Fatboy Slim mastermind Norman Cook has joined former Housemartins bandmate Paul Heaton in the studio to help Heaton on the rhythm tracks for the Beautiful South's new album, "Quench.

While a publicist for Beautiful South told "New Musical Express" that the recent sessions do not indicate a reunion for the Housemartins, the Cook-Heaton collaborations mark the first time the two have been in a studio together in almost 10 years.

Cook and Heaton were integral members of the mid-'80s jangle-pop outfit the Housemartins, who scored a series of U.K. Top 10 hits and awards in its relatively brief four-year career before disbanding in 1988.

Heaton then went on to found the Beautiful South with Housemartins drummer David Hemmingway, while Cook pursued his remixing interests as a part of Beats International and Freakpower before releasing his first single as Fatboy Slim in 1996.

Fatboy Slim will release his sophomore album, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby," -- a title

which openly refers to the slogan for Virginia Slims' cigarettes -- on October 20.