Put it Back Together

Album: Palookaville (2004)
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Songfacts®:

  • Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, was co-producer of Blur's Think Tank album, so he naturally attended that album's wrap party. The celebration turned into a jam session, which produced this tune.

    Damon Albarn's lyrics are about Cook and his wife Zoe Ball, who had recently returned to the DJ after a three-month split. The couple, who share a son, Woody, and a daughter, Nelly, had briefly separated because of the strain of life in the spotlight. As a high-profile pair, they were frequently pursued by the British tabloids and even had their phones tapped at one point. Despite the intense pressure, Cook and Ball reconciled. As Cook told Rolling Stone in 2004: "We just buckled down, got our heads down. Stopped going out, because every time we went out it was a stress. So we just sat here, played with Woody, and 'put it back together.'"

    The couple stayed together for more than a decade, but on September 24th, 2016, after 18 years of marriage, they announced their divorce.
  • Fatboy Slim contributed his production talents to two tracks on Blur's Think Tank: "Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene." In an interview with The Independent in 2006, Cook expressed his deep admiration for Albarn, stating: "There are two musicians I would follow anywhere: David Byrne and Damon Albarn."
  • "Put It Back Together" features guest vocals from British singer Sharon Woolf, best known for her work on Shanks & Bigfoot's "Sweet Like Chocolate," which topped the UK chart in 1999. It was the first garage track in the UK to reach #1.

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