Fatboy's funk soul brother: I'm skint

The former music partner of millionaire DJ Fatboy Slim was declared bankrupt this week after failing to pay a final £1,600 tax bill.

Ashley Slater, who fronted Norman Cook's band Freak Power, was taken to the High Court after he failed to pay the final part of a £20,000 order.

But, despite his downfall, Slater, 44, refuses to be jealous of his old partner's success. He said: 'I don't bear a grudge at all. Norman Cook is a millionaire and I'm a loser. He worked hard for what he got, he was very lucky but also very talented and deserved everything - I am still friends with him.'

The pair formed Freak Power in 1993 and found fame when their music was used in the Levi adverts featuring Flat Eric.

Cook was unavailable to comment on his friend's predicament but, speaking from his home, just miles from the seafront mansion where Cook lives with his wife Zoe Ball and son Woody, Slater said: 'Under no account must there be any indication that I've been envious of Norman Cook or that he left me in the lurch.

'I'm not in a band but I'm still involved in music and I have just completed a soundtrack to the latest Hollywood release MirrorMask. Times are difficult for most musicians - that's the state of the industry.'

He added: 'I failed to file my tax returns and they wanted their money so I can't say the Inland Revenue was heavy handed - they were just doing their job.'

Since the group split, Slater has been signed to Cook's Brighton-based record label Skint as Dr Bone but failed to hit the big time.