Was thinking about Noel Fielding earlier (clearly catching up on Bake Off)...I used to hang around Camden with a couple of friends in my teens (2006-2009 kind of time - was underage for a couple of those years but had a sister who knew people, as you do...) and we were bloody obsessed with him. We managed to cross paths with him a few times, tbh it wasn't difficult back then. We ended up hanging around him and his crew a fair few times, I'm sure we were annoying as duck but he was welcoming and had this real charisma you just wanted to be around - or it was probably the sniff that made him so chatty and friendly lol.
I've read a few rumblings about people finding him a bit odd which I can understand, although the Camden scene at the time was a bit wild, and it was slightly before social media really took off so people got away with all sorts. I believe he had a girlfriend at the time, which, I don't know, didn't really seem to mean much back then. He and the Boosh were huge for those few years and he was right in the middle of it. I remember being told the other guys in the Boosh (not Julian) were shaggers but no first hand experience there, tbh they were kind of on the periphery for me. There were rumours about him and Pixie Geldof at the time which to my knowledge were all bollocks, Pixie is a similar age to me and also liked to hang around older guys, she was part of that scene despite being young. She wanted to be seen with them and be in the press. I think Noel entertained her for a bit and don't get me wrong he wasn't an angel, but I don't believe anything came of it aside. Looking back, I felt like he was a bit misguided and thought it came across as innocent but the paps set it up to look a certain way.
I always found Julian Barratt interesting too. He came across on TV as this awkward/shy guy, which is partially true, although he would be out sometimes with the rest of the Boosh crew and liked his booze/cigarettes/spliffs as much as the rest of them. But he was a few years older and wasn't bothered for the hangers on but he and Noel had this genuine fondness for each other that you didn't see with Noel and his other rock n roll pals. What always striked me was how close he and Noel were, very familiar with each other in a way that made you feel like you were almost an intruder if you were around them. Noel was very different around Julian and there was none of his usual bravado, Julian didn't really give a tit I suppose. Absolutely an odd couple on the surface but totally in their own world together which I think was something you had to see to really understand.
