Fatboy Slim, also known as Norman Cook, was born Quentin Leo Cook in July 1963 in Reigate, Surrey. Early involvement in the music world came when he played drums (and later sung lead vocals) in Disque Attack, a British new wave influenced rock band, and he also began to DJ, developing his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene.
In 1985 Cook's friend Paul Heaton (who he’d met as a teenager at Reigate College) had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. Their bassist quit on the eve of their first national tour, and despite Cook having lost interest in the rock scene, he moved to Hull (where they were based) to join them. Hit single "Happy Hour" followed, and they reached number 1 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 drummer Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South) and Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred.

Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, "Blame It on the Bassline" (featuring rapper MC Wildski), which reached number 29 on the UK singles chart. He then formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton, Lester Noel, D.J. Baptiste, MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher, soon after, with debut album “Let Them Eat Bingo” (including the number 1 single "Dub Be Good to Me", which used the bassline from The Clash's "The Guns Of Brixton") enjoying success. However, 1991’s follow up “Excursion on the Version” didn’t, and Cook then formed Freakpower, with horn player and singer Ashley Slater. Their 1994 debut “Drive Thru Booty” contained the single "Turn On Tune In Cop Out", which was used by the Levi company for in one of their successful advertising campaigns. 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 produced 3 UK Top 40 hits in "Trippin' on Sunshine", "Sex on the Streets" and "Happiness" (which was used by Del Monte Foods in a UK fruit juice ad). Cook wa also behind the group The Mighty Dub Katz along with Gareth Hansome (aka GMoney), his former flatmate and the inventor of the name "Big Beat". In 1996, Cook then re-joined Ashley Slater for the second Freakpower album, entitled “More of Everything for Everybody”.

The album “Better Living Through Chemistry”, released through Skint Records, thrust Cook, under his new 'Fatboy Slim' moniker, into the mainstream, with a UK top 40 hit, "Everybody Needs a 303", to boot. Following a remix of Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha", which topped the charts, artists such as Madonna and U2 asked Cook to produce for them. Next single, “The Rockafeller Skank” (released in 1998 prior to the album “You've Come a Long Way, Baby”) continued the success of Fatboy Slim, and the single "Praise You" became Cook’s first solo UK number 1, with the video winning him 3 MTV awards. Third LP, 2000’s “Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars” featured 2 collaborations with Macy Gray, and also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)", based around a sample of work from The Doors’ Jim Morrison, and “Weapon of Choice" (whose video starred Christopher Walken, and received 6 prizes at the MTV Video Awards). After a 4 year hiatus, Cook released 2 remixes in June and July 2004, based on Max Sedgley's "Happy" and "Follow Me Follow Me (Quem Que Caguetou)" by Black Alien & Speed. However, his first album in 4 years, “Palookaville”, was less successful than previous releases, despite Cook himself playing bass on some of the album's tracks, and despite more vocal collaborations including tracks with rapper Lateef, Brighton based band Johnny Quality and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).

2006’s “Why Try Harder” is Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album, boasting 10 Top 40 singles, and 2 exclusive new tracks - "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans". The title comes from his sophomore album, “You've Come a Long Way Baby”, whose cover features a guy with a T-shirt bearing the legend "I'M #1 SO WHY TRY HARDER". Norman Cook received an Ivor Novello Award in May 2007 for his "outstanding contribution to British music".