After this, Frank began to make semi-regular guest appearances on the final season of ITV programme and No. Chris Sievey English musician and comedian (1955-2010) . As I prepare to go to it, I remember something Chris once said to me. But this new band: I felt like I was in a college sports team. Chris's ex-wife Paula who he wooed by pushing into a canal said in Mick's book: "I was so naive because girls would often ring up and ask for him. [10] In the documentary Being Frank, Martin Sievey (Chris's brother) states this was made using plaster of Paris.[11]. [20], In 1987, Frank released his first album, a spoken word cassette called 'Fantastic Tales', released through his own 11:37 label. When Sievey died in 2010, memories of Sidebottom could have swiftly . It did not work but the sound engineers did agree to let Chris and his brother Martin record a few tracks. The old band members had a certain avant-garde loucheness. Sievey's life was a fantastical, subversive piece of performance art. In the late 1990s he hung up the papier-mch head and soon found himself jobless and bankrupt. The person that emerges from behind the mask via the documentary however is a wonderfully positive optimistic and . After retiring the character of Frank Sidebottom, Sievey became prop designer and set dresser on the fourth season of stop-motion animated series, Bob the Builder. "Hello, Jon," said the man underneath. Chris Sievey was a 'live in the moment' man, his friends said More than 200 people gathered to pay their respects to Chris Sievey - the creator of comedian Frank Sidebottom - at his. Sievey's life was a fantastical, subversive piece of performance art. It was a typically playful offering, entirely in keeping with Sievey's wilful sense of the absurd. Detailsatwww.beingfrank.film, The exhibition Bobbins: Frank Sidebottom & Chris Sievey, containing some of Chriss huge personalarchive, is at Manchester Central Library until the end of April, The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. It got hold of him and it was quite bad. Former wife Paula Sievey pegs his decline to Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show, a TV series that started in . A journey back in time 200 years? "Have you been in showbusiness for long?" My friend, the screenwriter Peter Straughan, asked me if I thought the story could be adapted into a film. He loved the work but missed Frank and wanted to bring him back from retirement. [9], The character was instantly recognizable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. [2], Sievey released two cassettes under his own name in 1975 and 1976 Girl in My Blue Jeans and All Sleeps Secrets.[8]. He added that his name was Mike, and Frank Sidebottom's real name was Chris. And in the space of that first song our classic Born in Timperley (to the tune of Springsteen's Born in the USA) the audience veered from fevered anticipation into hoping we were playing a weird joke on them into realising with regret that we were not. Then Mike phoned and asked if I wanted to be in Frank's band full time. It was very much like having a fourth child, and he wasprobably the naughtiest child out of all of them.. Richard was not the only proper musician Chris brought in. [43] Guests included Caroline Aherne, Phil Cornwell, Midge Ure, Gerry Anderson, the Farm, Pop Will Eat Itself, Oceanic and Keith Chegwin. If you rang and Frank answered you would have to ask him to go and get Chris. Now divorced from Paula, he was an animator on the children's claymation series Pingu. [42] Reg is one of the few examples of Chris playing a character on television not related to Frank Sidebottom. Jon Ronson, who played in his band, and has co-written a film inspired by the character starring Michael Fassbender, remembers Frank's creator Chris Sievey as being even more eccentric than his papier-mache alter ego, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Chris Sievey as Frank Sidebottom in 1992. The real mystery of the man beneath the mask - the restlessly innovative, incessantly creative writer, musician and performer Chris Sievey - is finally revealed in this painstaking, fascinating, years-in-the-making documentary from filmmaker Steve Sullivan, Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. We had to stop them. In 1987 I was 20 and the student union entertainments officer for the Polytechnic of Central London. But he did leave a league of fans, whoclubbed together to crowdfund a send-off, with enough money left for a memorial concert. Chris returned to Manchester to a court summons. Staring back at me from the sink was Frank's head. The premise was simple but hilariously effective an aspiring suburban pop star who still lived at home with his mum, and whose chirpy ambition only served to magnify an innate lack of talent. Hundreds of online tributes have been paid to the 24-year-old musician.. Frank Sidebottom was a peculiar stage character defined by his enormous papier-mache mask, immortalized in countless UK TV appearances and a fictionalized biopic produced after the 2010 death of cr But Chris wasn't ordinary. She became involved in Chriss artily insane schemes, which involved painting their faces blue ordressing as tramps to go into Manchester city centre. The NME savaged us. Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story tells the twisted tale of a split personality, exploring the extraordinary secret life of a songwriter, artist, comedian and wayward genius. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host Mrs Merton, in various roles in The Fast Show, and as Denise in The Royle Family (1998-2012), a series which she co-wrote. But it wasnt until he made himself a huge papier mache head for a fancy dress party that Sieveyscareer really took off. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, New documentary Being Frank sheds light on Chris Sievey's troubled life behind the mask, Chris Sievey died aged 54 from cancer in June 2010, Frank Sidebottom with Caroline Aherne as Mrs Merton in 1992, Frank pictured with Corrie's Barbara Knox, Chris Sievey's band The Freshies' closest attempt to chart success was reaching number 51 in 1981, Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band's van driver was Chris Evans, Chris would keep his Frank Sidebottom on off stage and would not respond if someone called him 'Chris', Chris cheated on his wife with groupies who would ask to have sex with him while he wore Franks head, Chris Sievey started smoking cannabis at the age of 12 and was experimenting with LSD four years later, Chris brought back Frank in 2006 however the onset of cancer just before Christmas 2009 ripped apart what had been a warmly received comeback, BFI London Film Festival clip from the documentary Being Frank, the story of Chris Sievey, Harry, who died in a crash in 2017 at the age of 24, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Whereas, say, Caroline Aherne had a single vision and could just pursue that, Chris might have a fantastic idea, and then, just as the point where it might actually get somewhere, he would spin off onto something completely different. Chris hung up Frank'shead in the late 1990s, by which time he was drinking too much, dealing witha large unpaid tax bill and struggling to find direction. "Guess Who's Been on Match of the Day" entered the charts at No. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. (1992), No 73 (1982) and TX (1985). My story was published in the Guardian. A tender and funny new documentary, Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, exploreshis talent and the ambivalent relationship Chris had with the wide-eyed alter ego that brought himfame and fortune both of which he then proceeded to fritter away. Her brother, Patrick Aherne, 56, said: Chris was a larger than life character even without the papier-mch head. Based on the life of Chris Sievey, who donned a similar disguise to become his alter ego, Frank Sidebottom . Frank Sidebottom comic faces pauper's funeralThe comic genius behind Mancunian legend Frank Sidebottom is facing a pauper's funeral after dying virtually penniless. He hit the depths just when his act got his own ITV series Frank Sidebottoms Fantastic Shed Show in 1992. The appeal closed on Monday 28 June with a final balance of 21,631.55 from 1,632 donations. Even though the pop-tinged punk rockers never became household names, they had their fair share of female fans. This was a huge stage for Frank his biggest ever, by about 49,500 people. On the day of his court appearance the judge told him it was a very serious matter and had he considered a payment plan? Polyethylene Film / PE Sheet [56], Sievey's funeral was held on 2 July 2010 at Altrincham Crematorium. In February of 1982, Sievey abandoned the quartet lineup of the Freshies, and reformed it as a duo with Barbara O'Donovan. A skilful guitarist and a saxophone player turned up in the spare bedroom too. Chris portrayed himself as untroubled. Why was he wearing the head when there was nobody there to see it except for his own band? [33] In 2000 he began working in stop motion animation and became a regular crew member on Seasons 4 - 6 of Bob the Builder, as well as a writer on the fourth season of Pingu. The re-recorded single was released in 1983 initially on Sievey's own Random Records label, before . He sent me photographs of its journey from the foundry in the Czech Republic to its final resting place outside Johnson's the dry cleaners in Timperley. Chris Sievey girlfriend, wife 1955 - 2010 Chris Sievey British Comedian 0 0 edit Age 54 at death Zodiac Virgo Chris Sievey dating history Relationships We have no records of past relationships for Chris Sievey. I cleared my throat. Chris Sievey was a musician, songwriter, artist, comedian, filmmaker, performance artist and wayward genius who created an alter ego that he grew to resent. And thatwas when I realised I was in love with this person, she says. 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. Chris Sievey Paula Sievey, nee Dean Stirling John Sievey (born 1980) is the second child of Chris Sievey, creator of Frank Sidebottom, and his wife, Paula. Sievey was an undoubted success as Frank, but arguably never reached the showbiz heights of hiscontemporaries. Her followup series, The Royle Family, won about seven. [48] A publicly funded statue of Frank by Colin Spofforth was unveiled on 20 October 2013 at 11:37 in Timperley village,[47] the timing a reference to one of the character's catchphrases. But there was a solution. As Frank Sidebottom's popularity dipped in the mid-90s, Sievey began working as assistant to the art director at the Altrincham-based company Hot Animation, on the children's TV shows Pingu and Bob the Builder. He received an overall score of 22 points from judges James Nesbitt and Glenda Gilson, putting him in first place for all the series' acts so far. I can barely believe it, Frank: watch Michael Fassbender in the world exclusive trailer for the comedy inspired by Frank Sidebottom - video, SXSW 2014 review: Frank into the head of a pop comedy maverick, Panic on the streets of Timperley! With a swimmers clip over his nose, Franks songs included Timperley 969 1909 (which was Chriss home telephone number), Born In Timperley (to the tune of Born In The USA) and his own version of Kylie Minogues I Should Be So Lucky, where he rhymed Tizer with synthesiser. Afterwards he was signed to Marc Riley's In Tape label, on which he would release two albums and four EPs.[17]. The 63-year-old, from Clunton Avenue, Daubhill, was with his wife on the way home from an evening out when the collision occurred. Undeterred, he predated the DIY punk ethic by starting his own label, Razz, in 1974 and releasing singles and EPs with the Freshies from 1978 onwards. Military historian to sell home-made Second World War plane after his wife told him to get rid of it. He is survived by his children Stirling, Asher and Harrison from his marriage to Paula, which ended in divorce, and by his brother Martin. Frank's character was of a child in a northern town remaining assiduously immature in the face of adulthood. ", "So," I said. Frank Sidebottom Talk To Frank Drug Parody Comedian Chris Sievey Unofficial Unisex 3/4 Sleeve Baseball Tee Available In 7 Colour Choices ad vertisement by CustardGB. Chris Sievey, who has died aged 54 after suffering from cancer, achieved the kind of success as Frank Sidebottom that often eluded him under his own name. It is published by Picador as an ebook on 16 January. Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. TheFreshies and the music was what he enjoyed doing most.. Chris never actually said to me: "You're fired." The duo version of the Freshies released one single, "Fasten Your Seat Belts". Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. [54] After it was reported that Sievey had died virtually penniless and was facing a pauper's funeral provided by state grants,[55] a grassroots movement on various social networking websites raised 6,500 in a matter of hours. Chris Sievey had no assets and little money in the bank, his family have revealed.Manchester Evening News, 23 June 2010. A poignant reminder of one of Chris Sievey's (AKA Frank Sidebottom) finest moments. It was fantastic.. Photograph: Linda Nylind, Frank Sidebottom: the true story of the man behind the mask, Frank Sidebottom creator Chris Sievey dies aged 54, Frank Sidebottom's gone. I let out a gasp. Within an hour 554 people had donated 6,950.03. Christopher Mark Sievey (25 August 1955 - 21 June 2010) was an English musician and comedian known for fronting the band The Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards. 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