By the end there were 250,000 people – double the population of Brighton. Then still the crowds kept coming and the police said, "We’re going to have to stop this because the whole town is gridlocked and the A23’s at a standstill." But we worked out that it would be more dangerous not to go ahead with it. It was really exciting in the afternoon as more and more people arrived. I came off stage and said to my manager, "That’s it, we’ll never top this." Everyone brought their families down to have a barbecue and listen to the music. The official number was 35,000 – in fact it was more like 65,000. We didn’t know how many people would turn up. Someone said to me, "On Friday, when nothing’s going on with the cricket, why don’t you use the enormous screens and big sound system for a gig?", and Channel 4 agreed to sponsor it. As he prepares for today’s fourth in the series, Cook recalls how he found himself hosting the biggest beach parties this country has seen.Ĭhannel 4 had just got the franchise for the cricket and decided to show the matches on outdoor screens around the country, including one on Brighton beach. Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, host of the Big Beach Boutique parties Part of Brighton folklore: Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, host of the Big Beach Boutique partiesĬalled Big Beach Boutique, the events have attracted hundreds of thousands of revellers, caused traffic chaos and provoked tabloid censure.
Norman Cook, otherwise known as the DJ Fatboy Slim, made his name organising and performing at a series of three enormous beach parties in his home town of Brighton. He hopes it won’t be a repeat of 2002’s, he tells Thomas H Green It’s Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook’s fourth beach party on Saturday September 27.