Fatboy Slim | |
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 Fatboy Slim in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Born | Quentin Leo Cook (1963-07-31)31 July 1963 (age 62) Bromley, Kent, England |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
Spouse | |
| Website | fatboyslim |
Norman Quentin Cook (bornQuentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), known professionally asFatboy Slim, is an English musician andDJ who helped popularise thebig beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use ofsamples from eclectic genres, combined with pop structures, processed rhythms and "sloganistic" vocals.
In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for theindie rock bandthe Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split, Cook moved toBrighton to pursue dance music. He formed the electronic groupBeats International, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me" in 1990, and played in the bandFreak Power. He also releasedhouse records under names includingPizzaman and theMighty Dub Katz.
In 1996, Cook released his first album as Fatboy Slim,Better Living Through Chemistry, followed by successfulremixes forWildchild andCornershop. His second album,You've Come a Long Way, Baby, wascertified platinum and produced the successful singles "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You" and "Right Here, Right Now".Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000) produced the single "Weapon of Choice", which won six awards at the2001 MTV Video Music Awards.Palookaville (2004) was less successful, attributed to the declining popularity of dance music and a more obscure style. In 2009, Cook released an album as theBrighton Port Authority, a collaboration with artists includingDavid Byrne. He collaborated with Byrne again on the albumHere Lies Love (2010), aconcept album that wasadapted into a stage musical in 2013. In later years, Cook has focused on DJ performances over creating music.
Cook has aGrammy Award, nineMTV Video Music Awards, twoBrit Awards and anIvor Novello Award. He was nominated for theTony Award for Best Original Score forHere Lies Love in 2024. In 2023, he was awarded theGuinness world record for the most UK number-one singles by one musician as a member of different acts. Cook's marriage to the BBC presenterZoe Ball was highly publicised.
Quentin Leo Cook was born on 31 July 1963 inBromley in Kent, England, the youngest of three.[1][2] His mother was a teacher in ahospital school, and his father was an environmentalist consultant who was appointed anOrder of the British Empire for introducingbottle banks into the UK.[2] His family belonged to theKosmon faith, an obscure religious order.[3]
Cook was raised inReigate, Surrey, which he later described as a "suburban hell".[2] He attendedReigate Grammar School, where he took violin lessons alongside the future prime ministerKeir Starmer.[4] At school, he became a fan ofpunk music and edited a punkfanzine.[2][5] He adopted the name Norman when he was bullied for the name Quentin, which his classmates associated with the gay actorQuentin Crisp.[2] He collected records and began DJing at 15.[2]
Atsixth form college, Cook met the songwriterPaul Heaton, with whom he formed a punk band, the Stomping Pond Frogs.[6] He failed hisA-level exams as he was focusing on playing music, and had to retake them.[6] Cook moved toBrighton to attendBrighton Polytechnic from 1982 to 1985 and gained a2:1 inBritish studies.[7] In Brighton, he worked as a DJ and was taught how tomix by the DJCarl Cox.[8][7] He appeared as a porter in the music video for the 1982 song "Goody Two Shoes" byAdam Ant.[3]
While Cook was in Brighton, Heaton formed a band,the Housemartins. When their original bassist quit in 1985, Cook moved toHull to join them.[9] Cook said he learned to play the bass guitar in about a week.[8] In 1986, the Housemartins reached number one on theUK singles chart with a cover of the 1985Isley-Jasper-Isley song "Caravan of Love".[10]
Cook was frustrated playing "white English pop" in the Housemartins. He was interested in hip-hop and dance music, but felt it was inappropriate for a white English man to work in this genre, and that no one would take him seriously.[8][3] He was uncomfortable with acts such asLevel 42 orSimply Red, who he felt "kind of pretend to be black".[8] While with the Housemartins, Cook began working on dance music using aTEAC 144Portastudio andRoland S-10 synthesiser, with no intention of releasing it.[8] He also created amegamix, "The Finest Ingredients", that was played by theBBC DJJohn Peel.[11]
The Housemartins broke up in 1988.[8] Heaton and the drummer,Dave Hemingway, went on to formthe Beautiful South, and Cook returned to Brighton to pursue dance music.[8] He invested in further equipment, including amixing console, an eight-trackreel-to-reel, anAtari ST computer, anAkai S950 sampler and, later, aRoland TB-303 synthesiser.[8]
Cook released successfulremixes such as "Blame It on the Bassline" with MC Wildski,[8] which reached number 29 on theUK singles chart.[12] He also formed asound system collective,Beats International, with a collection ofMCs and singers.[11] Their single "Dub Be Good to Me" (1990) reached number one, but their second album,Excursion on the Version (1991), was a commercial failure.[11]
After Beats International disbanded in 1992,[13] Cook's marriage ended and he suffered a mental breakdown.[14] According to Cook, he became a self-destructiveworkaholic, drank heavily and alienated his friends. When therapy was ineffective, he beganself-medicating withecstasy.[2] Facing bankruptcy, he took work composing for aSmurfs video game.[14]
Cook formed an acid jazz band,Freak Power, with musicians including the trombonistAshley Slater, which released the successful 1993 single "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" onIsland Records.[9] Cook felt uncomfortable in the band, and recalled thinking on stage: "I'm a really crap guitarist. What am I doing here? I've spent the last 10 years getting pissed in nightclubs, learning how to DJ."[11]
In 1993, Cook and John Reid formed the house duo Pizzaman. Their only album,Pizzamania, produced three top-40 singles.[13] Cook also released music as the Mighty Dub Katz, recording two or three tracks a week in his home studio.[8] As Cook's record contract with Island forbade him from releasing or promoting music on other labels under his own name, he released them under aliases including Cheeky Boy, Sunny Side Up, Yum Yum Head Food and the Feelgood Factor, often on his own label,Southern Fried Records.[11] Cook said his names reflect the fact that he did not take his work seriously, and that he was not afraid to say "this is me pretending to be someone else, so let's make this fun".[15]
Cook adopted the stage name Fatboy Slim in 1995. He said of the name: "It doesn't mean anything. I've told so many different lies over the years about it I can't actually remember the truth. It's just an oxymoron – a word that can't exist. It kind of suits me – it's kind of goofy and ironic."[16][17] Around this period, the house music labelLoaded Records created a newimprint in Brighton,Skint Records. Its first record was the Fatboy Slim track "Santa Cruz" in 1995.[11] It sold only 800 copies, but attracted attention in the underground dance music scene in the UK.[11] Cook was surprised to hear "Santa Cruz" played at an event in London by theChemical Brothers, then known as the Dust Brothers, and said it was "like meeting the rest of my long-lost family".[11]
Cook co-founded a popular club night in Brighton, the Big Beat Boutique, where he played music from genres includingnorthern soul,acid house,hip-hop and reggae, combined withbreakbeats. The scene became the foundation ofbig beat music.[11] Cook later wrote of the "enormous collective pride" in the big beat genre being named after the venue, just as house and garage music had been named after venues in Chicago and New York City.[18] Cook described it as a "very productive time", when acts such as the Chemical Brothers,Death in Vegas,Monkey Mafia,Bentley Rhythm Ace andFC Kahuna were "breaking rules and feeding off each other".[6] Cook's friends encouraged him to make music similar to the style he was playing in his DJ sets.[8] He released the first Fatboy Slim album,Better Living Through Chemistry, in 1996 on Skint.[11] According toThe Independent, by 1997, Cook had become "part of an elite coterie of superstar DJs" who earned large fees to perform at international venues and were "guaranteed to fill dance floors from Manchester to Madrid".[5]
In 1998, Cook's remix of "Renegade Master" byWildchild reached number three on the UK singles chart, and his remix of "Brimful of Asha" byCornershop reached number one.[8] Cook said the tracks represented a creative breakthrough: "That's when I was like, I've nailed it now, I've got the formula."[8] He began receiving interest from artists such asMadonna andRobbie Williams.[14] He turned down an offer from thePet Shop Boys to produce their next album, as he liked their music but felt it did not suit his style.[14]
For his second album,You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), Cook aimed to create a coherent album using "all the ideas that had been brewing and fermenting" in the big beat scene.[19] He created three successful singles in one week: "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You" and "Right Here, Right Now".[8] "Praise You" was the first Fatboy Slim UK number-one single,[8] and its music video, directed bySpike Jonze, won numerous awards.[9] On 9 September 1999, Cook performed "Praise You" at the1999 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City and won three awards, includingBreakthrough Video.[20][21] Four days later,You've Come a Long Way, Baby wascertified platinum.[11] That year, Cook won theBrit Award for Best British Dance Act.[22] He also married theBBC presenterZoe Ball, triggering attention from thetabloid media.[6]
In 2000, dance music was at peak popularity, controlling 13.3% of the UK album charts.[5] Cook was a key figure in the rising popularity ofclub culture in the UK, along with acts such as Chemical Brothers,Basement Jaxx,Underworld,Groove Armada andLeftfield.[23] That year, Cook released his third Fatboy Slim album,Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, featuring collaborations withMacy Gray andBootsy Collins.[9] He attempted to create a less radio-friendly album, saying: "I'm much happier at number nine in the charts than at number one because you're still top ten but it's a lot less work and stress."[6]
The video for "Weapon of Choice", directed by Spike Jonze and featuringChristopher Walken dancing through a hotel, won six awards at the2001 MTV Video Music Awards.[24] Cook earned theGuinness world records for the most MTV Video Awards won by a DJ and the most MTV Video Awards won for a single video.[25][26] The album also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)", whose video used the 1964 "Daisy Girl" campaign ad.[27] In the same year, Cook releasedThe Fatboy Slim/ Norman Cook Collection, a compilation of his remixes from the 1980s and early 90s.[28]
In 2001, Cook held a free beach concert, Big Beach Boutique, in Brighton.[29][30][31] It followed a screening of a cricket match organised byChannel 4,[29] and was attended by around 60,000 people.[31] The set was released as the 2002 albumLive on Brighton Beach.[32] By 2002, according to theDaily Telegraph, Fatboy Slim was the "world's biggest DJ".[33] That July, he played a second free concert on Brighton beach,Big Beach Boutique II.[29] It was attended by around 250,000 people, four times more than expected.[29] Local authorities were severely underprepared, which led to more than 170 injuries and six arrests.[31] Two people died in the hours after the concert.[34] The cleanup operation lasted days and cost over £300,000, with 160 tonnes of rubbish collected from the beach.[35][36] However, Cook was supported by Brighton residents. The Brighton newspaperThe Argus printed a supplement to publish the letters supporting him, andBBC Southern Counties Radio received many positive calls.[31]
In 2001, Cook won his second Brit Award for Best British Dance Act.[22] Cook released a live album and DVD of the Brighton beach performance,Big Beach Boutique II, in 2003.[37] He contributed production to "Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene" on the 2003Blur albumThink Tank.[38]
By 2004, dance music was in commercial decline, replaced by a resurgence of guitar bands.[5] That year, Cook released his fourth album,Palookaville. It sold far fewer copies than his previous albums, which Cook credited to its more obscure musical style. Cook said he was "happy to take my foot off the gas for a bit" and receive less tabloid attention.[39]
After theBig Beach Boutique II DVD became a bestseller in Brazil, Cook played to an estimated 360,000 people in Rio in 2004. He returned many times in the following years, and performed on the reality TV showBig Brother Brasil in 2005.[40] His 2007 tour was released on DVD asAdventuresin Brazil.[40] Cook filled the Friday night headline slot on the Other Stage atGlastonbury Festival 2005.[41] In June 2006, he played a headline performance at theRockNess festival on the shores ofLoch Ness.[42]The Greatest Hits – Why Try Harder was released that month, including the new tracks "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans".[43]
On New Year's Day, 2007, Cook held another performance on Brighton beach, Big Beach Boutique 3.[44] Tickets were only available to residents ofBrighton and Hove, capped at 20,000.[45] Big Beach Boutique 4 took place on September 27, 2008, with the same ticket procedures.[46]
In 2008, Cook remixed the track "Amazonas" for the charityBottletop.[47] That year, Cook formed avirtual band, the Brighton Port Authority, featuringIggy Pop,David Byrne,Dizzee Rascal,Martha Wainwright andAshley Beedle.[39] They released an album,I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, in 2009.[39] Cook produced two tracks onThe RevolutionPresents, a 2009 compilation album by various Cuban musicians.[48] He said later: "I'm notPaul Simon – I'm not the world's best musical ambassador, it wasn't my forte."[40]
In 2008, Cook played at Glastonbury Festival, theO2Wireless Festival, Rockness Festival and Coachella.[49][50] He played an unadvertised concert atGlastonbury 2009,[51] and headlined the east dance stage atGlastonbury 2010.[52] Cook collaborated with Byrne again onHere Lies Love (2010), aconcept album about the life of the Philippines First LadyImelda Marcos.[53]A musical based on the album premiered in 2013 atthe Public Theater in New York City, and opened onBroadway in 2023.[54][55]
In the 2010s, asEDM grew in popularity worldwide, Cook began performing more frequently in the United States.[56] On 18 June 2010, he performed inCape Town, South Africa, as part of the Cool BritanniaFIFA World Cup music festival at theCape Town International Convention Centre.[57] In 2011, he receivedPRS for Music award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at theIvor Novello Awards.[58] On 30 May, he was the headliner atMovement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit.[59] He played and headlinedBestival on theIsle of Wight on 11 September.[60]
Cook performed "Right Here, Right Now" and "The Rockefeller Skank" at the2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London.[61] On 1 September, he performed atBrighton Pride.[62] In March 2012, Cook hosted a one-hour radio programme,On The Road To Big Beach Bootique 5, onXFM. It consisted of 10 shows.[63]
In 2013, Cook performed atUltra Music Festival in Miami.[56] On 6 March, Cook became the first DJ to perform at theHouse of Commons inWestminster, London, in aid of the Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Foundation, which encourages young people to become involved in their communities.[64] Cook said later that it was a "milestone" to perform there years after theCriminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which clamped down on raves: "Isn't it brilliant that finally we've wormed our way into the public's consciousness to the extent that we're not seen as a bunch of drug-taking anarchists any more? Dance music is here to stay."[15]
In 2013, Cook released "Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat", with Riva Starr andBeardyman, which reached number three in the UK and introduced Fatboy Slim to younger audiences.[13] Supported by a remix from Scottish DJCalvin Harris, it topped theUK Dance Chart that year.[65][13] Cook contributed toBem Brasil, a 2014 compilation of Brazilian music remixed by various DJs and producers.[40] In 2015, he received the Alumnus Award from theUniversity of Brighton for his contribution to the music industry and support for the university.[7]
As of 2015, Cook was performing about 70 DJ sets a year, and declined many opportunities to perform more. He was not interested in further fame or success, saying "Nowadays I'd rather go sideways than up. I don't want to do things on a bigger scale. I want to do things that are interesting."[23] On 15 May 2016, he played a private two-hour set "Baby Loves Disco" for preschool children and their parents during theBrighton Fringe.[66] AtGlastonbury 2016, he played the John Peel stage for the first time.[67] In 2017, he released the single "Where U Iz".[68]
At a concert inGateshead, England, in October 2019, Cook performed amashup of his track "Right Here, Right Now" andGreta Thunberg's speech at theUnited Nations, which wentviral.[69] Cook made a cameo as a DJ in the 2019 satire filmGreed,[70] and played himself in the third series of the Channel 4 sitcomDerry Girls, broadcast in 2022.[71]
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During theCOVID-19 lockdowns, Cook posted mixes online and worked at the cafe he owns in Hove. He said: "It was interesting, because I've never done an honest job for years. It kept me sane, really."[72] In May 2021, he performed in Liverpool as part of the government's trials to restart mass audience events following theCOVID-19 pandemic.[72] In June 2022, Cook gave lessons in DJ equipment as part of anNHS initiative to create art events for people with mental health problems.[72] In July, the 20th anniversary of Big Beach Boutique II, Cook headlined the On the Beach festival in Brighton.[73]
Cook collaborated with the British singerRita Ora on the 2023 single "Praising You", a reworking of his track "Praise You".[74] AtGlastonbury 2023, Cook played the song "Insomnia" byFaithless as a tribute to the Faithless singer,Maxi Jazz.[75] That October, he was awarded theGuinness world record for the most UK number-one singles by one musician as a member of different acts.[76] He also performed a secret gig at the Prince Albert pub in Brighton to support its campaign against property development in theNorth Laine.[77]
In June 2024, Cook released the single "Role Model", featuring the vocalist Dan Diamond. The music video, his first in nearly 20 years, features celebrities edited withdeepfake technology, such asDavid Bowie,Bill Murray andMuhammad Ali.[78] In July, Cook joined his former bandmate Paul Heaton to play bass on the 1986 Housemartins song "Happy Hour" atGlastonbury 2024.[79] That December, Cook said he had lost interest in creating music and was focusing on DJ performances.[80] Cook estimated that his performance atGlastonbury 2025 was his 100th Glastonbury performance, including performances on large stages and small tents.[81]
Cook pioneered the 1990s electronic genrebig beat, whichSound on Sound likened to a "pop art-styledcollage" of samples.[8] ThePitchfork writer Brad Shoup describedYou've Come A Long Way, Baby as "pure pop", unlike the stranger or harsher music of other big beat acts such as the Chemical Brothers orthe Prodigy.[11] AnotherPitchfork critic,Marc Hogan, characterised the Fatboy Slim formula as "eclectic samples, sloganistic vocal snippets, and an all-around drunken good-time spirit".[43]DJ Mag wrote that Cook created "big brash party tunes for big communal occasions" and was a "showman" and entertainer.[40] Cook wrote that his method was to combine breakbeats from hip-hop, the "anarchic rebellion" ofpunk, the energy ofacid house and thehooks of pop music.[18] He differentiated himself from other dance acts by using traditionalsong structures, such as verses,choruses andmiddle eights, to arrange "dance floor ingredients ... in a manner that the human brain would associate with pop music".[82]
Cook estimated that most of his tracks contained only 20% original material, with some containing none at all, and said he was proud of creating music that did not resemble the acts he sampled.[3] As he felt sampling hit songs would be too easy, he instead sampled vocal and drum parts from used vinyl records, creating a library of sounds.[8] Cook's approach was to "take the best bits out of all the music you've grown up with –the Beatles, punk, rap and acid house – and you have an attractive and accessible package".[6] He said he was unable to write traditional songs.[3]
Most Fatboy Slim albums are assembled from samples combined with synthesiser lines from aRoland TB-303 and parts played on aStudio Electronics keyboard.[8] Cook manipulated samples through methods such astime-stretching and distortion, usingAkai S900 and S950 samplers, andsequenced them using anAtari ST computer runningC-Lab Creator.[8] He created drum tracks by sampling individual drum hits from vinylbreak beats, then programming new patterns.[8] Most Fatboy Slim tracks have two drum tracks playing simultaneously: one "modern and crisp and clean-sounding" and another "older and dirtier" with less "punch".[8] Cook continued using the same equipment even as more sophisticated technology emerged. He began using aMacBook withAbleton Live, but found the lack of limits and no opportunity to "bend the rules" made the process less exciting.[8]
Cook said he had never created overtly political music, and that when he tried to make "angry" music it "comes out slightly light-hearted ... so it's about the party and the rhythm".[40] He took accusations that he "made dance music for people who don't like dance music" as a compliment, saying he made it more accessible.[6] He said his music was for "people who do shit jobs all week and on Friday and Saturday nights they get to be glamorous and exciting ... My music is for the hips not the head ... It's not supposed to be dissected by journalists, you're not supposed to sit at home with the lyric sheet wondering what they mean, reading the sleeve notes."[14] Fatboy Slim tracks have been used extensively in adverts, film and television. Cook said: "I make a certain kind of instrumental music they like using. You can hear 15 seconds of my stuff and it makes complete sense."[11]
Cook performs inHawaiian shirts with no shoes, and said: "I decided I had to be likeJames Brown without the band. I started cheerleading the crowd and showing off."[83] He believes DJs should communicate with the crowd through their expressions and body language and respond to them, and said: "The more the crowd give me back, the more I wanna give them and it becomes a cycle of nonsense – sometimes to ludicrous extremes."[40] He describedJon Carter andCarl Cox as DJs he learned from and whose stage styles he adopted.[40] He resisted pressure from record companies to perform with live musicians, as he felt the appeal of his music was in "the grit and character" of the samples, and to recreate them would be "like hearing a wedding covers band".[19]
Cook's first marriage, to a nurse, ended in the early 1990s.[9] Cook met the BBC presenterZoe Ball in Ibiza in 1998.[9] They married in 1999 and had their first child in 2000. Their relationship attracted extensive tabloid attention, and Cook said he was a victim of theNews International phone hacking scandal.[84][15]The Independent described Cook and Ball as "the It Couple (or, one of them) ofCool Britannia".[23] They separated in 2003, but reconciled and had a second child in 2010.[85] As of 2004, they lived on Western Esplanade in Hove.[84] On 24 September, 2016, Cook and Ball announced their separation after 18 years.[85] Their son Woody is also a DJ.[81]
For several years, Cook used drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, and performed while intoxicated.[84] After he became a father, he worried that his drug use affected his relationships.[23] On 4 March 2009, Cook checked into a rehabilitation centre inBournemouth for alcoholism. His performance atSnowbombing, a week-long winter sports and music festival held in the Austrian ski resort ofMayrhofen, was cancelled, with the slot filled by2ManyDJs. Cook left the clinic at the end of March.[86] As of March 2022, he had been sober for 13 years.[87] Cook said performing sober gave him stage fright for the first time.[15]
In 2002, Cook changed his name bydeed poll to Norman Quentin Cook.[88] In the same year, he purchased a 12% share inBrighton & Hove Albion Football Club, which he has supported since moving to Brighton in the 1980s.[13] In June 2013, Cook opened the Big Beach Cafe in Hove in a property previously owned byHeather Mills, and worked there during theCOVID-19 lockdowns.[89][72] He sold the cafe in November 2025, saying he no longer had time to run it as his business partner was retiring.[90] Cook also owned a Japanese restaurant in Brighton, Oki-Nami, andthe Spotted Pig, aMichelin-starred gastropub in New York City that closed in 2016.[89][91] He collects objects bearing thesmiley symbol, and in 2019 he curated a smiley exhibition in Lisbon with the Portuguese artistVhils.[92]
