While electronic music has evolved in many styles and forms over the past twenty years, mainstream music didn’t have a prominent place for this genre, nor did the forums that promote music. Radio and music television kept a pulse on the scene but did little to accept it. That all changed when one man, the talented Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) broke through the airwaves with 1999’s “Praise You", and in the process opened the doors to numerous other electronic acts, including the newest pop guru, Moby.
A native of Brighton, England, Fatboy Slim climbed the career ladder as many in many different industries did: starting at the bottom and working his way North. He scored reasonable success as both a bandmate (playing for the Housemartins) and as part of an acid-house trio, Pizzaman. His solo paths were just as diverse, releasing albums under the names Freakpower and Might Dub Katz. Tempted to give up, but forging onwards nonetheless, Cook finally found his ultimate handle, the soon to be famous, Fatboy Slim.
His first release as Fatboy Slim, 1997’s Better Living Through Chemistry met excited audiences,
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but it wasn’t until 1998’s You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby that stardom struck. The breakthrough success of “Praise You", along with the undeniably catchy “Rockafellar Skank" (featuring the famous “right about now, the funk-soul brother…" put Fatboy Slim, and electronic music, on the map.
A preacher of easy living, it seems that others have taken his words to heart. The year 2000 saw the release of two Fatboy Slim compilation albums, none of which were sanctioned by the Funk Soul Brother. This has only frenzied the anticipation for the next Fatboy Slim album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, slated to hit the market in early November, 2000. Yes, you’ve come a long way baby!
Erin Boyle CanEHdian.com, 2000
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