Purify the colors, purify my mind

They won best TV Show again, and even Peter Doherty wants a piece of them

Noel Fielding's major thoughts on this year's Shockwaves NME Awards: "You know when you don't know someone very well and they bite your ear?"

NME has no similar experience. Indeed, the only person ringing in our ears who would do such a thing is fictional comic-movie character Rorschach. But these awards were real, and the biter in question was one Peter Doherty. And Noel is, at best, perplexed. "It didn't hurt. It's just a little bit awkward, you don't know someone very well and you don't expect them to bite your ear."

Thankfully, in their third consecutive year of winning best TV Show, Noel is in a forgiving mood. "It was fine. He didn't draw blood. He's like a wolf. He's a wild feral man. OK, I was a bit annoyed about it but he does wear a suit very well though."

Context: The Mighty Boosh have won many an NME award. Their mantlepieces are broken with all the fingering. And in a world full of paranoid musicians, they're among the only people unafraid of rocking it. Certainly Noel ain't afraid of rocking a red velvet suit and enormous cravat. The dude will take fashion risks that no ordinary human would dream of, even with Kasabian giving him a massive beery hug.

Flashback to the start of the night. Noel is wearing a red velvet smoking jacket and accompanying tie, and his partner-in-mirth Julian Barratt has succumbed to the demands of real life. By his side is Naboo, who is having a parking nightmare and has left his carpet upstairs but needs to be back before midnight (Lambeth Council, take note). Dave, aka Bollo The Gorilla, is as charming and excited as ever. He's too busy reminiscing about the time The Edge came round to their place and asked for his personal verdict on 'Get On Your Boots'. Well you would, wouldn't you?

All in all, it's lucky that Noel is dressed not so differently from the peacock-feather-wearing-hotties who pose for pictures with him as their genuine friends, and stage the same battle for attention with T4, the 3am Girls, BBC Radio 1 and - yes- NME itself. And you know, if Kasabian won't leave you alone, then that's just what happens. It may just be that 20 years of talk about 'comedy being the new rock'n'roll' might just be coming true. But the only person who should really answer that is Noel himself. So as he staggers out we must ask: do you feel guilty about winning every year?

"No I think we should just keep coming back and keep winning until we're really old. It's fun. Grace Jones, she was behind me. Tim Burton was too. My mate Richard [Ayoade] won best DVD. Tim Burton sent some congratulations over. He didn't come over himself but his assistant came over, sent some flowers, said well done"

The Edward Scissorhands/Corpse Bride director was, of course, busy with The Cure while Noel was honoring his commitments on the press run. And in making Noel miss Burton introducing the godfathers, Miquita Oliver's gain was certainly Vince Noir's loss.

"I watched it on the telly, which was really depressing. You know like when you've got to do homework and you've got to watch your friends playing football through the window? It was just like that"

We can only predict that, as NME goes to press, the Boosh will still be having the best afterparty in town.