Norman Quentin Cook, also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer 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.
You've Come a Long Way, Baby is the second studio album by Fatboy Slim, a project of English electronic music producer Norman Cook. It was first released on 19 October 1998 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by Astralwerks. Cook recorded and produced the album at his home studio in Brighton, known as the House of Love, using an Atari ST computer, Creator software, and floppy disks. The photo on the album cover was originally taken at the 1983 Fat Peoples Festival in Danville, Virginia; for the North American release, the album cover was changed to an image of shelves stacked with records.
Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is the third studio album by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim. It was first released on 6 November 2000 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by Astralwerks. The album features contributions from Macy Gray, Ashley Slater, Bootsy Collins, Roland Clark, and Roger Sanchez, and its title, referenced in the song "Weapon of Choice", is an allusion to the Oscar Wilde quote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
"Brimful of Asha" is a song by English alternative rock band Cornershop from their third album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version by Norman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart and number 16 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to Asha Bhosle.
Nicholas William Dennis Hodgson, also known as MC Tunes, is an English rapper from the Moss Side area in Manchester. His name was legally changed to Lockett in 1981, and he also goes by the name Nicky Lockett. Tunes played a significant role in the Madchester-music scene during the 1980s and 1990s. In his early career Tunes took niche music genres into the UK Singles Chart, whilst fronting 808 State, and later achieved cult status with the band Dust Junkys.
The Dust Junkys are an English rap rock group, formed in Manchester and originally active between 1995 and 2000, before reforming in 2015.
"Praise You" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), on 4 January 1999. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and in Iceland, number four in Canada, number six in Ireland, and number 36 in the United States. As of 1999, it had sold over 150,000 units in the US.
"Star Guitar" is a song by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released as the second single from their fourth album, Come with Us (2002). It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and number one on the UK Dance Chart. The song was greeted with praise from critics, and makes an appearance in the 2007 comedy Smiley Face.
"The Rockafeller Skank", often referred to as "Funk Soul Brother" by fans, is a song by English big beat musician and DJ Fatboy Slim. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), on 8 June 1998. The single peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in June 1998 and topped the Icelandic Singles Chart for a week the same month. It was the second Fatboy Slim single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 76. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "The Rockafeller Skank" at number 199 on their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".
"Weapon of Choice" is a song by English big beat musician Fatboy Slim from his third studio album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. It features American funk musician Bootsy Collins. It was released as a double A-side single with "Star 69" on 23 April 2001, as well as a standalone single release, and a 2010 re-release with remixes. The single peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Right Here, Right Now" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim, released on 19 April 1999 as the fourth single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998). The song samples "Ashes, the Rain & I" by James Gang and an Angela Bassett quote from American science fiction thriller film Strange Days (1995). "Right Here, Right Now" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-40 hit in Australia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Walloon region of Belgium. It was voted by Mixmag readers as the 10th-greatest dance record of all time.
"The Bartender and the Thief" is a song by Welsh rock band Stereophonics, written by the band in April 1998. The song is the second track on their second album, Performance and Cocktails (1999). "Bartender" was the first single taken from Performance and Cocktails and was released on 9 November 1998, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart. The music video features the band playing at Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, and is based on the Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now.
"It Takes Two" is a song by New York hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since its release in 1988, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"Going Out of My Head" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as a double A-side single with "Michael Jackson", released as the third and final single from his debut studio album Better Living Through Chemistry on 21 April 1997. The song contains prominent samples from Yvonne Elliman's "I Can't Explain" and Led Zeppelin's "The Crunge". It was featured in the films The Jackal and Like Mike.
"Elektrobank" is a song by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was released as a single from their second album, Dig Your Own Hole (1997), in September 1997. It peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Spike Jonze directed the music video, which depicted a mixed artistic gymnastics / rhythmic gymnastics competition with his future wife Sofia Coppola as one of the competitors. It has been called "arguably Jonze's greatest music video". The single does not appear on either of the duo's singles compilations, Singles 93–03 and Brotherhood.
"Everybody Needs a 303" is the debut single by British big beat artist Fatboy Slim, released in 1996 from his debut album Better Living Through Chemistry. The original version of the single peaked at number 191 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was remixed as "Everybody Loves a Carnival" and released as a single; this version became more commercially successful than its original version, peaking at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Bodyrock" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the third single from his fifth studio album Play on July 12, 1999. Heavily inspired by hip hop music, the song incorporates vocal samples from "Love Rap" by Spoonie Gee and the Treacherous Three. The single peaked at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart.
The discography of Fatboy Slim, an alias of Norman Cook, an English DJ, big beat musician, and record producer, consists of four studio albums, three live albums, one soundtrack album, two compilation albums, three remix albums, six mix albums, three video albums, five extended plays, 28 singles and 31 music videos.
"Can You Dig It?" is a 1991 single by English indie rock band the Mock Turtles that was featured on their 1990 album, Turtle Soup. It was originally the B-side to the song "Lay Me Down". It was released on Siren Records in all formats except for one of the seven-inch singles released in Europe where it was released by Virgin Records.
"Trippin' on Sunshine" is the debut single by British electronic music duo Pizzaman, consisting of John Reid and Norman Cook, released in 1994 from their only album, Pizzamania (1995). The "You, me, all of us, are looking for the key..." vocal sample in the song is taken from the 1968 single "World of Love" by Canadian R&B/soul band Mandala. And the "Trippin' on Sunshine" vocal sample is from "Accapella Sunshine" by Rockers Revenge featuring Donnie Calvin.
