riverboat song tfi friday

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Riverboat Song

• Ocean Colour Scene

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The Riverboat Song Lyrics as written by Oscar Lloyd Harrison Damon Minchella

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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It could mean: I see two riverboats ( parts of yourself )...is where the river runs red (you’re just hurting yourself if you keep on separate these parts of yourself). “Anyway for all the things you know tell me why does the river not flow Anyway for all the things you said tell me why does the river run red Anyway for all the things you've seen tell me when will the river run green” You should understand/tell me why does the river not flow/runs red before you can make that river run green. If you don’t try to cope the reason why you’re doing this to yourself (I see double) you’ll found out to be what you promised yourself you’ll never be (that’s my trouble). It reminds me of J.S.Mill “..Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign."

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This song became famous when used as the theme song for Chris evan's TFI Friday. Its a superb song but i always feel a bit sick when i hear it as i remember this was their opening song when i saw them live at a festival, i got so badly crushed by all the crazy fans that i was in tears. It was great fun though!!!

Why is no one posting about this song?!! Its AMAZING!! havent got a clue wot it means tho, only bad thing is most people associate with chris evans now! GIIINNNNNGGGEEEERRRR!!!!

I'm with scouseluke, awesome band and a great riff.

I reckon this band singer thinks he's Lennon, fair bit of similarity in voice and singing styles. Pretty cool band.

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TFI Friday: Where are they now? Chris Evans and stars of live show nearly 20 years on

Chris Evans, Will Macdonald, Andrew the Barman - almost 20 years on what are the stars of episode one doing now?

• 19:35, 12 Jun 2015
• Updated 21:08, 12 Jun 2015

TFI Friday is back!

As the live show that tore up the rule book, only to replace it with rebellious and innovative ideas from the minds of Danny Baker, Chris Evans and Will Macdonald, the Channel 4 programme is making a welcomed return.

When it was officially announced back in February that

, hilarious memories came flooding back.

Looking back at the first episode, which aired back on 9 February 1996, it's clear to see the stars have come a long, long way since then.

Modelled on David Letterman's friendly style of interviewing, Evans presented a shambolic live show that often saw him forced to apologise for the conduct of guests.

Nothing encapsulated the post-Madchester Britpop era quite like the opening strains of Ocean Colour Scene's Riverboat Song as a guest made their way through the audience in a pub style set.

Where are the guests from the first episode now?

For all of the latest updates and reactions from TFI Friday LIVE - click here.

Chris evans.

Fortunately for fans Chris Evans stayed in the media business and is back to present the show.

Plans for the special programme were kept under wraps, but Evans said last year that TV bosses had approached him about doing the show.

He said: “Channel 4 have asked us to do a TFI Friday 20th anniversary show and/or run next year.

"I was completely bang up for it until I did the maths last week and had to phone them and say it’s only 19 years next year, it’s actually 20 years the year after.

"I think they still want to go for it and just hope no-one notices.”

Now you'll hear Chris' voice on BBC Radio 2 on the Breakfast Show weekdays from 6.30am - 9.30am.

You'll also see him topless from time-to-time as presenter of BBC One's The One Show, alongside Alex Jones and Matt Baker.

Will Macdonald

Producer-sidekick Will ‘Wiiiiil’ Macdonald will return for the revival of the show.

Speaking of his fondest TFI moments, last month Wiiiiil, said: "Memory’s quite strange when it comes to TFI Friday. Right now, there are lots of people around the office watching old tapes and there’s a whole bunch of stuff I can’t recall at all.

"Apparently I laid in a bath of hot water for an entire episode but have no recollection of it whatsoever. We were in such a bubble, it all came thick and fast and was fuelled by alcohol, so there’s a startling amount I can’t remember. It’s a bit like childbirth - you look back and have fond memories but conveniently forget the pain involved."

Since the show, Will went on to be executive producer for ABC's My Kind of Town, Jo Joyner-starring Swinging and more recently Made in Chelsea.

Danny Baker

English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ, screenwriter and all around funny guy Danny Baker was and still is one of the driving forces behind the show.

Since TFI, Baker has turned his hand to a number of projects from Comic Relief sketches to TV movies. His latest venture is alongside Peter Kay is Cradle to Grave.

Set in 1974, the series follows the real life events of Danny and his family and is due for broadcast on BBC Two later this year.

Peter Kay and Danny Baker and also of Peter, Danny and Laurie who is playing 15 year old Danny. ( Image: BBC)

Ocean colour scene.

A snippet of The Riverboat Song by Ocean Colour Scene forms the theme tune to TFI Friday.

The band, formed in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1989, were championed by Evans and were the very first act to play on the show.

Much like Evans, Macdonald and Baker they are very much still going.

Andrew the Barman

How brilliant was Andrew the Barman?

It was reported that 'Andrew the Barman' aka Andrew Carey sold his pub in north London for an alleged £2MILLION in 2012.

Late in 2012, when rumours of a TFI return were going around, Carey told the Irish Post, that the programme coming back was a 'great idea'.

Speaking from his home in Camden, Mr Carey, he said: “I think it’s a great idea. I’d love to do it if I was asked back and they were re-enacting the old show but with inflation you’d be looking for a few extra noughts to your fee,” he laughed."

Skunk Anansie

Skunk Anansie appeared twice on the very first episode, including a performance of their hit single Weak.

After forming in March 1994, they broke up in 2001 and reformed in 2009.

Remember this?

How he convinced her, we’re not sure, but for this send-up Chris was in bed reading the papers with a hugely bouffant-haired Cher .

At one point he asks “Chezza” if she ever gets jealous of Tina Turner...

Guests and acts of the first show also included Kathy Lloyd, Dawn French, Count Indigo, Shed Seven, The Circle and late great Ronald Fraser, who passed away in 1997.

Fraser was the The Lord of Love on the very first show.

MORE ON TFI Friday Skunk Anansie Kathy Lloyd Ronald Fraser Danny Baker David Letterman Chris Evans

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Why Ocean Colour Scene’s Moseley Shoals album is so iconic

8 April 2024, 12:40

By Jenny Mensah

As the Birmingham band's seminal album turns 28, we delve into its' name, artwork and biggest singles.

This week sees Ocean Colour Scene's Moseley Shoals album celebrate 28 years since it was released.

Unleashed on the world on 8th April 1996 , the album featured singles in the likes of The Riverboat Song , The Circle and The Day We Caught the Train , but how much do you really know about the album and its creation? And what makes it so iconic?

Get our facts on the Birmingham band's seminal release here.

READ MORE: The story behind The Verve's classic Urban Hymns album

Moseley Shoals was Ocean Colour Scene's second album

It might be the band's most famous album, but it was actually their second studio release and the follow-up to their eponymous 1992 debut.

The title is inspired by their local area

Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, where the band formed in 1989.

The title is also a pun on Muscle Shoals

Moseley Shoals is a pun on Muscle Shoals , Alabama - a city which was famous for its studios that recorded various 1960s soul acts such as Percy Sledge , Aretha Franklin , Otis Reading and Wilson Pickett .

The band also recorded the album in their own studio of the same name.

Moseley Shoals was Ocean Colour Scene's second highest scoring album

Moseley Shoals reached number two on the UK album chart, which no doubt helped them achieve a success when scoring a No.1 with their 1997 Marchin' Already album.

The album gave them their highest scoring single

The Day We Caught The Train scored a No.4 on the UK singles chart - their highest chart position to date.

Hundred Mile High City , which is taken from the band's third studio album Marchin' Already also scored a No.4.

The Riverboat Song single featured on TFI Friday

The first single taken from the album was The Riverboat Song . Despite only reaching No.15 on the UK single charts, the song is much-loved and well-known for featuring in Chris Evans' famous '90s weekly entertainment show when he introduced guests.

Natalie Imbruglia - Interview on TFI Friday 2000

The album cover artwork is taken in Leamington Spa

The memorial which the band can be seen standing in front of in the album artwork is The Jephson Memorial in The Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa.

It's not the first time the Warwickshire park has made its way onto an album cover either. Leamington Spa punk band The Shapes featured the park's Underpass on their 1998 Songs For Sensible People album.

READ MORE: 10 Facts About Oasis At Knebworth, 1996

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Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Ocean Colour Scene

In Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!, we quiz an artist on their own career to see how much they can remember – and find out if the booze, loud music and/or tour sweeties has knocked the knowledge out of them. This week: frontman Simon Fowler takes the test

1 ‘The Riverboat Song’ was famously used to introduce guests on TFI Friday . But how many appearances did Ocean Colour Scene make on the Chris Evans-presented show?

“Blimey! Is it 10 or 12?”

“How disappointing! We did the TFI Friday pilot, which is when Chris Evans asked us to if he could use ‘The Riverboat Song’ as the walk-on music. He was the Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenter at the time, and made the song Record of the Week for two weeks in a row. Suddenly it’s at Number 15 in the charts and our album, ‘Moseley Shoals’, went in at Number Twi, so much of our success is because of Chris Evans.

“On Friday afternoons, I used to go down to TFI Friday even when we weren’t on to hang out with Chris Evans and Danny Baker. I became good drinking mates with Chris during that era, We killed some brain cells together, that’s for sure! We’d see him in his car and kidnap him and take him to the Met Bar [in central London] where you suddenly felt like a pop star, which was never on the cards for us. I remember Boy George once coming up to me there and going: ‘I know all about you! ’ [ l aughs ]”

2 In 2013, Ocean Colour Scene were joined live onstage by actor James Buckley on guitar. Which character did he play in The Inbetweeners ?

“He played Jay .”

“I loved The  Inbetweeners . He became good mates with Steve [Cradock, OCS guitarist]. James is an absolute mod to his fingertips. He turned up to play with us wearing a parka, a suit and bowling shoes. I thought: Fuck me, is it 1964?! He’s a quiet guy and nothing like Jay from The Inbetweeners . In fact, Steve and I played Ocean Colour Scene songs at his wedding in a Scottish castle in 2012. Danny Dyer was there.”

3 You were part of England United who recorded ‘(How Does it Feel to Be) on Top of the World’, England’s official theme for the 1998 World Cup. But which member of its supergroup line-up did you once turn down a date with?

“Ahh yes! Scary Spice .”

“She said to me: [ Fowler imitates Mel B’s broad Leeds accent ]: ‘You got a girlfriend?’. I replied: ‘No’. She said: ‘Do you want one?’ Geri [Horner] told her: ‘Well, I think you’ll find he bats for the other team’. This is all happening when we’re soundchecking at TFI Friday , so Mel B goes up to the microphone and loudly announces: ‘ Is he gay? Is he gay? ’ to everybody assembled in the room. I thought: ‘Christ!’. [ Laughing ] Eddie Murphy was her second choice after me.”

You were bizarrely ‘outed’ as gay by The Sun in 1998. Did your fans care at the time?

“No, I don’t think it was a big deal. It was noticeable that our third album [1997’s] ‘Marchin’ Already’ went to Number One and knocked Oasis ’ ‘ Be Here Now ’ off the top spot – which is when Noel Gallagher sent us a plaque: ‘Congratulations to the second greatest band in the world’. But the album didn’t end up selling anywhere near as much as its predecessor, ‘Moseley Shoals’, overall. Whether that [ The Sun’ s outing] had anything to do with it, I don’t know. I suspect it didn’t. It certainly didn’t affect our concerts.”

“Looking back now, it seems absurd – and I don’t think anybody gave a toss even then. In fact, when it happened, the first thing Liam Gallagher did was come up and kiss me on the lips! [ Laughs ] Everybody knew – apart from my parents. But now, I’ve been with my partner, Robert, for 34 years, and my parents have accepted him into the family.”

What was recording ‘(How Does it Feel to Be) on Top of the World’ like?

“ Ian McCulloch [ Echo and the Bunnymen frontman] had become a good pal of ours, and I went to Liverpool to record it with him and Tommy [Scott] from Space. Then the Spice Girls came in and totally took over. The two in charge were definitely Scary and Geri. Ian turned to me and said [ Adopts McCulloch’s Liverpudlian brogue ]: ‘Eeeh, they’re like a proper group’. [ Laughs ] I said: ‘Fuck off!’. And then I accidentally said ‘Hello Victoria !’ to Mel C and she snapped back: ‘I know your name – learn mine!’. So that set the tone!”

You haven’t had much luck with the Spice Girls …

“No!  I later met Victoria [Beckham] again when we were both performing at an event and went up to her and said, ‘Hello. Remember me?’, and she snarled: ‘Piss off! You were pissed last time I met you and you’re pissed now!’ [ Laughs ]”

4 What are the three B-sides accompanying CD2 of Ocean Colour Scene’s 1996 single ‘The Circle’?

“Absolutely no idea! [ Laughs ] Is one of them ‘ Robin Hood ’?”

WRONG. The B-sides are: ‘ Chelsea Walk’ , ‘ Alibis ’ and a cover of The Beatles ’ ‘Day Tripper’ featuring Liam and Noel Gallagher.

“Oh right! I had no idea! I remember ‘Day Tripper’ was recorded at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.”

What are your favourite moments of supporting Oasis on their 1995 tour?

“None that I could tell you that your lawyers wouldn’t take out! [ Laughs ] It was just as you’d imagine. I don’t know why we bothered to order bedrooms because I don’t think anyone went to bed for about five years. They were fantastic. When it was the two of them friendly to each other together, they were hilarious and had a banter relationship that only brothers can have and it’s a bloody shame – in my book – that they had the world at their feet and scored an own-goal. I think: I wish I could have had that with my brother.”

Talking of Beatles covers:  in 1995, you recorded ‘ Come Together ’ with Paul McCartney as the Smokin’ Mojo Filters….

“It was Noel [Gallagher], Paul Weller, and Steve [Cradock] recording with Paul McCartney for [the charity] War Child. I went along and sang the chorus with Linda McCartney, who was lovely and we both bonded over being fans of Neil Young. I remember Johnny Depp was there dressed as a tramp, collecting cigarette butts in the turn-ups of his jeans, along with Kate Moss. I regaled him, off my face, about the nature of stardom. He thought I was a pain in the arse – which I was! [ Laughs ] Macca came up to me at the end of the evening and said [impersonates Macca ], ‘Ey – look after yourself’, looking straight into my enormous eyes. I think he was trying to tell me to calm down a bit.”

5 Which pop star included “Ocean Colour Scene (Apart from that one song…Hang on nah not even that song)” on his 2013 list of ‘quarter-decent three chord knobheads [who] could and did get a deal in the ‘90s’?

“I’ve got no idea! [ Laughs ]”

WRONG. It was Robbie Williams , who posted the blog in response to a Brett Anderson quote about “crap boybands in the ‘90s”. Aside from OCS and myriad others, his list included Echobelly , Menswear , Sleeper ,   Salad and “ Geneva (Sub- Suede -Can you imagine?)”.

“Do you have his number?! [Laughs ] That’s a shame because I had a few drinks with Robbie Williams when he was trying to become Liam and Noel’s friends. Liam told him to sling his hook. Good judge of character, is Liam! [ Laughs ] Right: well I won’t be buying any more of Robbie Williams’ B-sides albums! Best of luck to him.”

6 Ocean Colour Scene’s 2007 Paul Weller-written song ‘For Dancers Only’ was reworked and released by Weller and Graham Coxon later that year under which different title?

“I had no idea that Paul and Graham Coxon did it as well. Was it under the title ‘The Miserable Gits’? [ Laughs ]”

WRONG. Sadly not! It’s the more mundane moniker ‘This Old Town’.

“I should add Paul Weller’s not a miserable git, by the way!”

You’ve collaborated with Weller numerous times over the years (and Steve Cradock is a member of Weller’s band)…

“He was in my hotel room once having a quiet drink and Steve was jumping up and down on my bed and nearly jumped out of the seventh floor window of the hotel. He smashed his head on the window, hit the floor, glass everywhere, so the three of us had a conference the next day where we decided we needed to change our ways a little. That was bloody scary. It could have been a tragedy, but it wasn’t. We’re the band with 10 lives!

“We first met Paul Weller at his studio, Solid Bond, in Marble Arch. We partly recorded our first [1992 self-titled] album there. Steve hit it off with Paul – he’d gone down to Solid Bond a few times when he was a kid and been chased out by big Kenny Wheeler who was Paul’s minder. Paul liked a song by us called ‘ Sway ’, so we ended up at the studio. Then Steve joined Paul’s band in ’93, which was great for him because he was a huge The Jam fan as a teenager.”

7 Which two bands did Ocean Colour Scene play between at Glastonbury 2000?

“Were The Bootleg Beatles on? I think they were on our day because one of them wanted my autograph for his son. John Lennon asking me for my autograph made my day!  Were Cast on? I can’t remember much about Knebworth [Oasis’ record-breaking 1996 gigs, which OCS supported them at] other than being terrified and seeing all the hands in the air when we were doing ‘ The Day We Caught the Train ’. I don’t even remember if we even watched Oasis because I was [ Imitates The Fast Show ’s Drunk Guy ] vehhrry drunk . I think we sodded off early.”

WRONG. At Glastonbury, you were sandwiched between Coldplay and Pet Shop Boys .

“ Oh, at Glastonbury! Sorry I thought you meant Knebworth! Although I don’t remember Glastonbury either! [Laughs]”

Apparently you helped calm down Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, who predicted a hostile reception for his band…

“I do remember speaking to Neil Tennant at that. He thought they weren’t Glastonbury material, but I reassured him that they’ve got so many big songs that even if the audience aren’t wearing their T-shirts, they’ll go: ‘Oh, I know this song!’”

8 Name all the songs on your pre-Ocean Colour Scene band The Fanatics’ four-track ‘Suburban Love Songs’ EP.

“Bloody hell! ‘ My Brother Sarah ’, ‘ Suburban Love Songs ’, ‘Tight Rope’ and … I don’t know the name of the other one!”

WRONG. You missed out the track: ‘ 1,2,3,4 ’.”

“’1,2,3,4’ was a total rip-off of ‘ Foggy Notion ’ by The Velvet Underground , who I was completely obsessed with. Lou Reed once said: One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz” – which feels like the perfect retort to Robbie Williams!”

9 Which Ocean Colour Scene track have you performed live with both (separately) Pete Doherty and Carl Barât?

“’Robin Hood’”.

“ Pete and Carl were fans of the band. Carl’s was a better version of ‘Robin Hood’, shall we say! Pete had been a little bit, er, thirsty that afternoon. It’s all that jumping around onstage!”

10 At a 2011 gig in the University of Anglia, OCS were joined by former footballer Dion Dublin playing percussion on which instrument that he had invented?

“ The Dube .”

“It’s like a percussive cube and each side has got a different tone. He used to live near me and we became friends. Dion once took us to a nightclub with another ex-Norwich player Darren Huckerby who warned us: ‘Listen, what happens on tour, stays on tour. I said: Dion, you’re talking to a band !”  

Tell us about your forthcoming (Dube-free) Ocean Colour Scene acoustic tour…

“Well, it’s 25 gigs. I can’t remember the last time we did that so I’m slightly apprehensive concerning my voice, but at least we get to sit down!”

The verdict: 4/10 

“That’s appalling! Halfway through a live radio interview once, Adrian Chiles said to me: ‘You’re a rubbish guest – you can’t remember a thing!'”

– ‘An Evening With Simon and Oscar of Ocean Colour Scene’ tours nationwide from April 29 to June 2

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• Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?
• Ocean Colour Scene

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Riverboat Song

Ocean colour scene.

About Riverboat Song

"The Riverboat Song" is a song by British band Ocean Colour Scene. The song is heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin's "Four Sticks", from which it takes its main riff and a number of lyrics. The song is notable in that it is in 6/8 swing time, and not the more common 4/4 time normally used in rock music. The song was popularised by Radio 1 DJ Chris Evans, who played it frequently on his radio shows and to introduce guests on his television programme TFI Friday. As a result, having been released in February 1996, it reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart, paving the way for the success of the next two singles, "You've Got It Bad" (7) and "The Day We Caught the Train" (4) and the album Moseley Shoals.   more »

 The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: 30DaySinger.com

Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date. more »

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Written by: DAMON MINCHELLA, OSCAR LLOYD HARRISON, SIMON FOWLER, STEPHEN CRADOCK

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Know any other songs by ocean colour scene don't keep it to yourself, image credit, the web's largest resource for, music, songs & lyrics, a member of the stands4 network, watch the song video, more tracks from the album, greatest ever 90's.

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'Things will go wrong': behind the scenes of TFI Friday

It still flies by the seat of its pants but has TFI lost its edge? No says Chris Evans in his running lycra

S tepping into the TFI Friday bar, just as the show’s theme tune blasts out over the PA, is a surreal experience. There’s Chris Evans. There’s Danny Baker. There’s Will “Wiiiiillll” MacDonald. Yes, it’s a slightly different layout, and everyone looks older but it is TFI Friday, there’s no doubt about it. And in 2015, that’s quite a bizarre concept.

The original series caught the tail-end of Britpop’s pomp and posturing between 1996 and 2000, condensing all the cocksure Loaded laddishness of those years into one hour of (sometimes controversial) TV. Its most famous moments – Shaun Ryder effing and jeffing, Geri and Kylie snogging, guests entering to the struttable tune of The Riverboat Song – are seared onto the collective consciousness of anyone who had a telly and a Friday night in ahead of them at the time. But the show also shared some of Britpop’s blinkered overconfidence: features like Ugly Blokes, Freak Or Unique and Fat Lookalikes hardly have you pining for a time when this “it’s only a bit of bantz” attitude was seen as OK and serve to date it quicker than a 90s fashion disaster (think skousers). When it ended, nothing came along to replace it.

Evans’s grey temples and the seriousness with which he conducts rehearsals suggest a show matured. Glasses propped on his head, joviality saved for the live show, he dictates camera angles, chops items, runs through links, all with straight-faced urgency. It’s a live show, so any editing is done in rehearsals. At least that’s the idea.

Afterwards, a busy Evans paces his dressing room. “I’ve just got one more phone call to make, I’m so sorry.” He puts his phone to his ear. “Hi, David,” – it’s David Coulthard – “so, we’ve just had this idea…”

Evans explains how he’d like to honour a young, car racing-obsessed boy who donated the contents of his piggy bank after a poppy collection was stolen by sending him to Race Of Champions at the Olympic Stadium. Once Coulthard is on board, Evans sits down. He’s wearing Lycra trousers. “I’m about to go for a run,” he says, answering a question I’d professionally decided against asking. It’s only now, after rehearsals, that new bits like the last-minute drafting-in of ex-Formula 1 racing drivers have been hastily arranged: “The show’s done, so we’ve got time to fuck around.” Love it or hate it, TFI’s seat-of-its-pants ramshackleness isn’t an artifice.

“The old TFI was a tour de force,” says Evans. “It never questioned itself. Even when maybe it should have questioned itself.” Yet, as the (at the time) one-off reunion back in July proved, the show retains a lot of goodwill, not least from those making it.

“There was never any question of being involved,” says MacDonald, a man who has apparently delegated 15 years’ worth of ageing to an underling. Each of the original core unit of Evans, MacDonald and producers Suzi Aplin and Clare Barton, all back in 2015, echo this. Even Danny Baker is feeling “luvvly jubbly” about the whole thing. “If anyone hadn’t have come back, we couldn’t have done it,” says Evans. “Though before, I didn’t understand how so many bands couldn’t get back together again 10 or 20 years later. Now I do. It’s because it’s a nightmare.”

In the 90s, Evans would have got through with youthful enthusiasm and healthy measures of booze. (“Everyone was pissed through half of the shows,” says Barton.) And now? “Last night I had nine hours’ kip,” Evans says, “which I’ve not done for years.” Bleary-eyed days may not be a problem Evans has to deal with for long: he leaves after the show to film a piece for Top Gear, commitments that he’s also said will preclude him from doing TFI in the future. When pressed on this, all he says mysteriously is: “Well, we’re not saying we’re not going to make any more.”

Whoever ends up taking his place, however, an open bar remains a TFI constant. The countdown to going on air begins, drinks flow, and tension builds. It’s all a little bit exciting. “Things will go wrong,” says Evans. “And if they didn’t, we shouldn’t be live.” The cameras roll, and, between interviews, a man plays a song by blowing ping-pong balls at gin bottles. There are skits involving Maltesers rolling down tape measures into people’s mouths. A man in a cement mixer plays a kazoo. I have no idea whether it’s interesting to watch at home at all. But – and perhaps it is down to the booze – in that bar, it makes sense.

After the show, Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics and Mark Ronson mill around chatting to guests. Little Mix make a swift exit, and I genuinely fear this was caused by me resting on one of their shoulders when a cameraman asked me to make some room. The evening passed with no swearing and no controversy, because TFI Friday just isn’t that show any more. It’s like a best man’s speech: the gist of ribald raconteurism is there, but it’s sanded down for modern tastes, preempting, perhaps, any social media backlashes. “We’re older and we don’t live the lives that we used to live,” says Evans.

“It makes it all sound so wanky,” says MacDonald, wary of over-thinking the show’s place in 2015. Then Danny Baker trundles past, his pint spilling over the edges of his glass. Things haven’t changed that much.

TFI Friday continues Friday, 8pm, Channel 4

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