A blue plaque honouring the band EMF was unveiled in their home town of Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
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00:00Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! EMF are on their way!
00:10From the good people of Cinderford and the Forest of Dean, to you loyal EMF fans that
00:31have travelled from near and far. Good morning and a very warm welcome to our town, which
00:40also happens to be the birthplace of one of the most exciting bands of the 90s. No, not
00:45Colour Me Bad or Right Said Fred, I'm talking about EMF! Today we take the opportunity to
00:55recognise the tremendous achievements of the band as they embarked on a journey that was
00:59UN-MADE-ABLE! Uncharted. It was uncharted. So, towards the end of 1989, four Forest lads,
01:10James, Mark, Derry and Zach, accompanied by the legendary DJ Milf, were joined by the soon-to-be
01:17adopted son of Cinderford, Ian. And they started penning music that would stand the test of time
01:24and entertain the masses for years to come, as it still does today. The town hasn't changed much
01:32since the band's humble beginnings. Behind you, what's sublime, now replaced with The Real Deal.
01:38And soon after the first gig at the Bilson Inn, people of this town were quickly realising that
01:43EMF were indeed The Real Deal when it came to writing and performing. They hit the road and
01:50recorded their debut album. The album was a smash hit, charting in the UK charts at number three,
01:56as did their debut single, UN-MADE-ABLE! Unimaginable joy for the band, and their ever-increasing fanbase.
02:05But it didn't stop there. The band would go on to have a string of hits, perform all over the world,
02:10collaborate with the likes of Vic and Bob, and even perform with Sir Tom Jones. UN-MADE-ABLE!
02:18Unquestionable success for these local boys who have done good. I would now like to take a different tone,
02:26as we do take the opportunity to remember those that are unable to be here with us today to join in the celebration.
02:32Namely, of course, Zach. The funniest, craziest, and most beautiful soul all at once. I'm sure he would love today.
02:40So Zach, this is also for you.
02:48Now, from this day forward, here sat on our clock tower will be a plaque reminding everyone that this is Cinderford,
02:55and that this is what always will be the home of ENF the band. A band that rose from humble beginnings at the Bilson to the world stage.
03:05So, as the plaque reads, in recognition of unbelievable achievements, James Atkin, Ian Dench, Derry Brownson, Zach Foley, Mark Duclout.
03:20Let's do this, shall we? Let's unveil our plaque!
03:35We've not practised this, have we?
03:51Thank you. I'm not quite sure I can shout as loud as Ger. She's done that for a job.
03:56Part time.
03:57Thank you. It is a great honour to receive the blue plaque in our hometown. We are blown away.
04:04We do consider Cinderford in the Forest of Deeds to be our home, and the home of ENF.
04:09It's amazing to see so many beautiful old friends out there, familiar friends.
04:14The time has been made special by our time here in the Forest.
04:17We've rehearsed just up the road there, and our gigs at the Bilson, which was just celebrated when you made me that.
04:23Thank you to the people of Cinderford. It is emotional to see Zach's name up there. We loved him so much.
04:30But yeah, thank you. We are honestly blown away. Thank you so much, everybody.
04:35Oh, can I finish by what I get to say on stage when we're performing?
04:39We are a band from Cinderford, Forest of Deeds, England. The original Brave Ravers, keeping the faith.
04:45Ladies and gentlemen, we are the... Can I not swear? I better not swear.
04:50The mayor has said yes! The mayor has said yes!
04:53Permission, permission, permission.
04:55My mum's there, I can't swear.
04:57We are the ecstasy makers of the country.
05:03There's been a lot of surprises at the celebration. The band's had a few surprises at the council offices.
05:08And the thought is that, you know, ten councils everywhere across the country have their hands tied behind their backs at the moment.
05:16They get a lot of grief. It's a difficult time financially for everybody.
05:20But this ten council does work hard to do the right thing.
05:23And there's a lot of people behind the scenes that do a lot of hard work.
05:26Ever since I came up with the idea of the unveiling, I had a lot of pestering.
05:31At EMS year, it's one of the busiest years they've got.
05:34They're going to Australia, they're going to the States, they're doing a UK tour.
05:37But Vince, if you wouldn't mind please, we've managed to do something pretty special.
05:45Woo!
05:51Yes!
05:57We love you guys!