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Interview ¡¡
Interviewer: How long have you been playing music? Slim:I'm 35, and I've been a DJ 20 years. It started when I used to get asked to bring my records to friends' parties, but I didn't like doing it because they'd get scratched and get vomit all over them. One day somebody said, "What if we hired you some turntables?" I did it, and I really enjoyed controlling the party, plus partying myself while I was doing it. The record sounds so spot-on. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? I'm actually really sloppy. If you saw the speed I work at ?When I've got an idea, I've got to do it quickly. It's purity through unprofessionalism. You were the bassist in the Housemartins. That was a band with a very definite agenda esthetically and politically. Now you're a "fun party guy." What did you learn from that experience? That you can't change the world with politics. Only love will do it. I also learned that I'm not equipped to change the world; if I could, I'd be a politician, not a musician. I lost my faith in politics solving anything, especially in this country. All those years we tried to get rid of the conservative government, in the end, ecstasy did more to get rid of the conservative government than Billy Bragg and Paul Weller. Why is the club scene in England so much stronger than in America? Geographically, most of us can walk home from clubs, or at least hail a cab. In America you have to drive for miles since you all live so far apart. You have to have designated drivers and people who can't drink. Plus, you have to be 21 to get into a club and people actually check your ID, whereas in England you can get into a club when you're about 15. Also nobody has guns in England, apart from a few policemen. So going out late at night is a much safer business. You've become a big star. Thank you Were you expecting to be one when you started being Fatboy? No. I wasn't really intending it. I keep myself pretty much to myself. People ask for autographs in the bathroom at clubs. Is Fatboy Slim an alter-ego for you to let loose? Yeah, he's kind of an exaggeration of me. It's not like when I take my Fatboy hat off, I go back to being someone really sensible. He's me indulging some of my foibles. He's a cartoon character of me. Let's talk foibles. What are they? My name is Norman Cook, and I'm an alcoholic. No, you know, sense of humor, irreverence, not taking things seriously, being a bit of a show-off. I'm actually quite a bit of a show-off, just a general hedonist. You've got different groups and project names, and you release music under different names depending on the vibe of the music. Could you run down your identities? Well, Fatboy Slim is the Chemical Brothers' crazy boozehound uncle.Then there's the Mighty Dub Katz, which is strange gawky Hispanic house. Then there's Freakpower, which is vaguely psychedelic Latin-based funk -- it's almost trying' to relive the sixties, trying to be Santana without so many chords. Then there's Pizzaman, who's been in a coma the last four years 'cause he had a nasty accident. He was drowned in a sea of crap remixes. The tunes got to be too much for him. I might unplug his life support machine and bury him. Are you happy being Fatboy for now? Definitely. I just wanna grow older gracefully. You had a number-one hit with your remix of Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha." Did you get together with them in the studio or did you just use a sampler to take the song apart and put it back together? I asked them if I could do it because I loved the song, but I couldn't play it when I was DJing 'cause it wasn't heavy enough. So I phoned 'em up and said, "Can I have a go at remixing it?" They said yeah. Were they happy with it? Well,
it went to number one in England. They steadfastly perform their version live,
much to the annoyance of some Where does the name Fatboy Slim come from? Out of thin air. It's just a nonsense name: big little man. It sounded good, that was the main criteria. If anyone ever spells Fatboy with a "ph," I'll personally go 'round their house and punch them. I thought you were all about love. You can only push me so far. Don't fuck with me, man. I'll hit you so hard it'll hurt your whole family. I know where your kids go to school.
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