Fatboy Slim made a surprise appearance in Cardiff city centre while amazed onlookers witnessed a flash mob recreating an iconic music video. Ahead of his gig at Cardiff International Arena on Friday night, the superstar DJ, aka Norman Cook, was joined by a team of dozens of singers and dancers as they performed a flash mob dance to 'Praise You'.
Also known for hits including 'The Rockafeller Skank' and 'Weapon of Choice', the DJ stopped off in the Welsh capital as part of his 'Right Here, Right Now' tour. However, despite it expected to be a near sell out show, he wanted to give the people of Cardiff some more with the surprise performance which broke out on The Hayes in the city centre.
The performance started just after 6pm in front of Cardiff's Central Library to cheers from onlookers, and those out enjoying a night on the town. It is thought that the performance was in aid of mental health charity Cardiff Mind as well as celebrating the DJ's latest show at the arena.
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Following the performance, which was met with cheers and applause, the DJ thanked the dozens of singers and dancers who had turned out for the flash mob and greeted the crowd. He then had to hurry back to the nearby arena ahead of his show.
Since achieving breakout success in the late 1990s, Fatboy Slim has topped the charts, winning numerous Grammy and MTV Awards for his music. His notorious Big Beach Boutique II concert on Brighton Beach in 2002 was attended by more than a quarter of a million people.
The DJ has played in south Wales countless times over the years but told WalesOnline ahead of his return to Cardiff that he has his sights set on other venues in the capital. Asked if he would like to play Cardiff Castle, he said: "If they do [ask] I would definitely take that call. One of the joys of this end of my career is finding new things to do.
"When I was younger I was quite ambitious in playing bigger venues and now, I kind of feel like I've been to most mountaintops, I don't want things to get bigger. Just sideways and more interesting. So the idea of playing at any castle, a castle with the history you've got there in Cardiff, yeah that would be great. It's not cropped up as yet, if anyone knows the people, give me a call!"
He also explained how he was fully aware of how music has an impact on people's mood, people's life and is grateful for having played a huge part in that over the past four decades: "I relish it, I do this because I'm a music fan," he said. "And I know how music can be the soundtrack to your life and can punctuate certain relationships with the world. And I know that it can, it can help connect you or reconnect."
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