Beats International

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Beats International
Norman Cook
Lindy Layton

Lester Noel
David John-Baptiste
MC Wildski
Andy Boucher

Beats International were a British

Norman Cook (later in his career known as Fatboy Slim) based in Brighton, East Sussex, England, after his departure from the Housemartins.[2]

A loose confederation of musicians, the line-up also included vocalist

REQ, who painted designs on a backdrop while the musicians played.[3]

Biography

After having a few small hits under his own name such as "Blame It on the Bassline", a 1989 hip-house crossover single featuring MC Wildski,[4] and "For Spacious Lies"[5] with Lester Noel, Cook decided that further releases would be under the collective name "Beats International" - just one of the names he went on to use in the 1990s.

Beats International's debut studio album,

Guns of Brixton".[3] This song was the first to be credited under the Beats International name and featured sometime actor Layton on vocals.[6][2]

The collective followed their number-one single with a re-recorded version of "Won't Talk About It", which replaced Billy Bragg's vocal with that of Layton and Noel, and "Burundi Blues", a track which featured samples of Bessie Jones, the Thrashing Doves and, on the album version, Brian Cant's introduction from Camberwick Green.[7]

The second Beats International album was 1991's Excursion on the Version, which featured a greater use of dub and reggae sounds, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessor.[3] This was the final Beats International recording, with Cook next going on to form Freak Power.[2]

Discography

Albums

Year Album UK
[8][9] 		AUS
[10] 		US
[11]
1990 Let Them Eat Bingo
17
63
162
1991 Excursion on the Version
-
-
-

Norman Cook singles

Year Title Peak chart positions
UK
[12] 		NZ
[13]
1989 "Won't Talk About It"/"Blame It on the Bassline"[II] 29 36
"For Spacious Lies" 48 -

Note: these singles are from "Let Them Eat Bingo" and would be re-credited to Beats International on this album.

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[8]
NED
 		BEL
(FLA) 		FRA
GER
[14]
 AUT SWI SWE AUS
[10][15][16] 		US
[17]
1990 "Dub Be Good to Me" 1 2 5 19 4 2 6 10 12 76 Let Them Eat Bingo
"Won't Talk About It" 9 28 — — 26 27 24 — 70 76
"Burundi Blues" 51 70 — — — — — — — —
"For Spacious Lies" (France only) — — — — — — — — — —
1991 "Echo Chamber" 60 — — — — — — — — — Excursion on the Version
"The Sun Doesn't Shine" 66 — — — 87 — — — — —
"In the Ghetto" 44 — — — 89 — — — — —
1992 "Change Your Mind" (US only) — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Samples list

Let Them Eat Bingo
  • "Burundi Dub"
    • "Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa" by
      Sly & The Family Stone
      / bassline
  • "Dub Be Good to Me"
    • "Just Be Good to Me" by
      The SOS Band
    • "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash / bassline
  • "Blame It on the Bassline"
    • "Get into Something" by
      Isley Brothers
      / phrase "Come on now / give the drummer some"
  • "Won't Talk About It"
  • "Dance to the Drummer's Beat"
    • "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" by
      Herman Kelly & Life
  • "Tribute to King Tubby"
Excursion on the Version
  • "Echo Chamber"
    • "Could You Be Loved" by
      Bob Marley & The Wailers

See also

  • List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

  1. ^ a b "BBC One - Top of the Pops, The Story of 1990". BBC. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-7535-0427-8
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-579-4
    .
  4. ^ "A fresh-faced Fatboy Slim discuses the 'politics of sampling'… [1989]". 909originals.com. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Fatboy Slim | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Lindy Layton". IMDb.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Beats International's 'Burundi Blues (Album Version)' - Discover the Sample Source". Whosampled.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Official Charts > Beats International". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5
    .
  10. ^ a b Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  11. ^ "Beats International Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Norman Cook". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Norman Cook". charts.nz. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Beats International – German Chart". Charts.de. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 6 May 1991". Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 16 December 1991". Bubbling Down Under. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  17. ^ Beats International chart history Billboard.com

Further reading

  • "Beats International". Music Technology. Vol. 4, no. 6. May 1990. p. 40.
    OCLC 24835173
    .
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