Album: I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Brighton Port Authority is an alias of English DJ/musician Norman Cook, who is best known as big beat musician/DJ Fatboy Slim.
  • This song features David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. Cook explained to Rolling Stone how he came to collaborate with David Byrne on this track: "Well I've worked with David for about two years writing a musical... about the life of Imelda Marcos. We wrote 22 songs together and one day I said, 'Can we do a song that isn't about Imelda F---ing Marcos?' The rest of them were narratives about her life. DB had really researched everything about Imelda and been to the Philippines... The story is not about the shoes. We had a rule that we didn't mention the shoes."
    Cook went on to explain why Dizzee Rascal was later added to this track: "We finished it and Dizzee heard it. I bumped into him at a photo session and he went, 'I wanna be on that record. It's gonna be a hit and I wanna be on it. Find me 16 bars and put me on it.' So we kind of glued him onto it. He's from a rough part of South London, and if I hadn't he probably would have had his mates come 'round and kneecap me."
  • The promo featuring nude dancers with censor bars on them, was named video of the year by iTunes UK in 2008.
  • The album title refers to some dialogue from the 1975 movie Jaws.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.