Funk soul brother Fatboy Slim conquered the world with the adventurous breakbeats and diverse samples of this rave ready revolution. Norman Quentin Cook had been the bassist for the Housemartins and then formed Beats International with engineer Simon Thornton before going on to work in various groups and guises like Freak Power, Pizzaman and The Mighty Dub Katz. Cook considers: "Most people don't get a fair crack of the whip; and I've had it four times over...After the Housemartins, I kept out of the limelight. I was never on the record sleeves, never did any interviews ... I didn't want to be doing that kind of music any more. I thought I'd have to go and get a proper job: fireman. The uniform is quite nice. And you get laid a lot, apparently. But I'd probably have been useless. I wouldn't have saved people's children or dogs. I'd have probably saved their record collections...I became an arrogant workaholic. You know, not having time for my friends and basically pissing everyone off...I was taken over by it. I thought I was Prince...I'd try to knock myself out to get to sleep, by bashing my head against things - I tried to drink myself to sleep, which sometimes worked, and sometimes I'd just get very drunk. It was about hating myself and not wanting to be here. I suppose if my problem was an over-developed ego, then it was about bringing myself down to a gibbering wreck, with no ego at all, so I could build myself up again."
Cook took on the name Fatboy Slim and released his first album 'Better Living Through Chemistry' to critical acclaim. The follow-up 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' was recorded at The House of Love in Brighton with Norman Cook as performer and producer and Simon Thornton on engineering and mixing. 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' was an international smash hit, going to thirty-four in the US, twenty-nine in Finland, twenty-seven in Belgium and the Netherlands, twenty-four in Sweden, twenty-three in Switzerland, nineteen in Ireland, sixteen in Canada, fifteen in Germany, thirteen in Austria, ten in France, two in Australia, and number one in New Zealand and the UK.
"Right Here, Right Now"
"The Rockafeller Skank"
"Gangster Tripping"
'You've Come A Long Way, Baby'
full album:
1. "Right Here, Right Now" Norman Cook, Dale Peters, Joe Walsh 6:27
2. "The Rockafeller Skank" Cook, John Barry, Winifred Terry 6:53
3. "Fucking in Heaven" Cook 3:54
4. "Gangster Tripping" Cook, Josh Davis, Sam Brox, Ganiyu Pierre Gasper, Stephen Jones, Nicholas Lockett, Myke Wilson 5:20
5. "Build It Up - Tear It Down" Cook, Patricia Miller 5:05
6. "Kalifornia" Cook, Mr. Natural 5:53
7. "Soul Surfing" Cook, Earl Nelson, Fred Smith 4:56
8. "You're Not from Brighton" Cook 5:20
9. "Praise You" Cook, Camille Yarbrough 5:23
10. "Love Island" Cook 5:18
11. "Acid 8000" Cook 7:28
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