Last week comedy lovers were left heartbroken by the unexpected death of Rik Mayall. Noel Fielding was just one of many comedians who publicly mourned the loss via twitter – and this week Noel has written a piece for the NME about his admiration for the star.

Noel introduces the article by stating “Rik Mayall isn’t dead. Great comedians don’t die, they live on in your memory, and when you think about them you start to smile.”

He continues: “The Young Ones was the first post-punk comedy, and a complete changing of the guard. [It] was a huge influence on The Mighty Boosh, for both Julian and myself.”And adds, “I loved the insane plots: digging for oil in their cellar, a bomb landing in their kitchen, and them appearing on University Challenge. I also loved the puppets, the ice-skating carrots, talking statues and Buddy Holly hanging from the ceiling. But Rik Mayall always stole the show with lines like “Shut up Neil, I’m trying to stir my coffee” and “Hands up who likes me?””

If you want to read the article you can find it in this week’s NME (if you look hard enough, you’ll also find scans of it online). When this issue is no longer available to buy at the news stands, we’ll add it to this article too, so you can have a proper look.