“You’ve come a long way, baby”: Fatboy Slim’s legendary comeback gig on the stage where he signed his first record deal
The street is unassuming. Located between a couple of bars in Hull, what looks to be a residential road has a venue halfway down it, which has been home to some of the biggest names in music over the past four decades: The Adelphi. While the majority of bands who have graced its stage have merely played their songs and left, The Housemartins developed their sound in the venue and signed their very first record deal on its stage.
Since then, the band have enjoyed success and gone their separate ways, with one member, Norman Cooke, becoming a world-renowned DJ, respected for his ability to deliver heart-pumping sets on some of the biggest stages in the world. He now goes by Fatboy Slim, and while his career might seem completely different now compared to how it started, he hasn’t forgotten his roots.
This is best reflected in the comeback gig he did back at The Adelphi to celebrate its 35th anniversary. On a night that brought with it rule breaks, sweat, and broken speakers, Cooke showed that while he might have developed into one of the most influential electronic artists in decades, he doesn’t forget the people or the places who helped him get there.
“They weren’t born in this city, but they were established here in the ‘80s,” said Paul Sarel. Sarel is the general manager of The Adelphi, and he recalled the story of Fatboy Slim’s legendary comeback gig. “The Housemartins signed their first recording deal on The Adelphi stage in 1985 with Go Discs. So, long story short, fast forward 34 to 35 years, a friend of the club called Sybil [Bell], who works for something called Independent Venue Week, bumped into Norman Cooke, Fatboy Slim, in London, which is where he’s knocking about.”
“I was on an anti-Brexit march,” said Bell, remembering their meeting, “I had a pink wig on an old mop stick; that was my banner. It didn’t represent anything; it was just all I could find in the house. I was waiting at a certain point, and there was quite a lot of musicians and artists there, and I saw Norman… I couldn’t really miss the opportunity, and I thought, well, I know that The Housemartins signed their record deal on stage at The Adelphi, so I went over to him.”
Bell explained that Paul Jackson, the owner of The Adelphi, was still in charge of the venue, which Cooke was astonished by, given how much time had passed and how hard independent venues have it across the country. When Bell continued to explain that the 35th anniversary was coming up, Cooke agreed to turn up for a comeback gig.
“A few strings were pulled, and he comes back and plays the 35th birthday party for next to nothing,” Sarel recalled. “We filled the place out, made a load of money, and then we put that on the front of the building.” Sarel is referring to the words etched in white on their grey-bricked backdrop that read a line from one of Cooke’s songs, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.”
Cooke didn’t play with no rules in place, though. He had one strict condition that people had to meet in order for him to come down and perform. “The rule from Normal was he’ll do it, but no cameras, though. Nobody takes any photographs,” explained Sarel.
“The team said to me, ‘You know the sound will cut out at 11 o’clock because it always does,’” recalled Bell. “Lo and behold, the sound cut out at 11 o’clock, the electrics went, and everybody started singing ‘Caravan of Love’ for about 40 seconds, and then the electric came back on.”
“The PA went down ‘cos there was so much sweat in the room, and the safety device kicked in,” said Sarel. “It took about five minutes to fix, but during that time, the audience started to sing ‘Caravan of Love’, which is this acapella song by The Housemartins. Norman goes, ‘Ah, oh my God, I’m sorry, I’m breaking all my own rules’, and he filmed it.”
The true magic of music was captured that night as Cooke returned to one of the first venues he performed at and saw that nothing had changed, including the walls, the venue, and those who occupy it. There is a true essence contained within that room, and it reached its pinnacle that evening. “That’s why people love The Adelphi so much,” said Sarel. “It’s 38 years of people going, ‘Yeah’.”
