Case Study - FatBoy Slim

FATBOY SLIM - DJ NORMAN COOK

Question 1.
Is your artist signed to a major or indie record label?

FatBoy Slim is signed to the record label 'Skint entertainment' which were set up alongside another record label 'Loaded' in the 1990's. The label remains an independent indie for artists working in the underground dance genre.
Other well known artists working for them are: BYOB and Freemasons.




Question 2.
Is your artist successful in the UK or USA alone or globally?

Norman Cook was a relatively well know DJ in the UK since the 1980's, but his biggest break through as an artist came in the 1990's as he adopted the stage name FatBoy Slim. An article written for the BBC news in 2004 states that due to the beach parties he is well renowned for hosting in Brighton and Rio, attracting up to 360,000 fans, he has achieved global success. His work with major artists such U2, Madonna and The Beastie Boys have all contributed to his success as both a UK and global star.

Question 3.

Does your artist have a record of chart success?

Since 1995, FatBoy Slim has had one UK number one single, with 'Praise You', from his 1998 album 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' 

This was his most successful albums it reached UK top ten album status and stayed there for 19 weeks.

Other FatBoy Slim chart topping hits were:

• Right Here, Right Now - reached number 2 in UK singles chart
• Gangster Tripping - reached number 3 in UK singles chart
• The Rockafeller Skank - reached number 6 in the UK singles chart
• Weapon of Choice - reached number 10 in the UK singles chart

As well as Norman Cooks success in the charts he has also won a Brit award for 'Best Dance Act'
He also won 3 out of 4 nominations for MTV's best video for his single 'Praise You' and has won 6 awards for his video for the single 'Weapon Of Choice', which stars the incredibly famous actor Christopher Walken.





Another way in which FatBoy Slim's popularity has grown is through the use of his singles in numerous films and also adverts.


Question 4.
Is your artist associated with any particular era's? e.g. 80's


Though his music isn't necessarily associated with a specific era, he reached the peak of his fame in the late 90's, and his music in the dance genre was revolutionary at this time. Alongside a fellow Big Beat band 'The chemical Brothers' their sound and style of music was new and individual at this time.


Question 5.
What genre(s) has your artist worked it?


Norman Cook has worked in numerous genres dance over the past 3 decades, but his work as FatBoy Slim has focused on the following genres and sub-genres:

• trip hop
• big beat
• house
• electronic
• techno
• rave

Question 6.
Who is your artist's main target audience / secondary target audience?


The main target audience of FatBoy Slim's work will be fans of dance music, these typically are those aged between 15 to 35, however as he was big in the 90's this would make his fan base
fans of his previous work for 'The Housemartins' or 'Freak Power'


Question 7.
Is there and leitmotifs in their videos and lyrics?

Watching a variety of music videos for Fatboy Slims work, there is a common theme in a majority of the videos, being dance. Praise You, Weapons of Choice, Rockafella Skankand Wonderful Night are 4 out of the 6 that I watched which follow either a group of people or one person dancing to the song. This signifies the genre of the music, and when the audience watch the video they feel it is an uplifting song and inspires them to dance too.
They lyrics seem to be fairly different in each song, but similar instruments and overall sound of the music is similar, with a strong beat and various instruments.


Question 8.
Write a synopsis of your artist's career

Norman Cook began his music career as a teenager when he first set up his own punk fanzine called 'Peroxide', it took inspiration from other punk fanzines which were popular at the time such as 'Chainsaw' whilst he was a sixth form student.


It was at sixth form college that he met Paul Heaton, who he later joined in Hull in 1985, to become the bassist for his band 'The Housemartins'. They had one big hit single with a cover version of 'Caravan of Love' which reached number one in 1986. Following this they split two years later in 1988.





From here Norman cook began to persue a career in dance music, he set up a band called 'Beat International' which had one number 1 single dub be good to me. Though shortly after this Cook became depressed and left the band.





The following year he set up another band called 'Freak Power' with jazz player Ashley Slater. They had a big hit with 'Turn on, Tune in, Cop out'.

Following this Norman Cook began to produce under different names such as Pizzaman and Mighty Dub Katz, before he finally adopted the name FatBoy Slim permanently. He then signed up with his current record label Skint Entertainment.


As FatBoy Slim, Cook began DJ'ing at some well known London nightclubs, until he eventually decided to set up his own in Brighton, where he later organised and performed at his hugely successful beach party.


His first album to be released under the name FatBoy Slim was 'Better Living Thru Chemistry' in 1996. This album was no where near as popular as the next one to follow, 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' which stayed in the the top 10 UK album charts for 19 consecutive weeks.


Since FatBoy Slim has made Cook such a successful artist he has been approached by many big named artists such as Madonna, who have requested he remixes their singles.

Question 9.
Spike Jonez directed 2 of Fatboy Slims music videos, Weapons of Choice and Praise You.

Praise You is guerrilla-video (one which does not obtain permission to use the location), filmed on a basic video camera, with only a few different angles which are cut between, the use of the camera zoom. All in an effort to create a music video which goes against the rules of video making, by avoiding luxrious settings and props, glamorous people, instead replacing with a simple concept of a group dancing and expressing themselves to the song