Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, has certainly evolved as an artist since playing bass in the cult 80s indie band The Housemartins. Having been the only Disk Jockey to play at the Olympic closing ceremony, he has certainly established himself as part of the superstar DJ elite and with a back catalogue containing hits such as ‘Praise You’ and ‘Right Here, Right Now’ there is no wonder he still has the ability to get clubbers racing to the dance floor. At the time of year where Sankeys can be overlooked as a dance venue because of warehouse project fever, Cook is just the kind of attraction that ensures the venue is packed out well before his 3am set begins.

With the sweat from dancers hanging in the air courtesy of main support Ellesse, anticipation reaches climax point as Fatboy Slim finally takes to the stage at 3am in a custom short sleeved Hawaiian dad-shirt.

The set is light on Fatboy Slim classics; a brief snippet of ‘Funk Soul Brother’ certainly left the audience wanting more.

Clearly not one to dwell on the past, Cook evidently has his finger on the pulse of modern pop music and surprised the audience with a wide variety of dance genres even if it was at the sacrifice of his older classics. A mix of ‘Gangnam Style’ showcases the Fatboy’s talent of mixing the sublime and the ridiculous, as well as a remix of ‘2012’ by Azealia Banks. The best moment of the night is an extended version of ‘Psycho Killer’ by Talking Heads, a rare moment where the audience has the chance to sing along to an old favourite as well as rave.

When you see Fatboy Slim on the line up, you expect the hits and not hearing them was disappointing, but Cooks DJing prowess ensured he was still able to turn Sankeys into a ‘Caravan of Love’ until the early hours.