Beats International

After the 1988 demise of the superb British pop group the Housemartins, Brighton-born bassist Norman Cook returned to his first love, DJing, and became one of the English music scene's most successful remixers. In 1989 he launched a solo recording career with the single "Won't Talk About It," featuring the falsetto vocals of Billy Bragg; the record became a major dance hit, and after a follow-up, "For Spacious Lies," Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Linda Layton and Lester Noel, rapper MC Wildski, and keyboardist An...