Derry here I come for real, says Fatboy Slim after fictional gig in Derry Girls

Fatboy Slim said he has been “waiting for the chance” to perform in Derry following his fictional gig in the Channel 4 hit show Derry Girls.

The British DJ, whose real name is Norman Cook, said “Derry, here I come (for real!)” on his Instagram story as it was announced he is set to headline a Halloween party in Northern Ireland on October 21.

It comes after his cameo appearance in episode six of the final series of Derry Girls, which saw the characters secure the last five tickets to a “massive Halloween concert” in 1997 by Fatboy Slim.

In the episode, the DJ appears on a television screen saying: “Listen, I’ve played everywhere, New York, London, Paris, Munich, but it’s all been leading up to this, Derry is the dream.”

Later, protagonist Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) described Fatboy Slim as “bigger than God” and a “modern-day Beethoven”, while James McGuire (Dylan Llewellyn) said: “The man’s a genius”.

In the programme, set during the Troubles, the group said Halloween is the one night of the year when Catholics and Protestants come together, set aside their political and religious differences to “fight ghosts”.

On Thursday, Fatboy Slim posted on Instagram: “Since my fictional gig in ‘Derry Girls’ I’ve been waiting for the chance to play Derry for real.”

He said the tickets were priced at £22.50, just above the £20 price that the characters in the show paid for the concert.

He later added: “Life imitates art.”

On X, formerly Twitter, the Derry music event Jika Jika said: “It’s 1997 and every man, woman and their dog is trying desperately to grab tickets to an unmissable gig – headlined by no other than legendary DJ Fatboy Slim..

“Fast forward to 2023 and the party of the century is actually happening!!”

It later confirmed that tickets to the party sold out “within seconds” after Fatboy Slim’s involvement was announced.