Editing Fatboy Slim (section)

==Early life and education ==
Quentin Leo Cook was born on 31 July 1963 in [[Bromley]] in Kent, England, the youngest of three.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 July 2017 |title=Happy Birthday to Fatboy Slim! |url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/happy-birthday-to-fatboy-slim-20392016 |access-date=4 March 2019 |newspaper=Hot Press}}</ref><ref name="Deborah-1999">{{Cite web |last=Deborah |first=Ross |author-link=Deborah Ross (journalist) |date=19 July 1999 |title=Interview: Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim - You've come a long way, Quentin |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interview-norman-cook-fatboy-slim-you-ve-come-a-long-way-quentin-1107292.html |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> His mother was a teacher in a [[hospital school]], and his father was an environmentalist consultant who was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire]] for introducing [[Bottle bank|bottle banks]] into the UK.<ref name="Deborah-1999" /> His family belonged to the [[Kosmon]] faith, an obscure religious order.<ref name="Heath-1999">{{Cite news |last=Heath |first=Chris |date=1999-04-18 |title=The Fatboy sings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/apr/18/life1.lifemagazine5 |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=[[The Observer]] |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

Cook was raised in [[Reigate]], Surrey, which he later described as a "suburban hell".<ref name="Deborah-1999" /> He attended [[Reigate Grammar School]], where he took violin lessons alongside the future<!-- do not remove "future", as Starmer wasn't PM in the 1970s --> prime minister [[Keir Starmer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/03/keir-starmer-sensible-radical |title=Keir Starmer: The sensible radical |last=Maguire |first=Patrick |date=31 March 2020 |website=[[New Statesman]] |access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref> At school, he became a fan of [[punk music]] and edited a punk [[fanzine]].<ref name="Deborah-1999" /><ref name="The Independent">{{Cite news |title=Rise of the superstar DJ: In praise of Fatboy Slim |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/rise-of-the-superstar-dj-in-praise-of-fatboy-slim-430707.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220706205119/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/rise-of-the-superstar-dj-in-praise-of-fatboy-slim-430707.html |archive-date=2022-07-06 |access-date=2025-02-09 |work=[[The Independent]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> He adopted the name Norman when he was bullied for the name Quentin, which his classmates associated with the gay actor [[Quentin Crisp]].<ref name="Deborah-1999" /> He collected records and began DJing at 15.<ref name="Deborah-1999" />

At [[sixth form college]], Cook met the songwriter [[Paul Heaton]], with whom he formed a punk band, the Stomping Pond Frogs.<ref name="Nichols-2011">{{cite web |last=Nichols |first=Paul |date=9 May 2011 |title=Norman Cook – He's Come A Long Way Baby |url=https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/norman-cook---hes-come-a-long-way-baby |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=[[PRS for Music]]}}</ref> He failed his [[A-level (United Kingdom)|A-level]] exams as he was focusing on playing music, and had to retake them.<ref name="Nichols-2011" /> Cook moved to [[Brighton]] to attend [[Brighton Polytechnic]] from 1982 to 1985 and gained a [[2:1]] in [[British studies]].<ref name="The Herald-2015">{{Cite web |date=2015-02-13 |title=Fatboy Slim gives university praise |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13201457.fatboy-slim-gives-university-praise/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |language=en}}</ref> In Brighton, he worked as a DJ and was taught how to [[DJ mixer|mix]] by the DJ [[Carl Cox]].<ref name="Doyle-2017" /><ref name="The Herald-2015" /> He appeared as a porter in the music video for the 1982 song "[[Goody Two Shoes (song)|Goody Two Shoes]]" by [[Adam Ant]].<ref name="Heath-1999" />