I liked Blur's performance. I think it is likely that Damon, in the midst of touring, has a sore throat.
The show was much like I expected it to be. It wasn't too different to how it had been originally.
Though there were some subtleties, nodding to what Sean in the above post refers to as "today's ultra-slick climate". Memorable features of the original run, like 'Fat Lookalikes' and 'Ugly Bloke' were not included (or mentioned). They made sure that amends were made to the two youngsters who had lost the 'staring contest' in 1999. And the recurring ugly bloke ('Steve') wasn't included or referred to. Neither was Cedric (The 'Comment From The Caff' man) yet these guys had been prominent IIRC.
And (what I think of as) the current trend for including 'family life' in everything (albeit for financial reasons ultimately), Chris Evans had his daughter (and her husband) and his mother on the show.
As expected there was a slight tone of "we do everything correct now, whereas we didn't in the past". But the strange thing is, the 'political correctness' movement was already in full swing when TFI was first broadcast. If fat lookalikes and ugly bloke features are offensive now, they were just as much so then.
Watching the show got me to go back to some original broadcasts and compare. I had some on VHS in the depths of my collection. And there are loads out there on You Tube. Here is a good one with Damon, probably knowing that the Gallaghers were going to sweep up at the BRITS, being difficult for Chris to interview. Followed by a performance of 'Stereotypes' - Alex had his trademark ciggy in the mouth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeT4JxAheZg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;