Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for the Hull-based indie rock band the Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their a cappella cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split up, Cook formed the electronic band Beats International in Brighton, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me". He then played in Freak Power, Pizzaman, and the Mighty Dub Katz with moderate success. In 1996, Cook adopted the name Fatboy Slim and released Better Living Through Chemistry to critical acclaim. Follow-up albums You've Come a Long Way, Baby, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Palookaville, as well as singles such as "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You", "Right Here, Right Now", "Weapon of Choice", and "Wonderful Night", achieved commercial and critical success. In 2008, Cook formed the Brighton Port Authority, a collaborative effort with a number of other established artists including David Byrne. He has been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Groove Armada, and Wildchild. Cook holds the Guinness World Record for most top-40 hits under different names. As a solo act, he has won nine MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards. Life and career 1963–1984: Early life and career beginnings Cook was born in Bromley, Kent. He was raised in Reigate, Surrey, and educated at Reigate Grammar School, where he took violin lessons alongside future Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. He grew up with a love of music. When he was 14, his brother brought home the first album from the punk band The Damned, which turned him onto that genre; he started attending gigs at the Greyhound pub in Croydon and playing in punk bands. He played drums in Disque Attack, a British new wave-influenced rock band. When frontman Charlie Alcock was told by his parents that he had to give up the band to concentrate on his O levels, Cook took over as lead vocalist. At The Railway Tavern in Reigate, Cook met Paul Heaton, with whom he formed the Stomping Pondfrogs. At 18, Cook went to Brighton Polytechnic to read a B.A. in English, politics, and sociology, where he achieved a 2:1