Beats International

Beats International
Beats International, 1990. From L to R: Lester Noel, Norman Cook, Lindy Layton, Andy Boucher
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
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), after his departure from The Housemartins.

Career

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.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	UK Albums Chart[1]	AUS[2]
1990	Let Them Eat Bingo	#17	#63
1991	Excursion on the Version	-	-

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions														Album
		UK [3]	IRE	NED	BEL (FLA)	FRA	GER [4]	AUT	SWI	SWE	NOR	AUS [2]	NZ	US [5]	US Dance
1990	"Dub Be Good to Me"	1	4	2	5	19	4	2	6	10	10	12	6	76	1	Let Them Eat Bingo
	"Won't Talk About It"	9	12	28	—	—	26	27	24	—	—	70	20	76	4
	"Burundi Blues"	51	—	70	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"For Spacious Lies" (France only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	"Echo Chamber"	60	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	49	—	—	Excursion on the Version
	"The Sun Doesn't Shine"	66	—	—	—	—	87	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"In the Ghetto"	44	—	—	—	—	89	—	—	—	—	—	7	—	—
1992	"Change Your Mind" (US only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	28
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Samples list

Let Them Eat Bingo

• "Burundi Dub"
  • "Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa" by Sly & The Family Stone / bassline
• "Dub Be Good to Me"
  • "Just Be Good to Me" by The SOS Band
  • "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash / bassline
• "Blame It on the Bassline"
  • "Get into Something" by Isley Brothers / phrase "Come on now / give the drummer some"
• "Won't Talk About It"
  • "Thank You Mr. DJ" by Silver Convention / intro
  • "Levi Stubbs Tears" by Billy Bragg / guitar
• "Dance to the Drummer's Beat"
  • "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life
• "Tribute to King Tubby"
  • "Unwind Yourself" by Marva Whitney / saxophone in beginning

"Excursion on the Version"

• "Echo Chamber"
  • "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley & The Wailers

See also

• List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 50. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
   • Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Beats International discography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
   • Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
3. "Official Charts Company: Beats International". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
4. "Beats International – German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
5. Beats International chart history