Legendary DJ Fatboy Slim reveals how ex-wife Zoe Ball helped him cope with his fame in ’90s heyday
OVER the next four months, Fatboy Slim is performing all over the world, with shows lined up in Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and Las Vegas.
And the DJ – aka Norman Cook – has no plans to wind down any time soon.
“I will keep going until I drop,” Fatboy told us.
“I genuinely love my job so much. I have still got a passion for it – I am still driven to DJ like when I started at 15.
“I have fallen out of love making records but I love the DJ side of it. Slowing down and quitting is not an option.
“I glimpsed at retirement and it was the abyss of golf and endless lunches.”
I think that sounds like rather good fun.
Opening up ahead of his massive All Back To Minehead three-day event in Butlin’s this weekend, Norman, said he credited his ex-wife, Radio 2 host Zoe Ball, with helping keep him on the straight and narrow back in the Nineties when fame arrived.
He said: “I was having too much fun to think about the next day or the next thing. It was like being on top of a big wave and you had to stay on.
“Zoe helped me through it as she knew that level of fame before and she is a very kind, thoughtful person and she just had this way of checking my ego.
“She brought me through the trickier bits. We could talk about it as we were thrust into the same spotlight.
“It was nice to have a soulmate in there with you.”
Ari’s Wicked move
ARIANA GRANDE channelled the original good witch Glinda from The Wizard Of Oz at the world premiere of Wicked in Australia.
The pop star-turned-actress wore a puffy pink frock to the event in Sydney, while her co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, wore a strapless black gown.
It was the first of five global premieres for the eagerly anticipated musical, with the last one being a red carpet launch in London – where it was filmed – on November 18.
The pair spent more than a year working on the project and its sequel, which will be out next year, and Ariana said she threw herself into the role and even ditched her phone to avoid being distracted by her many other business ventures.
Speaking about her determination to “take good care” of Glinda, Ariana told the Sentimental Men podcast: “There wasn’t gonna be any other thing in my brain or in my workload.
“I wasn’t going to be writing music or on as many of the calls for my beauty, my fragrance or my other things. I really tried to give my full self to her. I had a separate phone for the first few months, a pink phone.
“I was ‘gone’. I just wanted to fully be there and be as present as possible.”
Dionne blanks Amy film
AMY WINEHOUSE’s goddaughter Dionne Bromfield has refused to watch the music icon’s movie biopic Back To Black.
The film hit cinemas in April and is now on Netflix, but was criticised for its recreation of the Rehab singer’s life by Marisa Abela, with many saying it was unnecessary.
Now fellow musician Dionne, right, has admitted her own disdain for the project, hinting she thinks the whole thing is in bad taste. In an exclusive interview at the Global Gift Gala in London last week, Dionne said: “I’ve not seen it. I plan not to watch it.
“I haven’t seen it. I’ve heard it’s quite a funny watch. I’ll leave it at that.”
Dionne has released two albums of her own over the years but is now juggling music with a new project, which will be launching soon.
She said: “I’m starting my own podcast which is going well. We’re filming it at the moment. I’m trying to batch everyone that we’re talking to so I can hit the ground running.
“I’m talking to people in the creative world – actors, musicians, chefs, mixed in with some fun and games.”
Charli’s Gucci coup
CHARLI XCX was the toast of Hollywood after being invited to perform at the 13th annual LACMA gala in front of a celeb-packed crowd.
She was dressed in top-to-toe Gucci, thanks to the fashion house sponsoring the event, and performed some of her biggest hits from No1 album Brat.
Stars including Blake Lively and Andrew Garfield, director Baz Luhrmann, and Kim Kardashian watched the show, with Troye Sivan jumping on stage to perform their collaboration Talk Talk.
It’s been a busy few weeks for Charli, who is also working on new film 100 Nights Of Hero alongside Emma Corrin.
And she’s not slowing down, with her Brat arena tour kicking off in Manchester on November 27.
I bow to your work ethic, Charli.
The week in Bizness
TODAY: Sir Richard Eyre and Patti Boulaye star in a production of Mary Poppins, which kicks off a huge UK run at the Bristol Hippodrome.
THURSDAY: US star Conan Gray begins the UK leg of his world tour at Manchester’s O2 Apollo following the release of his album Found Heaven.
FRIDAY: The nominations for the Grammy awards are out, with Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter expected to lead the pack.
SUNDAY: The MTV EMAs take over Manchester’s Co-op Arena, screening at 10pm on Channel 5, with performances from Shawn Mendes, Raye and many more.
Gigi’s on the rise
GIGI PEREZ is fighting to hold on to the No1 spot this Friday with Sailor Song.
The US singer is facing stiff competition from Rose and Bruno Mars’ new track Apt, and That’s So True by Gracie Abrams.
According to data from Official Charts’ First Look preview, just 1,000 chart units are now separating the top three tracks.
Chappell Roan is also primed to head into the Top 5 with Hot To Go, a new chart peak for the tune.
Meanwhile, KSI and Trippie Redd are making good headway and are on course to reach a new peak at No5 with Thick Of It.
Sabrina Carpenter is also reaching a new high with Bed Chem, which is likely to place at No8.
It’s all to play for.
EVERY celeb and their dog wanted in on Banksy‘s latest auction. Insiders tell me Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both had assistants phoning in to get their hands on some of the British artist’s best work.
The lots included original sketches and manuscripts, as well as the original proof print of his famous Girl With Balloon.
THE UK’s biggest family festival, In It Together, has announced Kaiser Chiefs, Becky Hill and Ronan Keating as 2025 headliners.
It runs from May 23 to 25 at Margam in South Wales.
It will also be the first night of the Kaiser Chiefs’ series of shows across the country next summer.