Throwback Thursday: Fatboy Slim 'You've Come A Long Way Baby'

There are moments in music that signify a change, be it in the perception of the arts or occasionally, music itself. When Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook released You've Come a Long Way Baby (stream below on Spotify) in 1998 he managed to do both those things, not only proving he was capable of marrying his pop past with his current electronic experimentation, but that the traditionally faceless world of electronic music could have a solo star.

And a star Fatboy was. The album was absolutely stacked with singles, 'Right Here, Right Now', 'The Rockafeller Skank', 'Gangster Tripping' and the huge 'Praise You' were all monolithic hits, whilst club workouts such as 'Kalifornia' and 'Acid 8000' showed he was still in touch with the nation's dancefloors, in particular the big beat genre that he had help pioneer.

What also made the album stand out so well culturally was the savviness that accompanied it. Fatboy Slim was by his own admission not the most musically talented of producers or the most technically gifted of DJs, but his ear was something else. This album married a wealth of brilliantly sourced samples with clearly well worn club staples to brilliant effect, a magpie attitude to music at its most fruitful.

On top of that there were some beyond brilliant music videos which subverted the perennial issues of dance music visuals to devastating effect, 'Right Here, Right Now's' wry take on evolution, the epochal Shopping Mall dance off for 'Praise You' and our personal favourite, the Roman Coppola directed film for 'Rockafeller Skank' below.

It meant at a time where the nearing millennium was provoking all sorts of ridiculous fears and clubland was a HUGE business and at times very serious, it could be laced with a wicked sense of humour. Even now, listening to this album instantly makes you smile.

2013 saw Cook return to the pinnacle of the charts with the huge 'Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat' alongside Riva Starr, and he's currently on tour to celebrate the success. 15 years on that same keen ear for a killer hook and the ability to capture the zeitgeist of club culture makes him one of the most consistent DJs of our times. 

Like this? Try Throwback Thursday: Moby 'Play'