Well, who'd have thunk it – Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) and the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer went to school together, and indeed were in the same violin class.
We found this out over the weekend in an interview with Cook in the Observer. “I remember him well,” he told Sian Cain. “He must have been better at the violin than me, because I did it for about one term. It is quite weird when one day you see someone on the telly and go, ‘Oh look, it is Keir Starmer from 4B.’ I think he’s one up on me by becoming prime minister.” According to Cook they’re still on good terms: “We still talk.”
Their alma mater was Reigate Grammar School in leafy Surrey, UK. After leaving, Starmer went north to Leeds University he revealed, in a speech last year, that he’d “discovered a whole new world of indie bands – like Orange Juice and the Wedding Present.” Meanwhile, Cook journeyed south to Brighton where he began DJing, only to be diverted into the world of indie himself, when his friend Paul Heaton asked him to join The Housemartins.
In a revealing interview, Cook also disclosed that he’d had a ‘feud’ (if you can call it that) with Moby for a few years: “We crossed swords a few times and then it turned into a feud. Now, I’m kind of an easygoing person. I don’t really get into beefs. But we fell out and we were on each other at that point. We were quite similar in what we were doing and I think that’s one of the reasons why we got into the feud.”
Hard to imagine Moby – the peace-loving vegan - and Cook, a liberal chap who for a few years in the late 90s was the personal embodiment of smiley happy good times, having a feud. But there you go.
Oh and he’s still looking for the mystery fat kid that was the cover star of his biggest album, 1998’s You’ve Come A Long Way Baby. “We had another bash at finding him last year, knowing that the internet can now get anything worldwide,” Cook said. “I think we would have found him, or he would have found us, if he was around.”
“I’m assuming from his lifestyle choices he might be dead by now. The picture was taken at a fat person’s festival and he looked quite happy about being fat, with his cigarette in one hand. We would love to give him some money, at least a free T-shirt. But no, we never found him. One day I’ll be wandering down the street and maybe he’ll walk past.”
