Easter Weekend is set to be massive down the east coast as some of the biggest names in dance music are preparing to rock the biggest venues each city has to offer. Kicking off at the Melbourne Showgrounds on Good Friday, moving to Sydney’s Fox Studios on Easter Saturday and finishing in BrisVegas on Easter Sunday, the Global Fatboy Slim and Lionrock tour is shaping up brilliantly.

Global will feature eclectic house + techno superstars Fatboy Slim and Justin Robertson, alongside dozens of the best Australia has to offer.


Fatboy Slim

If you know everything there is to know about Norman Cook, the man behind Fatboy Slim, you can happily skip this section and move on. But if you still think it all started with Rockafella Skank and the album “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby”, read on or forever hold your peace.

It all went big for Fatboy Slim in 1998, but to get the big picture you have to rewind back another 10 or so years to 80s Indie band the Housemartins. Norman Cook was the quietly spoken Bass Guitarist, and the band had a number one hit with “Caravan of Love”. To the disgust of his band members, dance music was calling Norman, and before long the Housemartins split.

How exactly does one go from Indie rock star to dance music legend? How about consistently releasing dancefloor hits, but under different names every time. The first of the long list of songs you’ve all heard but probably don’t realise are by Norman Cook, was recorded under the name “Beats International”. They went Number 1 with the commercial success “Dub be good to me” in the very late 80s. Splitting from this group in 1990, Norman Cook went solo as Acid Funk producer Freakpower and had a top ten tune with “Turn in Tune in Drop out”.

He continued over through the early to mid 80s with the monikers PizzaMan (the biggest songs being Sex on The Streets and Trippin’ On Sunshine), and Mighty Dub Katz with “Magic Carpet Ride” – you must remember the one that goes “aaaa ring ding-ding-ding….aaa ring-ding-ding”!. After the eclectic grooves he released under the name Fried Funk Food, you would be forgiven for thinking that Norman Cook had released every type of dance music possible.

But the man wasn’t about to let current dance music styles limit his imagination, do he did what only he could, create a whole new style of dance – Big Beat. A blend of house, funk, hip-hop and soul, the first Fatboy Slim single was 1995’s Santa Cruz which became an instant anthem in London’s club scene. With this success of this new style of music, there was no reason to drop the Fatboy Slim name, and in one short week he created and produced the album “Better Living Through Chemistry” which spawned the big beat movement of 1996/7. This album featured the dancefloor successes “Going Out of My Head”, “Punk to Funk”, and the unforgettable “Everybody Needs a 303” which featured on dozens of compilations including Carl Cox’s FACT2 double CD.

The success of this album was huge, but insignificant compared to what was coming up. Despite a long string of chart hits, the quiet achiever still had more up his sleeve. His two biggest hits to date would be remixes of other peoples songs, and he didn’t change a cent for them. Wildchild’s ‘Renegade Master’ and Cornershop’s ‘Brimful Of Asha’ both shot Fatboy Slim’s name to Number 1 in the UK charts and all of sudden the quiet fellow from Brighton was a pop star!

We all know the story from there – Rockafella Skank put “You’ve come a long way baby” into the number one album spot in dozens of countries and Fatboy Slim was here to stay. He was the headline attraction at dance festivals worldwide, and sold out the 4,000 person Webster Hall in NYC 2 nights in a row. He once commented on these first gigs in New York, saying that plenty of people were standing around wondering where the band was, and asking where the hell was the fat guy from the cover of the CD?

The lessons to be learned today are that Fatboy Slim is not a band, he is not Fat, nor is he the geek in the Praise You film clip, but he IS a mighty fine DJ and Producer.


Justin Robertson

Justin has been DJing and producing dance music for over 10 years now. He started it all in Manchester running the “Most Excellent” night in the midst of the Acid House scene, and later moved on to run “The Rebellious Jukebox” nights.

As a DJ, Justin is resident at Bugged Out! and as a result often plays alongside the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk. His eclectic house and funky techno style has also seen him gain a residency at Home London’s leftfield nights, and is a regular at Fabric, Headstart and all the major UK festivals.

Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B and Mark Stagg formed Lionrock in the early 90s and hit dancefloor succuss with dozens of and their own 1996 debut album “An Instinct for Detection”. Their recent works have been featured on movie soundtracks Go and Psycho.

In the past couple of years Justin has rocked clubs in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, South America and Europe with his eclectic blend of techno, house and electronic funk..


Sydney Details

U-Neik presents the Easter Saturday Festival – Global

Fox Studios Saturday April 14 2pm – 12am
$79.95 +bf from Ticketek (02 9266 4800), Central Station, and the usuals

HORDEN PAVILION
3 – 3:45 : Pocket (Live)
3:45 – 5 : Stephen Allkins [love]tattoo
5 – 6 : Infusion (Live)
6 – 8 : Fatboy Slim
8 – 8:30 : Stephen Allkins [love]tattoo
8:30 – 9:30 : sonicanimation (Live)
9:30 – 12 : Justin Robertson (LionRock)

CityLive
4 – 5:30 : Ben Korbel
5:30 – 7 : BeXta
7 – 8:30 : Nik Fish
8:30 – 10 : Mark James (Melb)
10 – 12 : Jumping Jack

The venue is sure to amaze with its awesome sound and lighting setup. This is the first time that an event of this magnitude has been held there and will set a standard that will be hard to follow.

Outdoor Area Chill Out, Relax & Enjoy

2 – 3:30 : Shamus
3:30 – 5 : Sean Quinn
5 – 6:30 : Kid Kenobi
6:30 – 8 : Q45
8 – 10 : Craig Obey
10 – 12 : Mark Dynamix
As with any great festival, the attraction to chill out and relax, firstly under the sun and then the stars is a very important aspect. The area will have comfortable seating as well as shade to ensure maxmium comfort, with an eclectic mix of tunes that will surely please


Melbourne Details

City Tripper Offshore Festival
Melbourne Showgrounds Good Friday

Main Stage Headline Act : Fatboy Slim

FutureZone dance arena :
Justin Robertson (LionRock),
Matt Darey (UK, Matt Darey presents MASHUP)
Mekon (UK, Wall of Sound)
NuBreed (LIVE, Two Tribes, Welcome played widely on JJJ)
The DEA (LIVE)
Voiteck (LIVE)
Sean Quinn (Our House)
Mark James (Future)
Will E Tell (WET Musik)
Jason Midro (BassStation, Sound of Now)
Kasey Taylor (Our House)
Nick Dem Q (Hardware)

Main Stage will feature rock and indie acts including Ben Harper and the Bomfunk MCs.