After the 1988 demise of the superb British pop group
the Housemartins, Brighton-born bassist
Norman Cook returned to his first love, DJing, and became one of the English music scene's most successful remixers. In 1989 he launched a solo recording career with the single "Won't Talk About It," featuring the falsetto vocals of
Billy Bragg; the record became a major dance hit, and after a follow-up, "For Spacious Lies,"
Cook formed
Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Linda Layton and
Lester Noel, rapper
MC Wildski, and keyboardist
Andy Boucher.
Beats International's 1990 debut single, "Dub Be Good to Me" -- a cover of
the SOS Band's "Just Be Good to Me" incorporating the bass line of
the Clash's "The Guns of Brixton" -- topped the UK charts, becoming an international club smash. After another hit, the soul/jazz/worldbeat cocktail "Burundi Blues," the group issued their sample-heavy debut LP
Let Them Eat Bingo, which debuted in the Top 20 of the British charts. Although
Cook had become even more highly sought-after as a remixer, teaming with artists ranging from
Aztec Camera to
the Jungle Brothers, he reconvened
Beats International in 1991 for
Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae rhythms; when the album failed to repeat the success of its predecessor,
Cook disbanded the group to focus on his new unit,
Freak Power. [See Also:
Fatboy Slim]
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi