Chris Sievey (25 August 1955 – 21 June 2010) was an English musician, comedian and artist known for fronting the band the Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards.
Sievey, under the guise of Sidebottom, made regular appearances on North West television throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, even becoming a reporter for Granada Reports. Later, he presented Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in B/W for the Manchester-based television station Channel M. Throughout his career, Sidebottom made appearances on radio stations such as Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5, alongside Mark and Lard.BBC Lancashire interview with Ted Robbins; Broadcast 9 February 2008; Retrieved 10 April 2008.
Biography Early life and career (1955–1976) Sievey grew up in Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire (2.5 miles from Timperley).
In 1969, when he was 14, Sievey began writing and recording his own music,Being Frank The Chris Sievey Story Fantastic Original Soundtrack Liner Notes - Dave Arnold and by the age of 15 was playing in local bands.Rosnon, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 25. . In 1971, he hitch-hiked to London with his brother, staging a sit-in at the Apple Records HQ, demanding to see one of The Beatles.Robb, John (2009) The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City (1977–1996), Aurum, , p. 22 When they were asked to leave they insisted on recording something, and were booked into the studio after playing a song to head of A&R Tony King. Sievey subsequently recorded several demos, which he sent to record companies, receiving many rejection letters which he later compiled into a book. Unable to get a deal, he set up his own Razz label in 1974.
Sievey released two cassettes under his own name in 1975 and 1976 – Girl in My Blue Jeans and All Sleeps Secrets.Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, , p. 72
The Freshies (1977–1982) In 1977 Sievey formed the Freshies, with various other musicians involved including Martin Jackson, Billy Duffy and former Nosebleeds bassist Rick Sarko. A string of singles and several cassettes were released between 1978 and 1983. Most of these were credited to the Freshies, but were occasionally listed as Chris Sievey & the Freshies. In 1981, Sievey played on "Some Boys" by Going Red?, the band formed by former Jilted John star Graham Fellows. The Freshies biggest UK hit was "I'm in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk", released initially on his own Razz label (RAZZ 10), it was reissued by the US giant MCA Records with a slightly different title ("I'm in Love with the Girl on a Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk") as there were objections about using the Virgin brand name. The record peaked at No 54. They had regional success in the Manchester area with "My Tape's Gone", "No Money" / "Oh Girl" and "Yellow Spot".
Radio 1, and in particular Mike Read, gave the Freshies a lot of airplay, especially the MCA release. After the "success" of "I'm in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk", the group released further singles, "Wrap Up the Rockets" and "I Can't Get 'Bouncing Babies' by The Teardrop Explodes", and although commercially successful in the Manchester area, they failed to make the national charts. They released two further cassettes, Manchester Plays the Freshies and London Plays the Freshies; these were both essentially radio interviews with local and national DJs and concert recordings from each city. Sievey had written his first LP by this stage, The Johnny Radar Story, which, owing to contractual complications, was never released on vinyl. There are master copies on cassette in circulation though (albeit very few). In February 1982, Sievey abandoned the quartet lineup of the Freshies, and reformed it as a duo with Barbara O'Donovan. The duo version of the Freshies released one single, "Fasten Your Seat Belts". In 1982, he released the mini-album Denigration Now, his first work outside the Freshies since 1976's All Sleeps Secrets.
The following year he had a solo release, "Camouflage", with the A-side a song, and the B-side being computer programming.
Frank Sidebottom (1984–1994) The Frank Sidebottom character first appeared on an untitled 1984 EP by Chris Sievey & the Freshies, in a spoken-word track wherein Frank talks to Sievey.The Freshies / Chris Sievey – Untitled /Track Listing - Virgin Records, 1984
The character was instantly recognisable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. This was initially made from papier-mâché, but later of fibreglass. In the documentary Being Frank, Martin Sievey (Chris's brother) states this was made using plaster of Paris.
Frank, usually dressed in a 1950s-style sharp suit, was portrayed as an aspiring pop star from the small village of Timperley, near Altrincham. His character was cheerfully optimistic, enthusiastic, and seemingly oblivious to his own failings. Although supposedly 35 years old (the age always attributed to Frank irrespective of the passage of time), he still lived at home with his mother, to whom he made frequent references. His mother was apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of "Little Frank", a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank.
Comedy character Mrs Merton started out as Frank's sidekick on his radio show Radio Timperley, and the similarity of the characters is evident, exuding a sense of great ambition which belies a domestic lifestyle in the North of England. Sidebottom's former Oh Blimey Big Band members include Mark Radcliffe and Jon Ronson, and his driver was Chris Evans.
Immediately after creating the character, Sievey would record an in-character cover 'Material Boy', and send it to several major labels with the note ''I'm thinking of getting into showbiz. Do you have any pamphlets?" EMI were interested and offered him an interview. Chris appeared in character as Frank,Rosnon, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 26. . and was signed to their sub-label Regal Zonophone.
Zonophone released his third EP, Frank's Sidebottom's Firm Favorites, in August of 1985. He'd previously self released two EPs as Frank in 1985, titled 'Frank's Summer Special' as well as an early version of 'Firm Favorites'. The EP reached 97 in the UK Charts on 31 August 1985 before dropping completely. In order to promote the EP, he made an appearance on the TV programme TX' the first of many appearances on the ITV network.
His second Zonophone EP, Oh Blimey, It's Christmas, charted slightly higher than the first, at number 87, before dropping off again. It was likely the failure of his third Zonophone EP, Sci-Fi, that caused him to be dropped by the label. Afterwards he was signed to Marc Riley's In Tape label, on which he would release two albums and four EPs.
Despite the minimal chart success from these EPs, Frank had developed a cult following that allowed him to attract audiences upwards of 500 in Northern England and London. This act of extensively touring the country would develop Frank's status. Performances were often varied from straightforward stand-up comedy and featured novelty components such as tombola, and crowd interaction. Sometimes the show also included lectures. Contrasting with the alternative comedians of the time, Frank Sidebottom's comedy was family-friendly, if a little bizarre for some. This family friendly nature led to Frank getting his own comic strip in the children's weekly comic Oink!, which launched 1986.
His backing band, dubbed The Oh Blimey Band, consisted of Mike Doherty on drums, Rick Sarko on guitar (both formerly of the Freshies), Patrick Gallagher on bass and, later, Jon Ronson on keyboards.Rosnon, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 15. .
At the same time as touring, Frank would become a semi-regular cast member on the two final seasons of the ITV children's programme No. 73, eventually being grandfathered into its spin off, 7T3.
In 1987, Frank released his first album, a spoken word cassette called Fantastic Tales, released through his own 11:37 label. His first musical album, entitled 5:9:88, was released on vinyl by In Tape a year later. This album introduced the character Mrs Merton, portrayed by Caroline Aherne. Aherne continued to use the character as a comic persona, leading to her own TV show, launching the comedians TV career. Chris and the band, whilst disgruntled by the success of a character created for Frank now detached from Frank, did not resent it, with drummer Mike Doherty saying that while she had taken the character's name, she had crafted her own thing out of it.Rosnon, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 31–32. .
Frank was perhaps most popular in the North West of England, where his success was caught up in that of the Madchester scene, and for a time was a regular on regional ITV station Granada, even featuring as a reporter on its regional news programme, Granada Reports.
Along with his frequent television appearances, the Frank Sidebottom character also made appearances on radio, on stations such as Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5, alongside Mark and Lard.
Jon Ronson first played with Frank's Oh Blimey Band in 1987, when their original keyboardist (Mark Radcliffe) was unable to make it to a gig at The Cricketers pub at Kennington Oval, London SE11. Ronson was social secretary at the Polytechnic of Central London and knew Mike Doherty as an agent. During the band introductions at the end of the show, Ronson noted a negative reaction to his presence, but found that his microphone had been almost completely muted, leaving him completely unheard by the audience. Despite this, one year later, he was offered a full time place in the band, which he accepted.Ronson, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 15–17. .
This same year Frank was included on the charity album Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father, which featured other acts like Michelle Shocked, the Christians, Sonic Youth, Billy Bragg, Hue and Cry, the Fall and Wet Wet Wet. He later recorded "Flying" for another Beatles tribute album, Revolution No. 9.
In 1989, Sievey re-arranged the Oh Blimey Band, introducing Richard Jones from the recently broken up local band the Desert Wolves on bass guitar, along with a new guitarist and saxophonist. Chris wanted to give the band a more professional sound, and booked a 30 date tour, the longest the band had ever undertook. This new lineup was a source of tension between the members, with Richard Jones and Jon Ronson taking a near instant disliking for each other.
The tour and its new sound were panned by audience members and critics alike, leading to Sievey abandoning the new line-up in 1990, instead choosing to perform solo from then on.Rosnon, Jon (2015). Frank. England: Picador. pp. 37–41. .
After this, Frank began to make semi-regular guest appearances on the final season of ITV programme and No. 73 successor Motormouth, as well as numerous appearances on Channel 4, including the British version of the game show Remote Control which was presented by Tony Wilson, where each week he would pose "Frank's Fantastic Question" to the contestants. The popularity of these appearances led to him getting his own show on the network, Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show, which lasted one series in 1992. Afterwards he migrated to What's Up Doc?, where Sievey would not only portray Sidebottom, but also create the recurring segment Life with the Amoebas. After the first two series, Sievey left the show.
Retirement of Frank, stop-motion work and failed solo ventures (1995–2004)