Fatboy Slim: the interview

Back in the late '90s it was hard to imagine a happier man than Norman Cook. His hit singles, including thumping big-beat favourites 'Right Here, Right Now' and 'Praise You', were inescapable on both the radio and the dancefloor, and his international festival appearances were a frenzy of bouncing crowds, high-energy finger pointing and loud shirts.

But away from the decks something was going slowly wrong: Cook's long-held habit of augmenting his Fatboy Slim persona with booze – he once said that the only differences between the two were 'a bad Hawaiian shirt and half a bottle of vodka' – was creeping steadily into his home life, much to the disquiet of his wife, the UK's BBC Radio DJ Zoe Ball. In 2009 he entered rehab to overcome his addiction, and announced a halt to his DJing life. It looked like the party was finally over.

Happily for dance music fans everywhere – and for us, because otherwise this would be the most pointless article in the history of journalism – Cook has managed to get his life back together and return to the road, with a gig at Tokyo's Big Beach Festival next on his itinerary. He even managed to finish off Here Lies Love, his long-time project with Talking Heads founder David Byrne, based on the life of the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Not that it went smoothly, as he explains in a crackly international phone call: 'When David was in the Philippines doing research, some of [Marcos's] people got in touch and said he should leave the country. She's not happy.' Cook, however, remains whimsical about the threat. 'Well, David's already a legend – being bumped off by Imelda Marcos would just seal the deal,' he chuckles. 'It would be great for [a new] closing number, as David floats off with the angels, singing, "Once in a lifetime, you may find yourself in a ditch in Manila…" '

Of course, Byrne isn't the first big name to work with Cook; Damon Albarn, Macy Gray and Dizzee Rascal all got there first. It's left old Norman more than a little blasé. 'Over the years that I was working on [side project] Brighton Port Authority, I'd have all these weird people around. I’d be in bed and Zoe would come upstairs and say, "Why is Iggy Pop having breakfast in our kitchen?" And I'd say, "Oh, we were doing a tune together and it ran on a bit late so he's staying a few days." He's very, very polite. He's one of my favourite houseguests.' Ah, see – being able to offhandedly say that the godfather of punk is one of your favourite houseguests is definitely a sign that you've acclimatised to the weird world of celebrity. As is this: 'He's really cute. After a couple of glasses of wine he tells all these great stories of him and David Bowie in the '70s.'

So yeah, it's all looking up for Norman Cook; his life's largely back on track, and he's even managed to keep the Fatboy persona going despite being off the booze. Not that he has a choice there... 'I couldn't drop it even if I wanted to,' he laughs. 'Even if I take off the Hawaiian shirt it's still me, Fatboy Slim. People will still go "Oi, Fatboy!" in the street.' But he's not moaning. 'As long as I'm having fun, putting food on the table and shoes on my son's feet, I'm happy. And I'm not qualified to do anything else. Like get up, put on a suit and do what I'm told? Can't do that.' Nice one, Norman. Nice one.

Fatboy Slim headlines Big Beach Festival '11, June 4, at Kaihin Makuhari Koen