I've come a long way.. living outside the box

NORMAN COOK'S BOOK REFLECTS ON 40 CHAOTIC YEARS IN MUSIC

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DANCE icon Norman Cook would admit he took the rock 'n' roll lifestyle too far.

Now 16 years sober, he’s forgotten more incredible parties than most of us will ever experience.

But that doesn’t mean he regrets everything. And he wouldn't want the next generation to miss out on the wilder side of life.

“It would be a shame,” he says. “So much beauty happens in nightclubs and at festivals and on the dancefloor, when you are living outside the box. Friendships are made, you fall in love or you find out things about yourself... it'd be a shame for a generation to miss out on all that enlightenment.

“What is it Billy Bragg said? ‘You can experience the download, but you can’t download the experience!’

“You have to be out there and living that life to find out what life's all about.”