaman, a house duo with John Reid, whose album Pizzamania produced three top-40 singles.
Skint and the Big Beat Boutique
Fatboy Slim belonged to Brighton. Skint Records, set up as a sublabel of Loaded Records, released his debut album Better Living Through Chemistry in 1996. In the same city Cook co-founded the Big Beat Boutique club night at the Concorde — the night that gave big beat its name.
The early singles barely charted: “Santa Cruz” missed the chart entirely, and “Everybody Needs a 303”, titled after the Roland TB-303 bass machine behind “Acid Tracks”, stalled at No. 191. “Going Out of My Head” reached No. 57 in 1997. Then everything changed.
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
In 1998 “The Rockafeller Skank” reached No. 6 and “Gangster Trippin” No. 3. The album You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby went to No. 1 in the UK — still Skint’s only chart-topping album — and went platinum.
Its third single, “Praise You”, came out on 4 January 1999 and became his first UK No. 1 as Fatboy Slim. It is built on the opening vocal of Camille Yarbrough’s “Take Yo’ Praise” (1975). Spike Jonze shot the video guerrilla-style outside the Fox Bruin Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, for a reported $800, posing as the leader of the fictional Torrance Community Dance Group; it won three MTV Video Music Awards. “Right Here, Right Now” followed at No. 2. In 2001 the video for “Weapon of Choice” won six more MTV awards.
Beaches, side projects and the long run
Big Beach Boutique turned Brighton beach into a dance floor. Around 60,000 people came in 2001. For Big Beach Boutique II, in July 2002, roughly 250,000 turned up — about four times the expected number.
The albums kept coming in different shapes: Palookaville in 2004; I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat in 2009, released as The Brighton Port Authority; and Here Lies Love in 2010, a concept album about Imelda Marcos made with David Byrne. In 2013 “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat”, with Riva Starr and Beardyman, reached No. 3 in the UK.
In the mix
A Fatboy Slim record is built for impact: a long build, a breakbeat, a sample the whole room can sing. For the house side of the same summer, dig into “Music Sounds Better With You”, the Stardust single that also reached No. 2 in the UK in 1998, and go back to the Chicago acid of “Acid Tracks” by Phuture.
FAQ
Who is Fatboy Slim?
Fatboy Slim is the best-known alias of Norman Cook, an English DJ and producer born in Bromley on 31 July 1963 and based in Brighton. He was the Housemartins’ bassist before turning to dance music.
What was Fatboy Slim’s first No. 1?
“Praise You”, released on 4 January 1999, was his first UK No. 1 as Fatboy Slim. “Right Here, Right Now” reached No. 2 later that year.
What was the Big Beach Boutique?
Beach parties he played in Brighton. The 2001 edition drew around 60,000 people; Big Beach Boutique II, in July 2002, drew around 250,000, about four times the expected crowd.
Which label released Fatboy Slim’s albums?
Skint Records, based in Brighton and Hove. You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) gave the label its only UK No. 1 album.
