Beats International

Beats International
Beats International, 1990. From L to R: Lester Noel, Norman Cook, Lindy Layton, Andy Boucher
Background information
Origin	Brighton, England, UK
Genres	Electronica
Years active	1989–1992
Labels	Elektra Records Telstar Records Go! Beat
Members	Norman Cook Lindy Layton Lester Noel David John-Baptiste MC Wildski Andy Boucher

Beats International were a British electronic music band, formed in the late 1980s by Norman Cook (also known as Fatboy Slim) based in Brighton, East Sussex, England, after his departure from The Housemartins.

A loose confederation of musicians, the line-up also included vocalist Lindy Layton, former North of Cornwallis vocalist Lester Noel, rappers DJ Baptiste (The Crazy MC), MC Wildski and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Unusually, the band's live line-up also incorporated a graffiti artist, REQ, who would paint designs on a backdrop while the musicians played.

Their debut studio album, Let Them Eat Bingo, spawned the UK number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me", a re-working of The SOS Band's chart-topper "Just Be Good to Me", based on a sample of the bassline from The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" and featuring Layton on vocals.

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. This was the final Beats International recording, with Cook next going on to form Freak Power.