FATBOY SLIM

"Fatboy Slim" Now everyone knows. Who would have thought that "Fatboy Slim" - not newfangled DJ, a man who had ten years working in pop music. His name is Norman Cook.

For the first time chronicles mention his name in the mid-80's, in connection with the guitar group "Housemartins", where Norman was listed as a bass guitarist. Career group has been very short, but both albums "Housemartins" sold out to be good circulation and in all keys extolled criticism. Music style ensemble - the melodic guitar pop with intelligent, ironic lyrics and immediately recognizable sound in no way inferior to albums U2 and "New Order" of the same period. Recorded two hits, "Happy Hour" and "Caravan Of Love", in 1988 "Housemartins" collapsed, barely crossed the threshold of mainstream popularity, and Norman Cook, has already opened the account "Numero Uno", began his intricate solo career. His first project was called "Beats International". Established under the pseudonym single "Dub Be Good To Me" led the British hit parade. Norman has always been partial to dance music and, like many of the guitar group, the end of the 80's felt that it was time to change something. Long before the landmark album, Primal Scream 'Screamadelica', erased the border between the guitar and electronic psychedelia, Norman Cook, has already experimented with might and main electronics. In 1991, the public was presented a draft Cook (basically every time he started from scratch, without causing association with its previous records) - acid-jazz band "Freakpower". "Simply Red under acid" - in the words of the Norman. But frankly commercial single from the odious name of "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" gets to the 2-nd place (Whitney Houston tightly clutched in the first position). After the suspension of the project "Freakpower" he also works under different pseudonyms: "Pizzaman", "Mighty Dub Katz", and with lots of different musicians. Singles, signed by all these names, go to the studios and small, mostly only on vinyl - as befits a dance underground. That is the fourth top ten pop star Norman Cook was quite pleased with the status of the club DJ. However, the villain, the glory as this has left.

History of Norman Cook really like a desperate (and unsuccessful) escape from the success. "Once I start playing underground music, it instantly turns into pop" - lamented Norman. Not an exception and the Big Beat - a style of techno, who made the secondary character of the rage and now associated primarily with just "Fatboy Slim". Another quote: "The faster I write the music, the better it turns out". On the creation of the album "Better Living Through Chemistry", released in early 1996 and became the first release under the pseudonym Cook "Fatboy Slim", went the whole week. A single "Rockafeller Skank" - do a live recording of DJ's room set at Boston's WBCN radio. Quite a rare example of underground records, for which the fun - an end in itself. And that goal struck, is beyond doubt. Even more serene and euphoric dance than its predecessor, it contains a whole heap of regrets hits and just great songs played exceptionally carelessly and yet absolutely perfect. Album able to shake the very rotten party - and this not the problem, . the solution of which are fighting in all the clubs from Moscow to Goa? And the last (third) single "Praise You" topping the UK charts in some degree due to insulting clip,
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Norman Cook is involved in the world "Big Beat'a" while more and more of becoming a pop star. He could live like a king, but he does not have, he is in the world didzheystva and night partying and more he did not have. He was born in Brighton, and arrived in the big city to make music and 15 years after the hard and painstaking work has won universal recognition.

He began his career as a musician as a bass player in the Brit-pop band "The Housemartins" in the early 80's. In this team he was not destined to play a long time and soon Norman Cook, moving in an electronic direction, founded his own band "Beats International". Participation in these groups, it sums up very close to the world of dance music, releasing singles under the names "Freakpower", "Mighty Dub Katz", "Pizzaman", "Norman Cook Presents Wildski", and "Fried Funk Food". His compositions became the best in the charts, and each time it issued its own singles under different names. Tracks "Caravan of Love" with the group "The Housemartins" and "Dub Be Good To Me" c "Beats International" took first place in the British charts.

Time passed and at the beginning of 1996, the Norman Cook, has released a new album "Better Living Through Chemistry". The album title was taken from the words of advertising in 1950, proclaiming that the very active children had to be comforted by large doses of Valium. In creating this album apart from Norman Cook also attended and legendary "Chemical Brothers", which are actually collected from various disparate tracks Cook full album. This album became the anthem of the new generation. He - the embodiment of the world, loses his head, waking in the middle of the night, knocking out the brains and the recent upward from the chemical toilets. Tracks of this album were made in different styles: funk, soul, techno and jazz rhythms of the best 60-'70s period. This album certainly entered into the global collection of electronic music as one of the best specimens.

In 1998 a new album "You've Come A Long Way Baby". He sounded like a bolt from the blue, nobody was expecting, but it turned out, it turned out that, for a whole year from May 98go, songs on this album does not leave the lines without exception charts. "Rockafeller Skank" - not just the dynamite which will explode and die out - a thing that will be a very long time to haunt the minds of listeners for their quality and energy power. Originally the album was released mainly for the dance floor, but soon turned into a truly popular. Behind all from "Right Here, Right Now" and ending with "Rockafeller Skank" was Norman Cook and his desire to write something extraordinary, something that is not like anything. In fact, Norman has created a very vivid and expressive drive, which for the recognition of the public was the best album of the year. Cook and his small studio in his hometown of Brighton, have helped this direction, as the Big Beat penetrate into the remotest corners of our world and, thanks to him, the broad masses of people streamed into the still unknown world hop music.

Norman Cook, is now slowly rebounding after a hectic last year, when he de-dzheystvoval in Ibiza, London and in America. And giving interviews to all interested in his home in Bringstone (a small town 100 km from London, on the coast), sealed posters with Mr. Smiley, Norman maintains that since the acid-house boom of the late 80's. Couple new albums in 2000 with its productivity - it is almost a foregone conclusion, but not necessarily under the brand name "Fatboy Slim" - ready to leave the single "Freakpower" and the plate with an old friend, David Holmes. Norman receives not less than 4 proposals in the day to make a remix for another hit - from the "Aerosmith" to "Lighthouse Family". But far more interesting occupation he seems to conjure in his own bedroom over a 4-track tape or bawl song "Awa" in a Dublin bar for transvestites.