'You soundtrack peoples' lives': Fatboy Slim on success, sobriety and Indiependence

Ed Power chats to Norman Cook ahead of a return to an Irish crowd at Indiependence

Norman Cook: Fatboy Slim has worn a lot of musical hats over the years

It was while watching EastEnders one evening that Norman Cook realised how big a star he had become. “One of my first proud moments was when one of my tunes was on the jukebox in the Queen Vic,” says the artist who, as Fatboy Slim, blazed an all-conquering trail through 1990s pop and now returns to headline Cork’s Indiependence Festival in July.

“Being part of pop culture as well as of pop music – it makes it more emotive. What I love about pop music is it’s not just purely music on its own. You soundtrack people’s lives.”