There were so many disappointing aspects to seeing Fatboy Slim on Brighton Beach that I hardly know where to begin. The venue was poorly run and in poor condition, the sparse crowd was disengaged, and Fatboy himself might as well have not shown up. To say that he phoned in his performance would be a gross understatement; he barely lifted a finger whilst desperately milking his reputation for a cynical, late-career money grab… obviously NONE of this is true. Liar, liar pants on fire. I’m just being a massive, attention-seeking knob.
Instead, what I, and every other single person around me actually experienced, was pure, unfiltered musical majesty that unified the thousands and thousands of people into a single, bouncing, joyous, smiling, hugging, grinning thing of collective beauty. (And this was the fourth sold-out day on the bounce; that’s a lot of sparkly-eyed, happy people enjoying the right here right now).
I’d love to claim myself as Brighton’s favourite adopted son, but I’m definitely not – Bromley-born Norman Cook absolutely is (sorry Mr Cave, you did move away). Like a Hawaiian shirt-clad stick of rock, he’s got ‘Brighton Beach’ running right through him, and as he raised a record sleeve in the airmid-set with ‘My favourite sunset in the world’ written across it, you knew that he wasn’t just crowd-pleasing. Brighton Beach is Fatboy Slim’s happy place, and it was a joy to share that space with him.
The set was sublime and a mix of the stone-cold classics that you’d expect and the odd surprise thrown in. ‘Mr Brightside’ was an early crowd favourite, with Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’coming later to give things a little more edge. ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ by Radiohead seemed to come from nowhere, but it was pitch-perfect and an ethereal moment of calm passed across the swaying masses before things really kicked off. Perhaps this track was chosen as a nod to his recent Desert Island Disks in which he requested a label maker as his luxury item to give the island a sense of order – I’d have gone for a solar-powered ice-cream maker, but then Lauren Laverne still isn’t replying to my emails.
Beautiful things followed with the indomitable ‘Born Slippy’ (another Desert Island choice and his favourite of the eight). ‘Satisfaction Skank’ was of course glorious, as was The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, and when ‘Day Tripper’ by The Beatles was thrown in I was as happy as a kid with a pocket full of 2p coins playing the shovers on the pier. All of this was backed by phenomenal visuals on the big screens, ‘Drop Acid Not Bombs’ being my favourite, a stunning light show and spectacular pyrotechnics that roared flames into the night sky with the moon hanging overhead and the sea stretching out into the distance.
Please don’t quote me too much on the order of the songs, and I’m sure I’ve missed at least one or two big ones. My honest excuse is that I was dancing far too much to really remember what came when, but what I can say is that this was by far and away my gig of the year so far. The setting is stunning, the crowd incredible and the music out of this world. Dancing to Fatboy Slim on Brighton Beach with thousands of others was something very special; I’m still grinning at the memory. His music and energy bring people together in the way that music should, nullifying poorly constructed differences and unifying us all in celebration – and to do that next to the sea with the stars shining above was utterly perfect. Let’s also not forget that it was a day festival that began at 1 pm with many other acts playing their part in the experience. Big thanks for putting in great shifts to Kuuda, Simon Pegg (yes, I know, Simon bloody Pegg!), Jayda G, Groove Armada and Horse Meat Disco, who also win the prize for best name and, rest assured, no horses were harmed during their set.
This event MUST happen again, and when it does I will absolutely be there. In fact, if money was tight, I’d be more than willing to sell off one or two semi-vital organs to fund the ticket. I’d seriously consider parting with anything that I’ve got two of if anyone was interested. Fatboy Slim on Brighton Beach was a joy to behold; let’s do it again sometime.
