I tried to compile the most comprehensive guide about Fatboy Slim, but this whole web site thing is some pretty tough stuff. If you can help me out anywhere with a few fill-ins of info, it would be more than appreciated. You can e-mail me at mikescudder@hotmail.com Thank you.

Name: Quentin Cook
Aliases: Beats International, Bonjo, Cheeky Boy, Chemistry, Christians, David Grant, Delphi, Dj Megamix, Einstein, Elmo, Fatboy Slim, Feelgood Factor, Freak Power, Jon Pleased, Lindy Layton, Mighty Dub Katz, Norman Cook, Pizzaman, Psychedeliasmith, Real Sounds of Africa, Rockaway Three, Sensateria, Shinehead, Urban Allstars, Wayne Fountain
Hometown: Brighton, England
Birthdate: July 31 1963 (thank you shaun)
City of Birth: Bromley, England
Grew Up In: Redhill, England
Education: A graduate from Brighton Poly, he had a BA in English, Politics and Sociology
Status: Married (Zoe Ball)(sorry ladies)
Origin Of Stage Name: According to Norman, the name comes from a "Louisiana blues singer from the 40's, famed for a song called "Baby, I Want A Piece Of Your Pie' ".


Nine Facts About Fatboy Slim (thanks to Hot Press Magazine)
* He once sang 'Dancing Queen' with The Edge in Mr. Pussy's.
* Since leaving The Housemartins, he's either produced, remixed or been the artist on 250 records.
* He's the first person to have music featured on ads for both Nike and Adidas.
* His Brighton neighbours include Nick Berry and Derek Jameson.
* A few years ago he was so strapped for cash that he wrote music for a Smurfs video game.
* The only Stone Roses song he cares tuppence for is 'Fool's Gold'.
* The most people he's shared a bed with is five.
* The most people he's shared a bath with is six.
* He graduated from Brighton Poly with a BA in English, Politics and Sociology.
* The Levellers promised to walk through Brighton naked if he did a remix for them. Sensibly, he declined.


The Housemartins:
On to The Housemartins! The band were formed in Hull, when lead singer Paul Heaton put an ad in his flat window saying, "Wanted, musicians to form a street entertainment band." What he got was Stan Gullimore on guitar (who also wrote the songs with Paul), Quentin "Norman" Cook on bass (who was a DJ) and Hugh Whitticker on drums. Norman replaced Ted Key, after he left after their first single. After supporting Billy Bragg on tour, they signed to Go! Discs after Bragg recommended them (he was also on the label). Their first single 'Flag Day' got into the top 120!! Second single 'Sheep' got to 56, but the follow up 'Happy Hour', crashed into the charts at #3. The album 'London 0, Hull 4' was also a top 10 hit. The music was a mixture of 60's pop, and indie, as well as gospel and soul (as shown on the tracks 'He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother' and 'I'll be Your Shelter'.) After that they released a cover 'Caravan of Love' which was sung voices only. It was the Christmas #1 in 1985. After this Hugh left the band (he was put in prison years later for arson). He was replaced by Dave Hemmingway. The band released their second album 'The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death', which was more pop than the lastr album, and spawned the top 20 singles, 'Me and the Farmer', 'Five Get Over Excited', and 'Build'. After this the band decided to split. Stan now writes book, Dave is in The Beautiful South, and Paul is the lead singer/songwriter of The Beautiful South. Paul and Norman are still good friends, as shown recently when Norman was 'rhythm conseltant' on the bands latest album 'Quench'.
Information on the Housemartins was provided by Danny Boy

Information below, borrowed from hiponline

Born in Bromley, grew up in Redhill. Moves to Brighton to attend college and starts DJing around the town. Gets phone call from old school mate Paul Heaton, moves to Hull to play bass in Heaton's band, the decidedly non-dance music Housemartins. They have a British Number One in 1986 with a cover of Isley Brothers 'Caravan of Love'. They split up. Norman loves dance music too much. He goes back to Brighton and forges a career as a remixer with a mix of Eric B and Rakim's 'I know you Got Soul' . Forms Beats International. They have a British Number One with 'Dub Be Good to Me'. It all goes wrong. Norman gets divorced and has a nervous breakdown and doesn't work for two years. A friend takes him out to a club and gives him some ecstasy. That night Norman hears Robert Owens singing 'I'll be Your Friend'. Everything changes. He forms Freakpower with trombone-toting American Ashley Slater. They nearly have a British Number One with 'Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out'. Their second album , 'More Of Everything for Everybody' is a wicked fusion of funk, breakbeats and squealing acid lines. Nobody buys it. Norman starts making records under a variety of aliases: Pizzaman for handbag, The Mighty Dub Kats for House, Fried Funk Food for trip hop. And, in 1995 Fatboy Slim.

According to Norman, the name comes from a "Louisiana blues singer from the 40's, famed for a song called "Baby, I Want A Piece Of Your Pie' ". The sound comes from "trip hop records played at 45". The first single is called 'Santa Cruz', backed with 'The Weekend Starts Here', a track packed with samples of legendary beatnick Neal Cassady "ranting off his nut on acid". Norman calls it "trip hop you can dance to". Flatmate G. Money coins the phrase Big Beat. It's the first release on Damien Harris' Skint label, soon to become home to Bentley Rhythm Ace and The Lo Fidelity Allstars. Norman discovers other people like this music too - there's clubs in London called The Sunday Social (where The Chemical Brothers are resident) and Big Kahuna Burger that play it. Both clubs loved 'Santa Cruz' and both asked him to DJ. "I got all excited " he reminisces. "I got terribly over-excited . I wasn't really DJing any more at that point, but they tempted me into it....."

"Sick of driving up the A23" to DJ and dance at London's big beat clubs, Norman, Damien and chum G Money decide to start their own night in Brighton. "We just wanted somewhere to go and meet people first, before the party at my house", explains Norman. The Big Beat Boutique is born with Mr Cook as resident DJ. It's so much fun, people start travelling from London to party there. Meanwhile, the second Fatboy Slim single, the mighty 'Everybody Loves a 303' is unleashed. Take a pinch of Edwin Starrr's 'Everybody Needs Love', add a thumping breakbeat and the sound of Norman "tweaking a 303 live in my room in front of seven people, making tongue-out guitar hero faces while I did it", and you've got one of the biggest dance tunes of that year.

Fatboy Slim starts churning the classics out like it's going out of fashion - the crazed loungecore of 'Punk to Funk' ("I was trying to keep up with the kids on that one...... normally, I just think 'fuck 'em"), the stonking 'Going Out of My Head', the demented Ibiza-friendly "Latin acid" 'Everybody Loves A Carnival' and a debut album, 'Better Living Through Chemistry' . "We just bunged the album out to see what happened", he explains. "It wasn't a massive release, but people heard about it by word of mouth. It's got legs.....". There was video which consisted of Norman's mate, The Perv, just sitting there, then finally holding up a sign reading 'Why MAKE VIDEOS?' ("It only cost £500 to make and they ended up showing it on the Brit Awards!"). There were the remixes - everything from weird old French electronic composer Pierre Henry to Jean Jaques Perrey to chart dance-poppers Stretch N'Vern. And there was the Big Beat Boutique tent at last year's Brighton Essential Festival, where 3000 people lost it to the sound of Skint.

Which brings us up to this year. Five months in and Norman's already had a Number 3 hit and a Number One with his remixes of his late pal Wildchild's hip houser 'Renegade Master' and indie Indians Cornershop's 'Brimful of Asha' and and the acclaimed Freakpower 'No Way'. He hasn't even released his own tune yet. That's 'The Rockafeller Skank', a recipe of beats, cut-up hip hop and surf guitar that only the deaf and the daft could resist. "Hawaii 5-0 on acid" , says Norman. This time the video's a surfing epic. It is going to be an enormous hit. Norman seems perturbed. "It's a nice feeling when things do well, but if it doesn't happen, I'm not gutted". He explains. "I've got lazier and lazier as time goes on. I'm quicker at doing tracks now than I used to be, but I'll go and do the washing up instead of finishing it. That happened with ' The Rockafeller Skank'..."

There's a second Fatboy album to follow ("There's a couple of power ballads on there......... nah, not really, it's just more of the same") and more djing to come. He's started turning down remixes, even remixes for Madonna and U2. Right now, Fatboy Slim is sitting on top of the world. What's your secret, Norm? He considers for a minute, "I'm kind to animals, I do everything at home and I've got all my own teeth".

The first salvo from the new Fatboy Slim album due in September, 'The Rockafeller Skank' is everything we've been waiting for and more. After the incredible success of Cornershop and Wildchild anticipation demanded something unbelievable - the result is a slice of Norman Cook dynamite that is going to slay everyone and everything in the coming months. This is the sound of the summer cut on two sides of vinyl and shoved in a sleeve. What more can you say?

Time for some more Fatboy Slim madness.

Right about now, 'Rockafeller Skank' is without doubt THE dancefloor / festival / summer anthem of '98. THAT Lord Finesse vocal combined with THAT twangy surf guitar have sent crowds into disco oblivion since Norman first premiered the track way back in March. A track that still refuses to move its way to the back of the record box. A record that has now surfed to sales in excess of 190,000 in the UK alone.

'Ganster Trippin' is the second salvo to be taken from the forthcoming FBS longplayer 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby'. The master chef is back with yet another slice of beautiful breakbeat pie. With a skinful of the usual Fatboy cheekiness, 'Gangster Trippin' is a swinging fun filled carnival of joyous beats and calypso like vibes. One to wipe away those September blues. The commercial release features a new track called 'The World's Gone Down' and a bonus beats mixing tool called 'Jack It Up'... And you haven't even heard the album yet. Watch out! This shaping up to be one of THE big albums of the autumn.

Don't like My Biography? Click To See Other Web Sites Bio's:

The Caroline Records Biography:
Caroline Records

The Biography According To bedrooms.co.uk:
Fatboy Slim: Norman Cook Homepage



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