As canons explode and ticker tape rains down, he works the decks, works the crowd…
M&S Bank Arena is the venue of choice to catch the iconic Fatboy Slim on his “We’ve Come A Long Long Way Together” UK Headline Arena Tour, and I was buzzing to get the chance to see one of the pioneers of British Dance music.
Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook, had great success with the Housemartins. He blew everyone away with Beats International and the worldwide smash single “Dub Be Good To Me” but with Fatboy Slim, he smashed the ball right into the stratosphere with Iconic singles like ‘Rockafella Skank’ ‘Praise You’ ‘Right Here right Now’. He took dance music from the clubs to the masses and into the charts, he influenced so many artists and his impact on dance music is unprecedented.
The first thing I notice as I enter the venue proper is the massive, large smiley face stage slap right in the centre of the venue, encircled by an overhead screen showing animations, and video, and wow, the venue is packed with both young and old, a testament to the music this man has made over the last 20+ years.
So, now it’s time for the main event. The lights go down, the beginning of his last big hit “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’ kicks in and the arena erupts.
As canons explode and ticker tape rains down, he works the decks, works the crowd, and you see clearly how he has taken a DJ set and dance music and turned it into a stadium-sized rock show rave.
He struts and bounds across the stage, which at times was revolving at the same time. He punches the air and smiles and grins like a kid in a sweet shop. By now the place is going off, everyone is dancing, hands in the air. I’m not sure how DJ sets work, but he didn’t spend a massive amount of time behind the decks, seemingly to prefer to be interacting with the crowd, buzzing off the crowd just as much as the crowd is buzzing off his upbeat performance.
The iconic DJ seems to whip through his classic back catalogue of big beat anthems, dropping in vocal soundbites along the way, working the packed-out arena into a frenzy of moving bodies. No-one was standing still, not even myself.
All in all, this is a most impressive gig, I understand why this man is a global superstar, yes, he has the music, but he also has the stage presence, charisma and connection to his fans which elevates artists to another level. This truly was a special night.
FATBOY SLIM UK ARENA TOUR
FRI 19 NOV 2021 GLASGOW THE SSE HYDRO
SAT 20 NOV 2021 NOTTINGHAM MOTORPOINT ARENA
FOLLOW FATBOY SLIM
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
