Norman is set to Cook up a storm at Creamfields festival

Aug 15 2008 by Emma Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Johnson talks to DJ Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim

FATBOY SLIM has had a rough time of it lately. A few bleary-eyed paparazzi pics of him and wife Zoe Ball, arriving back from a holiday, have seen the tabloids write him off as an old man with a bad back.

In fairness, he did turn 45 last month and the hair is now more grey than it is blonde, but a peek into his schedule shows that Fatboy – one of the world’s most successful DJs and producers – is still at the forefront of club culture.

He is about to jet off to Tokyo, and next Saturday you will find him thrilling some 40,000 revellers as he headlines the main stage at this year’s Creamfields, at Daresbury – the 10th anniversary of the world’s best-loved dance festival.

For Fatboy, aka Norman Cook (aka Quentin, but let’s stick with Norman for now), it is a return to one of his favourite haunts.

“I have been coming up for Creamfields for years,” says Norman, who first hit the big time with the Housemartins in 1985 (who later became the Beautiful South), before scoring hits such as Praise You and Rockafeller Skank, and a Number One album with You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. “I am good friends with James (Cream supremo James Barton) and it is like coming up and being paid to see all your mates.”

“Everyone is on the bill. But it’s normally all work and no play these days,” the father-of-one adds. “I party a bit but you have always got the next gig to go to, and I am no spring chicken any more. I used to stay out all night but now I have got to get up the next day and it hurts. I will have my party on stage. I’ll be having more fun than anyone.”

At Creamfields, Norman will join artists such as Pendulum, Gossip, Simian Mobile Disco and The Presets on the main stage, not to mention the 100 or so other acts performing in the various tented arenas.

One act Norman won’t be partying with, though, is Gorillaz Soundsystem. They take to the Radio One stage on the Sunday when he will already be back on the road. Shame, because he is still dying to know how they pull off their animated act.

“I remember getting thrown off the stage one year when Gorillaz were on,” he recalls. “They were doing their thing behind the screen and I sneaked behind to try and see how it worked, but this guy said ‘Hey, you can’t be behind here.’

“I was trying to say that I knew Damon (Albarn – the group’s co-founder) and that I was next up on stage, but they were having none of it.”

When he is done at Creamfields, Norman will be lugging round his suitcases again (the ones being blamed for his alleged bad back) and jetting over to Ibiza, where he has already played for Manumission and Space this season. Then it is back to Blighty for his biggest party of the year, Big Beach Boutique 4, in his beloved home town of Brighton.

Norman’s Big Beach Boutique parties became infamous in 2002, when some 250,000 revellers turned up, rather than the 60,000 expected, and there were reports of injuries, but in January last year Norman revisited the event, limiting tickets to just 20,000. Despite fans having to brave torrential rain and driving winds to dance on the sands, the party was a great success.

He is less worried about the elements attacking this year’s bash.

“We are quietly confident there is nothing the English weather can hurl at us in Sept- ember that could be worse than New Year’s Day,” he laughs.

But partying on the beach won’t quite be the end of the working year for Norman. There is one more big project to come and it is a long awaited one. It is Brighton Port Authority (BPA), his collaborations album featuring everyone from Martha Wainwright to Iggy Pop.

“This is something I have been working on for 20 or 30 years,” Norman explains. “It has always been there, but I never quite finished it. Then someone found the tapes and we decided to re-master it.

“It’s my lost album.”

With a full DJ schedule and a much-hyped new release on the cards, things are looking good for Norman. Better than they were five years ago when I last caught up with him.

Back then, he and Zoe had just got back together after she admitted cheating and were at the centre of a tabloid whirl. He has since referred to it as a mere “blip”, with both describing their marriage as happier than ever.

Indeed, it does appear that family comes first these days for Norman, who has a 10-day rule where he won’t be away from Zoe, 37, and seven-year-old son Woody for longer than that.

The couple also tend to stay out of the public eye.

“We live in Brighton, not London, so you don’t see pictures of us going out,” says Norman. “And, if we do go out, it is a bit of a busman’s holiday for me. I relax watching films with my wife and going to the football.”

As for the future, Norman admits he has no five-year plan. He barely has a five-day plan.

“I don’t know what I am doing next weekend, somebody tells me,” he laughs. “I just swan around having fun, dancing a lot. In a perverse way, I enjoy doing this the longer I am allowed to do it.

“I will carry on until it stops being fun or they stop booking me.”

FATBOY Slim headlines Creamfields on Saturday, August 23. Prices start from £57.50, plus booking fee, for a Saturday ticket and from £105, plus booking fee, for a weekend ticket. A weekend ticket including camping starts from £115. Visit www.cream fields.com for more details.

emmajohnson