It’s the late nineties. DJs are the new rock stars and Fatboy Slim’s unique musical blend of vaudeville and vodka has the sweat dripping from the ceiling of Brighton’s infamous “Boutique” club. A grinning Fatboy Slim drops the needle on ‘Santa Cruz’, the record that had kick started the acclaimed Skint record label, and takes a bow before the crowd. The drumfest of the big beat revolution is in full swing and he is most definitely leading from the front.  

Fast forward ten years and Fatboy Slim has successfully helped take dance music from the clubs, into the living room and to the top of the charts - earning him a unique place in pop music. Across four acclaimed albums - Better Living Through Chemistry, You’ve Come A Long Way Baby, Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars and Palookaville - he’s recorded with everyone from Bootsy Collins (“Weapon Of Choice”) to Macy Gray (“Demons”)  to Gorillaz and Blur leader Damon Albarn and even the late Jim Morrison (‘Sunset Bird of Prey’). But Fatboy Slim has become much more than simply the sum of his musical parts. The groundbreaking videos, stunning remixes and the awe-inspiring DJ gigs, have all built Norman Cook into an indisputable musical icon.  

Not only did his music define a genre, he has defined the memories of a generation. Whether that be staring in a goggle-eyed amazement, as Christopher Walken danced across our screens in the video for ‘Weapon Of Choice’, or the first time hearing the the phrase “right about now, the funk soul brother”  followed by the surf guitar on acid strains of ‘Rockafeller Skank’.  Whether it be Spike Jonze’s immortal video for the ‘Praise You’ (voted the ‘Best Video of All Time’ by MTV UK viewers), or standing at one of Norman’s DJ gigs that have reached landmark proportions: two sold out nights at New York’s Hammerstein ballroom, 9,000 people at Denver’s Red Rocks, Woodstock, Coachella or the staggering 300,000 person turn out for his Big Beach bash in Rio.

Sure, he’s sold a few records (eight million over the four albums) and won a few awards (Brits, MTV Videos and Grammys) along the way. But ask him what says more about the power of his music - a showy award on the mantelpiece or the fact that the traffic jams for his second Big Beach Boutique gig in Brighton went on for 25 miles, and you can bet you know his answer. 

Why Try Harder is a celebration of the last decade, as much as it is a Greatest Hits collection. Over eighteen tracks, including ten UK Top 20  singles, a couple of UK Number 1s and two exclusive new tracks - ‘Champion Sound’ and ‘That Old Pair Of Jeans’ - it will lead you down memory lane, before grabbing you by the shoulders and hurling you toward the dancefloor. 

From Housemartin, to heralding the sunrise with 300,000 sun-kissed clubbers on Rio’s Flamengo Beach. He’s come a long way, baby.