Norman Cook<\/a> contemplated becoming a fireman when he came close to bankruptcy in the early \u201890s.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, at his book launch at W1 Curates in London<\/p>\n
Before finding fame and success as DJ Fatboy Slim, the 62-year-old producer’s music career was floundering after his collective Beats International’s second album, 1991’s Excursion on the Version, was a commercial failure.<\/p>\n
Cook – who had achieved a number one single, Dub Be Good To Me, with Beats International in January 1990 – was broke and ready to walk away from the music business to take up fire-fighting, but an unexpected windfall prevented him from going bankrupt.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch of his new book It Ain\u2019t Over\u2026 \u2018Til The Fatboy Sings, as reported by website Contact Music, he said: “During the 40 years there\u2019s been downs as well as ups. There\u2019s been times when I\u2019ve suffered with crippling anxiety and depression, just as a human being.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s been times when I\u2019ve been so close to bankruptcy that my accountant is saying, \u2018I think you should declare bankruptcy that way you can keep your house.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy wife said, \u2018You know, you ever thought about getting a proper job?\u2019<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere was time between Beats International and Freak Power where I didn\u2019t earn anything for about a year. I had a huge tax bill that I couldn\u2019t pay. I got a PPL cheque which cleared off the debt and I lived to fight another day and then Freak Power happened.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI actually had started finding out what was required to become a fireman, because my wife told me to get a proper job and earn some money.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSo it\u2019s not always been successful. Everybody has bad days, it\u2019s not all been clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCook – who was previously married to BBC Radio Two presenter Zoe Ball – insists his reinvention as a big beats pioneer was never intentional, as he didn’t have the foresight of an artist like David Bowie to plan his career.<\/p>\n
\nHe said: “The thing is, a few people when you\u2019re talking go, \u2018You reinvented yourself so many times.\u2019 It was never, like, a conscious thing that I planned. What would happen is the band I was in was falling to bits and hating each other so I had to do something else.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf you imagine like David Bowie, or somebody, he knows what he\u2019s doing and he sees things on the horizon and thinks, \u2018I\u2019m going to do that, and next year I\u2019m going to do that.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI never did that. I basically just followed my nose like some kind of puppy.”<\/p>\n
\nCook’s debut\u00a0book It Ain\u2019t Over… \u2019Til the\u00a0Fatboy\u00a0Sings celebrates his 40 years in showbiz and is a vivid celebration of indie, house, acid and remix culture. It is out now.<\/p>\n
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