Fatboy Slim

United Kingdom, 1985–now

Norman Cook of Brighton, bassist in the Housemartins until he had had enough of playing white English pop. Under this name he made big beat out of loud breaks and one enormous hook each: You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) sold ten million, and the Praia da Banda Larga and Brighton beach parties drew crowds in the hundreds of thousands.

MusicRoots documents 6 artists who influenced Fatboy Slim and 0 artists Fatboy Slim influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Fatboy Slim?

• James Brown — James Brown is the source of the breaks big beat is built on, and the first name on Cook's own list.
• Afrika Bambaataa — Bambaataa's electro and the idea of the DJ as the author of a record are behind everything Cook does under this name.
• Sly and the Family Stone — Sly and the Family Stone are among the funk records Cook names.
• Beastie Boys — The Beastie Boys are the precedent for what Cook does: white pop musicians who went to hip-hop and sampled their way out.
• Happy Mondays — The Happy Mondays are the English end of it - indie bands playing dance rhythms, which is the scene Cook came up through.
• The Chemical Brothers — Cook has said he loved what Rowlands and Simons were playing when they DJed at a club where he also played - huge heavy beats built on catchy samples, which is the shape big beat took.