Fatboy Slim: Right Here, Right Now Documentary

US The legendary Big Beach Boutique II in full 03/02/23

Fatboy Slim's Big Beach Boutique II was always planned to be legendary, but the massive dance music event on Brighton Beach drew an unfathomably large amount of people and became something of a monster. Now, Norman Cook and Sky have announced a documentary detailing the events of July 13th 2002, which lead to one of England's most incredible and notorious outdoor parties.

Here's the original DJ set in all it's glory:

The documentary airs tomorrow, February 4th. More info here:

Fatboy Slim today announces Sky Original 'Right Here, Right Now' a feature length documentary about his notorious July 2002 event described as the "biggest outdoor party the UK has ever seen", 'Right Here, Right Now' takes the audience back to 2002 and an extraordinary moment in time, when social and cultural history reached a crossroads at The Big Beach Boutique II.

On July 13, 2002, Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, performed the second of his free open-air concerts, The Big Beach Boutique II, in front of a record-breaking crowd, making history – both good and bad. Organisers and police were expecting forty thousand people but more than a quarter of a million turned up on Brighton Beach for the free event, changing the way UK events were run forever.

Norman Cook AKA Fatboy Slim said: "It has been wonderful with the fullness of time and some hindsight, to revisit such a seismic event in both mine and my hometown's history. Warts and all, the story told in full.... Watch, sleep, rave, repeat."

Now, 20 years on, Norman, and those who were on the front line of this seismic historical moment talk us through the process and the obstacles; The immense difficulties and struggles that the local police faced with such an unexpected amount of descendants on the city, the councillors and residents that opposed the controversial event and many of those who participated in what Norman has described as a "Woodstock moment".

'Right Here, Right Now' features interviews with those who were there on the Brighton sands and witnessed it first-hand including Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Vernon Kay and John Simm, all giving accounts of their personal experiences of the era-defining gathering. The crowd was more than four times the expected size and at the time, doubling Brighton's population for the day.

Beach Boutique II defined a generation. The last hurrah of the rave movement before it ascended from the underground to the mainstream. It changed lives and the course of cultural history and it's unlikely we'll ever see anything happen on that scale again. The celebration transformed the way UK events were run forever, with a country wide ban on non-ticketed events.

More on the documentary https://www.sky.com/watch/title/programme/9234a53a-684d-4a4b-9a08-3d71af06aa9b

Fatboy Slim: http://www.fatboyslim.net

About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.