Here DJ Norman Cook, alias Fatboy Slim, tells Jakki Phillips about Big Beach Boutique II in his own words.

I GOT the shock of my life. I went home thinking what a great gig then woke up Sunday afternoon, watched the news and heard people got hurt, someone died, and I was like, "Oh my God, this is a nightmare come true".

I went to sleep thinking it was a triumph but woke to find it had turned into a nightmare!

But I've since found out it was more of a triumph.

A lot of the stories in the Press were incorrect. The papers made more out of the chaos than there really was.

I mean the Raving Lunacy headline in The Mirror and the talk of "crush terror". I think there was chaos but not terror. I must have missed the terror.

I just remember thousands of smiling faces on Brighton beach.

There were only six arrests out of a quarter of a million people - in my mind that's not terror. That's pretty damn good.

The police said that's fewer than a normal Saturday night in Brighton.

But saying all of that I doubt we'll hold the Big Beach Boutique again. I don't take safety issues lightly.

I will only do it again if I can guarantee people's safety and if that many people are going to come, we can't give that guarantee. I think we got away with it this year but only just.

Everyone was really well behaved but considering how many people were there, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

It's a shame to be the victim of your own success.

On Sunday someone said to me, "why do you think so many people came?" and I said "because they saw it on TV last year and it looked so much fun".

The only thing I could do to keep people away is have my career take a nose dive just before next summer.

The council has said that if we find a way of controlling the numbers and making it viable, it would love us to do it again.

It's a great event for Brighton. It brings money and people into the city.

But safety has got to be paramount and we were lucky this year not to have more injuries.

I did enjoy the event but I did get very stressed, particularly when I thought I might be responsible for someone being hurt or killed.

But after speaking to the police and the council and hearing them say I couldn't have done anymore than I did, I feel a lot better. I think the Big Beach Boutique 2 goes down as a near miss and a cause for thought.

The thing is, it's lovely to party but ultimately I don't want anyone to get hurt.

The beach just isn't big enough and it's not like we can do it in another location.

It could only happen on the beach - it wouldn't be the same anywhere else.

In order to do it again we'd have to limit numbers. I'm not confident we can do that unless we block the A23 and stop people coming in.

I first got wind of the huge crowds when I got down to The Grand at 1pm for some interviews and the beach was already packed.

I thought, oh God, the beach is crammed and it doesn't even start for another five hours!

Before I went on stage the police came up and said they had reached their critical attendance limit, which is the point when they can no longer guarantee people's safety.

They weren't sure whether they were going to put me on or not. Eventually, and thankfully, they let me go on but they did shut me down early because there were just too many people.

I was really rattled when I walked on stage. I didn't know what was going to happen.

The end was a bit disappointing as I'd held back some really big tunes for the last half-hour and then, because I got taken off early, I didn't get the chance to play them.

But I'm glad I got to finish on All Saints' Pure Shores. That was a special remix I'd done for the occasion.

I'll be honest. Normally DJing is a pleasure but on Saturday it was more like work.

I couldn't sit back and enjoy it. But the after show party at The Grand was fantastic. It was a bit like a wedding reception with everyone hugging each other. Both mine and Zo's parents were there and I was dancing with my mum.

I do feel very proud. I felt proud from the minute I got down to The Grand on Saturday.

I was bobbing around doing interviews on the balconies of The Grand and The Brighton Centre and every time people saw me they would start shouting and cheering.

I felt like the Queen coming out on the balcony and waving at everybody.

"In fact, I've been proud for months. Walking round Brighton and having people shout "Good luck for the 13th" or "We'll be there" or "I'm bringing my kids".

On Saturday I was buzzing from the minute I woke up. But I couldn't really enjoy it until I put the last record on. That was the first time I could sit back and think, "Wow, how good was that?"

One thing I do have to say is a big thank you to everyone for co-operating.

In the midst of all the chaos, people behaved really well. It was such a good-natured crowd, even when half of the people couldn't see or hear anything.

Even when there was chaos at the train station, people were still smiling and laughing, rather than being aggressive and wanting to know why they couldn't get on a train.

So I'd like to thank everyone for their good humour under difficult circumstances.

You made me proud.

Interview by Jakki Phillips