"The guy who does security on our tour, tells us we get recognised more and stopped in the street more than Girls Aloud," says Julian Barratt.

"We've had this weird deluge of fandom and you can feel a bit trapped by it. The other day, and this really freaked me out, we were invited to a fancy dress party. We couldn't make it, but someone who was there told me that Brian Eno had come dressed as Howard Moon. How odd is that?

"I've never kidded myself that the screaming at our shows is for me - it's not, it's all for Noel. Noel finds dressing up very easy to do- a bit of eyeliner, some leggings - he's really got that androgynous look working for him. I have to keep an eye on him. Looking as he does and hanging around all those 'fashionable' indie clubs he gets a lot of attention. I keep telling him it's a passing phase.

"And you get all these stories in the papers about him. If there is any adoration, it's for him. And come on, look at him, he deserves it."