Fatboy Slim / Better Living Through Chemistry

BMG is reissuing Fatboy Slim‘s 1996 debut album Better Living Through Chemistry in October as 30th anniversary edition which is virtually identical to the 20th anniversary 2CD edition.

For those who missed out on the 2016 version, its bonus CD rounded up 13 B-sides and unreleased songs. The B-sides are ‘Weekend Bonus Beats’ and ‘Neal Cassady Starts Here’ from Santa Cruz; ‘Knuf Ot Knup’ and ‘Big Beat Souffle’ from ‘Punk To Funk’; ‘Michael Jackson’ and ‘Next To Nothing’ from ‘Going Out Of My Head’; plus ‘Everybody Loves A Carnival’, ‘Everybody Loves A Filter’ and ‘Es Paradis’ from ‘Everybody Loves A 303’. The second CD also features tracks which were unreleased in 2016 – ‘Sunset 303’, ‘It’s A Dream’ and ‘First Down The Disco’ – plus the bonus track from the vinyl edition, ‘Crenshaw Siren Beats’.

The new 2CD deluxe adds just one new remix to the above.This is of ‘Song For Lindy’ by Dutch producer Sem Jacobs. The digital ‘deluxe’ replicates the 2CD tracklisting, but adds a second new remix of ‘Song For Lindy’, by Chinonegro & Ammo Avenue.

All this means three of the B-sides of ‘Everybody Needs A 303’ have still yet to feature on a reissue of Better Living Through Chemistry. These are ‘Where You’re At’, ‘Lincoln Memorial’ and ‘We Really Want To See Those Fingers’. On a more positive front, sleeve notes by occasional SDE contributor Alexis Petridis, enhances the 2CD set.

Norman Cook said of the anniversary: “Better Living Through Chemistry was basically me figuring out what I was doing. I was making music for the dancefloor, the bedroom, the afterparty and anyone who’d listen.

“Looking back, it’s got all the mistakes, experiments and madness of that time in it, but that’s probably what I love about it most. It was the beginning of the Fatboy Slim adventure, and I’m amazed that, all these years later, people are still discovering it, dancing to it and asking me about it. It feels pretty bloody good to give it another lease of life.”

On its release in September 1996, Better Living Through Chemistry established Cook in the then-nascent Big Beat scene. After his work in The Housemartins and Beats International, Cook was still active in house duos Pizzaman and Mighty Dub Katz while releasing his early Fatboy Slim music, while his band Freak Power had released their second album More Of Everything For Everybody just three months before Better Living Through Chemistry.

Although Better Living Through Chemistry only reached No 69, it saw Fatboy Slim become increasingly popular, with a reissue of second single ‘Everybody Needs A 303’ in 1997 giving him his first Top 40 hit, reaching No 34. It led the way to Fatboy Slim’s next single ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ from chart-topping album You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby going Top 10 the following year.

A new 2LP vinyl version of the original album (with Alex’s sleeve notes), mastered at half-speed will also be available.

Better Living Through Chemistry will be reissued by BMG on 2 October 2026.

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Fatboy Slim

Better Living Through Chemistry - 30th anniversary 2CD set

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   13.89 Pre-Order Amazon de   19.99 Pre-Order Amazon fr   19.97 Pre-Order Amazon es   20.61 Pre-Order JPC de   18.99 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   13.99 pre-order Rough Trade usa   19.99 pre-order

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Fatboy Slim

Better Living Through Chemistry - 2LP half speed vinyl

Shop Price gbp Stock JPC de   36.99 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   33.99 pre-order Rough Trade usa   42.99 pre-order

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Tracklisting

Better Living Through Chemistry Fatboy Slim / 30th anniversary

• 2CD set
  • CD 1
    1. Song For Lindy
    2. Santa Cruz
    3. Going Out Of My Head
    4. The Weekend Starts Here
    5. Everybody Needs A 303
    6. Give The Po’ Man A Break
    7. 10th And Crenshaw
    8. First Down
    9. Punk To Funk
    10. The Sound Of Milwaukee
  • CD 2
    1. Michael Jackson
    2. Next To Nothing
    3. Everybody Loves A Carnival
    4. Es Paradis
    5. First Down The Disco
    6. Sunset 303
    7. Neal Cassady Starts Here
    8. It’s A Dream
    9. Knup Ot Knuf
    10. Big Beat Souffle
    11. Everybody Loves A Filter
    12. Weekend Bonus Beats
    13. Crenshaw Siren Beats
    14. Song For Lindy (Sem Jacobs Remix)
• 2LP vinyl Half-speed mastered
  • LP 1

    Side One

    1. ‘Song For Lindy’
    2. 10th And Crenshaw
    3. Give The Po’ Man A Break

    Side Two

    1. Going Out Of My Head
    2. Everybody Needs A 303
    3. First Down
  • LP 2

    Side Three

    1. The Weekend Starts Here
    2. The Sound Of Milwaukee

    Side Four

    1. Santa Cruz
    2. Punk To Funk
    3. Crenshaw Siren Beats