Fatboy Slim, also known as Norman Cook, (born Quentin Leo Cook) is a British DJ, big beat musician and producer. Cook has achieved considerable success in UK single and album charts, first as a member of the Housemartins and then most notably as "Beats International", "Freakpower", "Fatboy Slim" and "The BPA".

Quentin Leo Cook grew up in Reigate, Surrey, England, and was educated at Reigate Grammar School. He started a punk fanzine titled Peroxide with his neighbour Andrew Thomas and art student Ian McKay (formerly Laidlaw). Contemporary with his publishing activities, he played drums in Disque Attack (a British new-wave-influenced rock band) for which he later performed lead vocals.

At Reigate College he also met Paul Heaton and, at 18, he went to the Brighton Polytechnic to study a BA in English, Politics and Sociology. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene.

In 1985 Cook's friend Paul Heaton who lived in Hull had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. The Housemartins' bassist had just quit on the eve of their first national tour. Cook had lost interest in the rock scene and could barely play a musical instrument, he agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour".

They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love" originally a hit the year before for Isley Jasper Isley. However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred.

It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer" for example).

Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, featuring his future Beats International member MC Wildski called "Blame It on the Bassline". Credited to "Norman Cook feat. MC Wildski", the song followed the basic template of what was to come in the style of the music of Beats International. It became a modest hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching #29.

Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton, Lester Noel, D.J. Baptiste, rapper MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, included the number one single, "Dub Be Good to Me".

"Dub Be Good To Me" caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from The Clash's "The Guns Of Brixton" and the song also borrowed heavily from the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good to Me". The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae rhythms, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor.

Cook then formed Freakpower, with horn player and singer Ashley Slater. The duo released their debut album, Drive Thru Booty, in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On Tune In Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar advertisement campaign. Freakpower has also done several other releases under the name Fried Funk Food.

In 1995, Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a solo house music album under the 'Pizzaman' pseudonym. The Pizzamania album spawned 3 UK Top 40 hits in "Trippin' on Sunshine", "Sex on the Streets" and "Happiness". "Happiness" was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad.

Cook is also behind a group The Mighty Dub Katz along with Gareth Hansome (aka GMoney), Cook's former flatmate and the inventor of the name "Big Beat". Together they started the Boutique Nightclub in Brighton, formerly known as the Big Beat Boutique.

In 1996, Cook then re-joined Ashley Slater for the second Freakpower album, titled More of Everything for Everybody.

The Fatboy Slim album Better Living Through Chemistry (released through Skint Records) contained the Top 40 UK hit, "Everybody Needs a 303".

Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank," released prior to the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, both of which were released in 1998. "Praise You", also from this album, was Cook's first UK solo number one. Its video, directed by Spike Jonze, won numerous awards.

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars was released in 2000 and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray and "Weapon of Choice", which also was made into an award-winning video starring Christopher Walken. Palookaville was Cook's first album in four years.

In 2005, Cook's 2004 single "Wonderful Night" was used on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 for PlayStation 2.

Why Try Harder is Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album and was released on 19 June 2006. It comprises eighteen tracks, including ten Top 40 singles, a couple of Number Ones and two exclusive new tracks - "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans".