PLEASE CALL OFFICE FOR AVAILABILITY: 08447 707 788 DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED:
Norman "Jack-of-All-Genres" Cook, in addition to his former occupations as bassist for the Housemartins and one-third of acid house hitmakers Pizzaman, is also the man behind one of the most popular of the new flock of English "Brit hop" producers, Fatboy Slim. Releasing his Fatboy material through club staple Skint, Cook's raucous blend of house, acid, funk, hip-hop, electro, and techno has added to his already formidable reputation as one of the foremost all-around producers on the U.K. club scene. Born Quentin Cook in Bromley on July 31, 1963, Cook joined the Hull-based pop group the Housemartins in 1986, replacing founding member Ted Key. After the group split the following year, Cook became involved with the burgeoning acid house scene, pairing with producers Tim Jeffrey and J.C. Reid toward the end of the decade to form Pizzaman. The trio nailed three Top 40 hits together ("Trippin' on Sunshine," "Sex on the Streets," and "Happiness") before Cook splintered off to record with similarly-styled outfits Freak Power and Beats International in the early '90s. He shut most of his other production activities down in the following years to focus on his latest incarnation, Fatboy Slim, which to date includes a trio of singles and the full-length Better Living Through Chemistry. Cook was also called in to add his remixing skills to Jean-Jacques Perrey's proto-electronica classic "Eva," released as a 12" and CD single in 1997. In addition to his FBS work, Cook also recorded the Skip to My Loops sample CD, a popular studio tool sporting a melange of sample-ready drum loops, analog squelches, and assorted noises. In early 1998, his remix of Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" spent several weeks at number one in the British charts.
Fatboy Slim's eagerly anticipated second LP You've Come a Long Way, Baby followed later that year. The album went platinum in the U.S. and spawned two international hits, "The Rockafeller Skank" and "Praise You," which also boasted a Spike Jonze-directed video that earned three MTV Video Music Awards as well as two Grammy nominations. "The Rockafeller Skank," "Praise You" and other songs from You've Come a Long Way, Baby ended up on countless soundtracks and commercials, cementing Fatboy Slim's unique position as a critically acclaimed and immensely popular act. Cook also recorded several mix albums, including the first disc of the Radio 1 compilation Essential Selection, Vol. 1 and his own On the Floor at the Boutique. The latter was released domestically in the U.S. in early 2000 to help fans withstand the wait for his third album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, which arrived that fall. Two mix albums -- Live on Brighton Beach and Big Beach Boutique II -- appeared in 2002. During 2003, Cook and his wife -- popular British TV presenter Zöe Ball -- separated for a brief period. They soon patched things up but the split was a heavy influence on 2004's Palookaville, the most laid-back and moody Fatboy Slim album yet.Palookaville represented a significant shift in style for Cook, with a reduction in the traditional Fatboy Slim reliance on vocal loops, and the introduction of real instruments (Cook himself plays bass on some of the album's tracks, with Simon Thornton playing various other instruments, along with various guests, e.g. Justin Robertson) and more conventional song structures. More "traditional" Fatboy Slim tracks such as "Jin Go Lo Ba" coexist with full-length vocal tracks such as a rendition of the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker". The album also features many more vocal collaborations, including with rapper Lateef and Brighton-based band Johnny Quality.
In October 2005 Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne revealed their plans for a musical about Imelda Marcos, the controversial ex-First Lady of the Philippines (during the notorious dictatorship of her husband, the Marcos family stole billions of dollars from that country's treasury) . It is set to premier at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts in March 2006. On the New Years Eve of 2005, Fatboy Slim performed live in front of a tremendous crowd on Bondi Beach in Australia - During this all night set, Fatboy Slim reverted back to his original style of music production and DJ-ing with an emphasis on Dance music. 'Why Try Harder' is Fatboy Slim's new greatest hits album (Released: 19/06/2006). It is a celebration of the last decade, as much as it is a Greatest Hits collection. Over eighteen tracks, including ten Top 20 singles, a couple of Number 1s and two exclusive new tracks - 'Champion Sound' and 'That Old Pair Of Jeans'.
On 24th June 2006 Fatboy Slim Headlined The "Rock Ness Festival" at Loch Ness.
