Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook[1] (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963),[2] also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim (among others), is an English musician, DJ, and record producer[3] who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for the Hull-based indie rock band the Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their a cappella cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split up, Cook formed the electronic band Beats International in Brighton, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me". He then played in Freak Power, Pizzaman, and the Mighty Dub Katz with moderate success.
"Norman Cook" redirects here. For the Canadian politician, see Norman E. Cook. For the American basketball player, see Norm Cook.
Fatboy Slim
Quentin Leo Cook
Fatboy Slim
- Big beat
- electronic
- acid house
- trip hop
- nu-funk
- alternative rock (with the Housemartins)
- Musician
- DJ
- record producer
1979–present
2
In 1996, Cook adopted the name Fatboy Slim and released Better Living Through Chemistry to critical acclaim. Follow-up albums You've Come a Long Way, Baby, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Palookaville, as well as singles such as "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You", "Right Here, Right Now", "Weapon of Choice", and "Wonderful Night", achieved commercial and critical success. In 2008, Cook formed the Brighton Port Authority, a collaborative effort with a number of other established artists including David Byrne.[4] He has been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Groove Armada, and Wildchild.
It was reported in 2008 that Cook held the Guinness World Record for most top-40 hits under different names.[5] As a solo act, he has won nine MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards.
Other works[edit]
Cook produced the single "Mama Do the Hump" by fellow Brighton band Rizzle Kicks released in December 2011 which peaked at number 2 in the charts.
Cook has been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wildchild. In 2008, he did a remix of the track "Amazonas" for the charity Bottletop.[30]
Legacy[edit]
Known as DJ Quentox (The OX that Rocks), Cook and DJ Baptiste started putting on youth club hip hop jams in Brighton, sowing the seeds of the city's flourishing hip hop scene today. These primitive 1980s block parties are recalled in the music documentary South Coast, which documents Brighton's cult hip hop scene from its grass roots to the present day. Cook was awarded a star on the city of Brighton's Walk of Fame, next to that of Winston Churchill. Q magazine named Fatboy Slim part of their "50 Bands to See Before You Die" list.[54]
Personal life[edit]
He married TV personality Zoe Ball in 1999 at Babington House in Somerset. In January 2003, Cook broke up with Ball, but three months later they reconciled.[55] They have a son, Woody Fred Cook (born 15 December 2000), who appeared on the Channel 4 show The Circle in 2019, and performs under the record label Truth Tribe, and a daughter Nelly May Lois (born 14 January 2010), who premiered a DJ set as Fat Girl Slim with Camp Bestival during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and The Trussell Trust.[56] They lived in Western Esplanade, Portslade, Hove.[57][58][59] On 24 September 2016, Cook and Ball announced their separation after 18 years.[60]
Cook is a 12% shareholder of Brighton & Hove Albion, the football club he has supported since moving to Brighton in the late 1980s.[61]
On 4 March 2009, Cook checked into a rehabilitation centre in Bournemouth to fight alcoholism. Due to an extended stay in the rehabilitation centre, his performance at Snowbombing, a week-long winter sports and music festival held in the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen, was cancelled, with the slot being filled by 2ManyDJs. Cook left the clinic at the end of March.[62] As of 4 March 2019 he had not used drugs or alcohol for 10 years.[8]
Bands
Studio albums