641 Hello Norman Cook* - Won't Talk About It / Blame It On The Bassline

( * "Won't  Talk" .. featuring  Billy  Bragg, "Blame  It"....featuring  MC  Wildski )

Chart  entered : 8  July  1989

Chart  peak : 29  ( a re-recording  of  "Won't  Talk  About  It"  featuring  Lindy  Layton  on  vocals  and  released  under  the  "Beats  International "  moniker  got  to  9  in  1990 )

Number  of  hits :  ( deep  breath ) 43  ( 2  under  his  own  name, 8  as  part  of  The  Housemartins, 5  as  Beats  International, 4  as  part  of  Freak  Power, 4  as  Pizzaman, 3  as  The  Mighty  Dub  Katz , 17  as  Fatboy  Slim )

Norman  wouldn't  thank  me  for  the  comparison  but  only  Jonathan  King  has  charted  under  more  guises  than  Brighton's  finest.

Norman's  real  name  is  Quentin. He  was  born  in  1963  and  played  in  Brighton  pub  bands  as  both  drummer  and  vocalist  while  also  DJ-ing  at  clubs  in  the  resort. He  met  Paul  Heaton  in  Reigate  and  they  briefly  formed  a  band, the  Stomping  Moonfrogs.. When  The  Housemartins'  original  bassist  quit  in  1985  , Paul  invited  Norman  to  join  despite  him  having  no  real  experience  of  the  instrument. Norman  stayed  and  played  on  all  their  hits. When  the  band  split  in  1988  Norman  returned  to  Brighton  to  pursue  his  interest  in  dance  music.

This  was  Norman's  first  single  since  the  split. the  two  sides  featured  a  different  collaborator so  it  was  diplomatic  to  make  it  a  double  A-side  although  Billy  Bragg  was the  bigger  name. "Won't  Talk  About  It"  was  originally  an  outtake  from  his  1984  album  Brewing  Up  With  Billy  Bragg. , a  reassurance  song  that  a  girl's  past  doesn't  matter. In  its  original  form  the  verses  are  mostly  spoken  word  and  at  five  minutes  it  drags. For  this  single  Billy  ditched  all  but  the  title  hook  and  doleful  two  note  guitar  riff  writing  simpler  new  verses  which  he  decided  to  sing  in  a  falsetto  croon  rather  than  his  usual  gruff  bark. The  result  wasn't  going  to  give  Jimmy  Somerville  any  sleepless  nights  but  its  serviceable   and  doubtless  still  catches  people  out  at  pop  quizzes. Norman's  contribution  is  a  hip  hop  beat  and  synth  bass  line  and  for  a  couple  of   minutes  it  works  very  well  until  he  decides  to  throw  the  kitchen  sink  in  with  hip  hop  interjections, house  piano, a  Santana-esque  guitar  solo  and  Peter  Hook  style  melodic  bass  runs  and  the  song  drowns  in  sonic  clutter. Sometimes  less  is  more.

"Blame  It  On  The  Bassline"  is  a  sample- heavy  hip  hop  track  based  around  The  Jacksons'  Blame  It  On  The  Boogie  although  the  titular  sample  is  actually  spoken  by  John  Peel  and   Funkadelic's  Get  Off  Your  Ass  and  Jam  is  also  prominently  pilfered. Norman's  mate  Wildski  contributes  a  very  English-sounding  rap  justifying  the  thievery. As  a  statement  of  intent  to  leave  indie  rock  behind,  it does  the  job  well  enough  but  I'm  in  no  hurry  to  hear  it  again.