Fatboy Slim

Musician and producer Quentin Leo Kook, also known as Norman Kook or Fatboy Slim, was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1963. He grew up in Reigate, Surrey, England. In Reigate he formed his first band - punk trio Peroxide, but soon became the bassist (and later lead vocalist) in the rock band Disque Attack. During his college study, Kook began to train his DJ skills. At the age of eighteen, he moved to Brighton and soon made a name in local clubs. In 1985, Kook became the bassist for the indie-rock band The Housemartins. The musicians made two hits - Happy Hour and cover for Caravan Of Love, originally by The Isley Brothers. However, in 1988, the group disbanded. Kook came back to Brighton in order to pursue his interest in dance music - around that time he met the studio engineer Simon Thornton, who has been collaborating with him until now.

In some time, the artist organized the command Beats International - its first album Let Then Eat Bingo featured the hit Dub Be Good To Me. The second disc by the band Excursion On The Version did not copy the success of the previous disc and Kook concentrated on his new project - Freakpower. The band achieved moderate success and later changed the name for Fried Funk Food. In 1995, Kook began to create under the pseudonym Pizzaman. His album Pizzamania produced such dance hits as Trippin' On Sunshine, Sex On The Streets and Happiness. Kook became one of the founders of dance genre known as big beat - the combination of hip hop, rock, break beat and R&B. In 1996, the career of the musician gave a drastic leap - his album Better Living Through Chemistry, released under the pen name of Fatboy Slim, instantly made Kook an extremely popular artist. The second album You've Come A Long Way, Baby was issued in 1998. Its hits The Rockafeller Skank, Praise You and Right Here Right Now, based on samples of classical soul tracks, got many awards and praises. The music by Fatboy Slim was actively used on television and in advertisements.

In 1999, the artist married British TV-person Zoe Ball, with whom he met during one of his DJ sets on Ibiza. The couple has a son called Woody. The Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars full-length saw light in 2000 and featured slow, meditative track Sunset (Bird Of Prey), based on the sample of Jim Morrison from The Doors. The success was supported by the energetic single Weapon Of Choice, noticeable for its video, starring Christopher Walken. In 2002, Fatboy Slim gave a DJ concert in Brighton, which resulted in two deaths. Although there was found no guilt by Kook, he was forbidden to perform in Brighton. In 2003, Fatboy Slim parted with his wife, but the couple re-united in three months after the highly publicized separation. Nevertheless, this story had a deep impact on the emotional charge of the next album by Fatboy Slim - Palookaville, which had dance hits Slash Dot Dash and The Joker. This disc differed from the previous works in the use of real instruments and a larger number of guest vocalists. In June 2006, Fatboy Slim released the collection of best songs The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder, which had not only the best hits, but also two new compositions of the artist - Champion Sound and That Old Pair Of Jeans. The same year, Kook got back his right to perform in Brighton, but he did not forget to visit multiple musical festivals. In 2007 Fatboy Slim released two albums: album of remixes The Greatest Hits: Remixed and record titled Late Night Tales: Fatboy Slim, which includes remixes of Fatboy Slim’s favorite songs. The album Here Lies Love, which Fatboy created with David Byrne, was issued in 2010.