in British Studies. He had begun DJing some years before, but it was at this time that he began to develop his skills in the thriving Brighton club scene, regularly appearing at the Brighton Belle and student favourite The Basement, where (then known as DJ Quentox) he began laying the base for Brighton's hip-hop scene. 1985–1995: The Housemartins to The Mighty Dub Katz In 1985, Heaton formed a guitar band called the Housemartins. Their bassist left on the eve of their first national tour, so Cook agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single, "Happy Hour", and their two albums, London 0 Hull 4 and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love", originally a hit the year before for Isley-Jasper-Isley. By 1988 they split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. He started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All of Cook's records since have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer", for example). Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, "Blame It on the Bassline", featuring future Beats International member MC Wildski. Credited to "Norman Cook feat. MC Wildski", the song followed the basic template of what would become Beats International's style. It was a modest hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 29. Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton and Lester Noel, rappers D.J. Baptiste and MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, included the number one single "Dub Be Good to Me", which caused a legal dispute over allegations of copyright infringement through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was lifted note for note from The Clash's "The Guns of Brixton" and the lyrics borrowed heavily from The S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good to Me". Cook lost the case and was ordered to pay back twice the royalties made on the record, bankrupting him. The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of