Just two months before the world locked down, Fatboy Slim was in Australia.
He returns next month for a run of regional dates with Groovin The Moo plus a series of metropolitan shows, but the interim has at times looked somewhat grim for the high-flying DJ born Norman Cook."The first six months [of lockdown] I sat at home with me kids contemplating my navel and missing my job, but it was alright because I had my kids around me," Cook says.
"Then my son went off to university in September, and my daughter was back in school during the day and I started to go a little bit stir crazy.
"I own a cafe that's just down at the end of the road, so I started working full-time in there – so for the next seven months I worked as a waiter in a cafe."
Cook says while some people used their time wisely, learning Spanish or writing a novel, he watched a lot of Netflix and spent time with his kids.
"I did a weekly mixtape which we used to drop every Friday night, just for people to dance to in their kitchens, and that kind of kept me in touch with the world," he says, "but that was the only real creative thing that I did. . . everyone reacted in different ways: some were very productive, others not so."
Norman has come back with a bang, though – having just performed in New Zealand, he's back home to start a British tour before heading to Australian shores in a few weeks time. In fact, he has 30-plus shows scheduled in 8 countries the next few months.
Being part of the touring Groovin The Moo affords Cook an opportunity he hasn't yet had while touring Australia, where he has visited consistently for the past three decades.
"Well, there's two reasons for doing Groovin The Moo – one was I'd never been to all those places, because you tend to go to just the same major cities, and I've been doing that for 30 years now so it's really nice to go to places you've never heard of," he says.
"Also I googled Groovin The Moo and it looks like a really cool festival; it looks like it's run by nice people."
For Cook, the only downside to Groovin is the lack of downtime on his tour schedule, but he's still keen to make the most of his visit.
"I get involved with local food, local art, local scenery," he says. "I leave it to the locals to suggest what I should be doing."
Norman also leaves it to the crowd to lead the vibe of a performance, so he's uncertain what to expect from a regional Australian festival.
"I'm just negotiating with the promoters at the moment because they gave me a very short set, and I'm like, 'well I kind of need longer'. I need longer to really get to know people," he laughs.
"The reason why I wanted to do those shows was to try something different and find a different vibe; I might suddenly go all flowery. . . but probably not."
Cook has performed at festivals around the world, including the notorious Woodstock '99, where they had to stop Norman's show because a van was driven into the crowd mid set, putting fans in danger.
"I played on the Saturday night, and things were getting fruity but there was no violence or anything like that, that all kicked off on the Sunday," he recalls.
"I remember getting home to England and seeing the footage on the Sunday night and seeing my dressing room in flames, thinking, 'Christ, we got out of there just in time'."
Norman still knows nothing officially about the alleged assault that occurred in the van that was driven into the crowd that night.
"I mean obviously a lot of really nasty things went on, it's glib of me to say 'well we got out of there just in time'," he says, "but as far as we knew, no one was getting hurt while we were there."
Cook has his own documentary now, which was filmed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the free concert which drew over 200,000 people to Brighton Beach.
"I suppose it was nice for me to look back at it with 20 years of hindsight and re-appraise its role in rave culture and in my life, and in everyone else's life," Cook says.
"It was great making the documentary and finding all these people that met at the show; or one girl who'd just found out she was pregnant at the show and then she took her son to the 20th anniversary show, who was now a 20 years old.
"There were some nice stories of how it touched people, but also reappraising the impact it had on my home city, because obviously we caused quite a lot of mess and chaos."
The film, 'Right Here Right Now', is yet to show in Australia, but Cook says there are plans for a screening on one of his days off while he's here – and the possibility of syndication on Netflix.
At the end of the day, Cook's main goal is to bring audiences into a fantasy world of his creation, which is infinitely helped by technology that wasn't available when he began his DJ career.
"The thing is, the point of the show is to use loud music and visual effects to heighten everybody's experience of escapism – to take you outside the real world into this fantasy world," he says.
"So the more we can use technology to create a fantasy world for you to live in while we're doing it, the better; and obviously with lasers and LED visuals we can kind of bombard your eyes as well as your ears and that's quite fun to do."
Fatboy Slim 2023 Tour Dates
Fri 28 Apr - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne)Wed 3 May - The Riverstage (Brisbane)
Fri 5 May - The Showring @ Entertainment Quarter (Sydney)
Sun 7 May - Burswood Park (Perth)
Groovin The Moo 2023 Line-up
alt-JAmy Shark
Ball Park Music
Barkaa
bbno$
The Chats
Choomba
Confidence Man
Denzel Curry
Eliza Rose
Fatboy Slim
Genesis Owusu
Laurel
Luude
Nothing But Thieves
Ocean Alley
Royel Otis
Skegss
Slayyyter
Slowly Slowly
Sophie May
Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers
Teenage Dads
Teenage Joans
With hosts Lex & Pookie
Groovin The Moo 2023 Tour Dates
Fri 21 Apr - Adelaide ShowgroundSat 22 Apr - Maitland Showground* final release tickets
Sun 23 Apr - Exhibition Park In Canberra* final release tickets
Sat 29 Apr - Prince of Wales Showgrounds (Bendigo)* final release tickets
Sun 30 Apr - Kawana Sports Western Precinct (Sunshine Coast)* sold out
Sat 6 May - Hay Park (Bunbury)* final release tickets
