If you spot a hat on the floor in front of Norman Cook's decks or notice a collection bucket being passed around the crowd - give generously.

Because poor old Norm is £100,000 out of pocket after the main sponsor of the Big Beach Boutique 2 pulled out only three weeks before the event.

"It has been quite a headache" says Norman (christened Quentin, but best known as Fatboy Slim).

"We had sponsorship from a very well-known vodka company which promised to pay for the whole thing and then, last month, it changed its mind - leaving me to pay for it.

"I have no idea why it pulled out - it was me who thought up the tie-in with vodka. It was perfect because my body weight is about 33 per cent vodka at any given time - I'm like a living advert."

But Norman isn't crying into his Skint record bag. Neither is he ranting, raving or emptying his fridge of Red Bull.

The eternal optimist just laughs and says: "I'm paying £100,000 out of my own pocket but, to be honest, it's worth it. I'm just going to make sure I have a hundred grand's worth of fun."

The first Big Beach Boutique was held last July.

It was born out of a Channel 4 initiative to take sports coverage out of the living room and into the open air.

The TV company set up a huge screen on Brighton beach and invited sports fans to watch Test cricket in the sun.

For one night only, they asked Norman to throw a massive party on the pebbles under the starry summer sky.

Last year, 35,000 people partied to the sounds of Groove Armada and Norman Cook.

Roving spotlights lit up the West Pier and the party came to an explosive end with a blast of pyrotechnics.

But like this year, Norman was forced to overcome his fair share of obstacles along the way.

Back then, his problems weren't financial, they were emotional and involved dozens of sleepless nights.

The day before the event, Norman revealed he'd been having nightmares about people being crushed, falling into the sea and drowning.

Cancelling the event wasn't an option so the only way he could conquer his demons was to confront them.

He walked on stage, played a storming set and put his anxious mind at rest.

"One of my biggest concerns was that the crowd would be drunk and unruly. I feared people would go swimming and drown but everyone was so well- behaved, I needn't have worried."

Free from stress, Norman's spirits were lifted by the adoring home crowd and, as his final tune ended, he found himself craving more.

"It was just such an incredibly intense experience. I loved it. I remember walking off stage and giving the organiser a massive hug and jokingly saying 'same time next year?'.

He looked at me and said 'Channel 4 isn't going to do it again but the council said you can'."

Norman decided to take up Brighton and Hove City Council's kind offer and now hopes to make the Big Beach Boutique an annual event.

"If it goes well tomorrow night then yeah, I'd love it to become an annual event. It could be Brighton's answer to the Love Parade.

"But I promise I won't headline it every year. I wouldn't inflict that on the good people of Brighton.

Norman expects the beach to be packed with 60,000 people - nearly double last year's crowd.

"I reckon everyone who came last year will come again because they had fun and all the people who kicked themselves because they didn't come last year will definitely check it out this year. But, apparently, crowds of 60,000 aren't going to be a problem.

"I've been told the beach has a capacity of 125,000. I find that hard to believe because there were only 35,000 last year and I couldn't see a single square metre of beach. But the council doesn't seem concerned.

"Of course, it has taken safety and security very seriously but the only rules it is asking people to follow are don't get drunk or take drugs and then swim in the sea and don't take glass on to the beach.

"The council isn't saying don't drink or don't have fun - it is just saying take care of yourselves and others, which I think is really cool."

As the organiser, Norman decided to make a few a changes to the event, which he has affectionately nicknamed Normstock.

He has chosen to hold the party on a Saturday rather than a Friday so people could "make a day of it", and turned down national acts in favour of well-known local DJs.

It is fitting Norman has chosen Damian Harris (aka Midfield General) to start the party.

Damian owns Skint Records, the Brighton-based label which launched Norman's DJ career as Fatboy Slim. Damian was also behind the original Big Beat Boutique club night which was held at The Concorde in the mid-Nineties.

Next up will be legendary DJ John Digweed who was brought up in Hastings but now resides in Hove.

Norman says: "I want to showcase more local DJ talent but that would mean making the party an all-dayer and that wouldn't be fair. The people of Brighton were great last year. Hardly anyone complained about the noise, even though you could hear the music a mile away.

"I think five hours once a year is enough. I couldn't subject people to noise for an entire day - it would do their heads in."

Nice-bloke Norm may well be doing the community a good deed by protecting their ears from his chunky beats. But he may also be stocking up on good karma points to exchange with mother nature.

"The weather has been a bit grim but my theory is, if it's bad now, statistically it must clear up soon. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed. Wow - as I said that, the sun just came out."

The silence of the sunshine after days of torrential rain must have alerted young ears because, within seconds, an excited chatter erupts in the background.

"Do you mind if I talk to you as I put Woody's shoes on?" Norm asks. It would seem a father-and-son stroll or bike ride is imminent.

"Woody's coming again this year. He said he enjoyed it last year. Now he's a bit older, he can actually dance. All four of my parents are coming and all four of Zoe's. Her dad Johnny also went last year and loved it."

"Zoe's coming but she's also working. She's a presenter for the London radio station XFM and it is one of the only sponsors left. She'll be doing her Saturday afternoon show from Brighton beach."

After the party, Norman, Zoe and two-year-old Woody will be heading off to Ibiza for a well-earned rest.

"It has been a mad couple of weeks. We're all looking forward to chilling out."

The after-show party at the Concorde 2 has sold out. E4 will broadcast Fatboy Slim's set live from 9.30pm until 11pm. For more information, visit www.bigbeachboutique.com