Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, shared insights into his career and personal reflections during a Q&A session at his ‘All Back to Minehead’ weekender, held at Butlin’s in Somerset from 8 to 11 November, which has been revealed by The Sun. The annual event featured a vibrant line-up, including Utah Saints, yoga classes, and poetry readings, attracting up to 6,000 attendees.
Cook revealed that his last two singles, ‘Bus Stop Please’ and ‘Role Model’, were born from live performances rather than traditional studio sessions. “They were both things that I made just to play on the side,” he explained. “I had tunes that nobody else had in my set. And that kind of caught on with people when we worked out that we could clear the samples and release them.”
‘Role Model’ caused a stir online due to its use of AI in the music video. The accompanying video featured pop culture figures such as Bootsy Collins and Jane Fonda miming to the track, with fans flocking to Reddit to identify each character. Reception was divided, with one commenter calling it “AI slop,” while another praised it as the “best use of AI in pop culture so far, by a mile.”
Comment
byu/kokunaigaikokujin from discussion
inFatboySlim
Despite his recent releases, Cook admitted that his passion for producing music has waned. “The thing is, you can’t make music unless you’re absolutely passionate about it,” he said. “For five years, I tried to beat myself up about it and go, ‘You should be doing this.’ But then I thought, ‘Well, everybody likes my DJing and I enjoy that more, so I’ll do that.’”
Saw Fatboy Slim tonight and the screens were just filled with AI slop pic.twitter.com/XB9eoGuLSF — RodentBoi (@RodentBoi69) August 25, 2024
Cook’s decision to focus on DJing aligns with previous statements on longevity in the industry. Speaking to Music Feeds Australia in 2019, he remarked, “Being a DJ doesn’t seem to have the same ageing in it that other styles of music do. Our experience compensates for our advancing years.”
This eclectic career—from punk enthusiast at 14 to bassist for indie icons The Housemartins, and later a pioneer of the UK’s big beat scene alongside The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers—has cemented his status as one of the UK’s most influential electronic artists.
The event also marked the 20th anniversary of ‘Palookaville’, Cook’s last full-length studio album released in 2004, reissued in October. He previously expressed indifference about releasing new albums, telling NME in 2019: “I’ll probably end up making more music and regain my love for producing, but it probably won’t be an album.”
During the session, Cook reminisced about his schooldays at Reigate Grammar School, where he shared a classroom with Keir Starmer. “He was actually in my class for five years,” Cook said, adding that Starmer played guitar in a school band. “He gave off no whiff of, ‘I’m going to be Prime Minister one day.’” Reigate Grammar’s current headmaster is the son of glam rocker Alvin Stardust and the brother of DJ Adam F.
Cook’s reflections suggest an artist still doing what he loves, the way he wants to. He hasn’t bowed to commercial pressures for twenty years, and that doesn’t look likely to change any time soon.
