Chris was the unreasonable man, except the world never did adapt to him and he never made any progress. Her followup series, The Royle Family, won about seven. It was consequently baffling for me to become aware of a growing sense of discontent in the van. I thought he was crazy, not my type at all. Now documentary Being Frank talks to those who knew Chris best to shed light on his troubled life. "Frank Sidebottom was possibly the strangest pop star in history. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Frank's television appearances would lessen, not attaching himself as a regular cast of anything, but making occasional appearances. She became involved in Chriss artily insane schemes, which involved painting their faces blue ordressing as tramps to go into Manchester city centre. he said. We were just friends. He also made five appearances on Iain Lee's programme on London's LBC as well as on numerous community radio stations such as Forever Manchester. This guywith long hair, red knee-length boots and a mad suede jacket walked in, and everyone was goingWho is this?," she remembers. Fictionalising his years in Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band for 2014's beguiling non-biopic Frank, Jon Ronson chose to make his hero an outsider musician in the vein of Daniel Johnson and the Shaggs.Those artists are, in many ways, more abrasive than Frank Sidebottom, whose chintzy Casio keyboard beats would never have passed muster on a Captain . The private service was attended by more than 200 members of his family, friends and former colleagues. I wondered why Chris had decided to kill off Frank. but, apparently, they were up to everything.. Vithal Visavadiya, 63, denies causing the death of Harrison. The film was written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan, and was based on Ronson's experiences playing in Sievey's Oh Blimey Big Band. Chris Sievey had no assets and little money in the bank, his family have revealed.Manchester Evening News, 23 June 2010. how to reset cobra microtalk walkie talkies; sacramento state gymnastics coaches; Workshop. "Will you put Chris on?". WITH his nasal voice, huge papier-mch head and out-of-tune songs, comic creation Frank Sidebottom was always going to be an unlikely star. Young Sievey, born in 1955, grew up in the Greater Manchester area of England, loved the Beatles (nothing surprising there), was . The acts included Badly Drawn Boy and surviving members of Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band who played in tribute. But I began to notice in the listings magazines that he was doing solo shows just him and a keyboard. 73,[19] eventually being grandfathered into its spin off, 7T3. Not long after that, Frank was playing at a pub near my flat. 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. Paula met Chris when they were both working in a factory. But I was crazy about him and wanted to have babies with him straight away., Paula and Chrisloved being parents, but she had to be the grown-up in the relationship. His wife, Paula, answered the door and told me to go to the spare bedroom. Sievey was an undoubted success as Frank, but arguably never reached the showbiz heights of hiscontemporaries. We hired a people-carrier instead of a Transit van and set off to our first venue. [9], The character was instantly recognizable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. The all-star supporting cast includes Chris O'Dowd as a volatile butcher, M. Emmet Walsh as a suicidal writer, Kelly Reilly as the priest's daughter who feels he abandoned her, and Domhnall. 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. Chris and Paula married at a registry office during their lunch hour and went back to workafterwards. the real frankie murdoch biography The man on the phone said I should meet them at the soundcheck at 5pm. [60][61], It was announced in April 2019 that GCHQ had cracked the hidden codes and messages that Sievey had left around the borders of his Frank Sidebottom books and recordings.[62]. 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. . Frank Sidebottom statue moves closer, Frank review engrossing, tender breakdown of the Frank Sidebottom enigma, Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson team up for music comedy Frank, Frank star Domhnall Gleeson and co-writer Jon Ronson: 'We're not very forgiving of transgressions any more' video interview, SXSW 2014 review: Frank into the head of a pop comedy maverick, Frank Sidebottom 'He'd have died to be inthe charts'. Mini Bio (1) Chris Sievey was born on August 25, 1955 in Ashton on Mersey, Greater Manchester, England. He stands off to the side and at the bottom of the back cover photo. Sievey's life was a fantastical, subversive piece of performance art. The mood was pumped. In the three hours since the phone call I'd learned a little about Frank Sidebottom how he wore a big, fake head and there was much speculation about his real identity. In 1982, he released the mini-album Denigration Now, his first work outside of the Freshies since 1976's All Sleeps Secrets. I think heleft a very clear message that its not about the money; moneys not important and you dont need itto make you happy. Caroline Mary Aherne [1] (24 December 1963 - 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian and writer. He inspired the 2014 film Frank, which starred Oscar-nominee Michael Fassbender, a bronze statue of the character has been erected in Chriss home town of Timperley in Greater Manchester and there is even a painting of him in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Chris Sievey was a musician, songwriter, artist, comedian, filmmaker, performance artist and wayward genius who created an alter ego that he grew to resent. In memory of Chris Sievey, 1955-2010. He liked the idea of the head, not the boobs.. Talking to his ex-wife Paula and children Stirling, 40, and Asher, 39 (their younger brother Harry also a talented musician, like his father - was killed in a road accident in 2017 aged 24), you realisehow much Sievey needed their support. Sievey as Frank Sidebottom at the Bull and Gate, Retirement of Frank, stop-motion work and failed solo ventures (19952004), Chris Sievey - Being Frank Liner Notes - Steve Sullivan, 2019 7A Records, Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 11:00, Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie, "Chris Sievey: The man behind the papier-mch mask of Frank Sidebottom Obituaries, News", "frank's firm favourities | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company", "oh blimey it's christmas | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company", "BBC Frank Sidebottom creator Chris Sievey was "a genius", "Revolution No. Chris appeared in character as Frank,[13] and was signed to their sub-label Regal Zonophone. In the van, Chris smiled wistfully. Harrison Sievey's loved ones now say they will try and 'piece their lives. Release Date: 27 Mar 2019. Chris filled me in on the past 10 years. I found Chris in a dressing room at the back, Frank's head in a bin bag at his feet. "Would a pound a week suffice, m'lud?" In the van I'd listen to Chris's stories, trying to understand him. Was he bitter? He had a nice, ordinary face. I cleared my throat. By the end of the tour we were playing to almost-empty houses. [32] After the first two seasons, Sievey left the show. What if we fictionalised the whole thing? Ashers youngest son Freddie is eight, and he pops in and out of his grandmas living room as we alltalk. The music journalist Mick Middles recently sent me his not-yet-published biography Frank Sidebottom: Out of His Head. [18], 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. The roadie for Franks Oh Blimey BigBand was a young man called Chris Evans, who Paula remembers inviting them to a barbecue in agraveyard next to his house, where the catering was one big steak and some tomatoes between theentire party. "How did you lose so much weight?" In the photographs, Frank looked like he'd been kidnapped but was fine with it. The big reveal never happened, as he died from cancer in2010, aged 54, leaving no money to pay for a funeral. "Oh I'm very well actually, Mr Ronson," Frank said. The only complaint he ever had was that he had so many ideas that hed talk to people about,and a couple of months down the line somebody else would have done it, and hed go: That was myidea.. But he was worried that however the film might depict Chris, any reality would surely damage Frank. As we played I watched it all the band assiduously emulating the tinny pre-programmed sounds of a cheap, children's keyboard, the enraptured audience, and Frank, the eerie cartoon-character frontman, his facial expression immobile, his singing voice a high-pitched nasal twang. The donations never stopped. When I'd told Chris at our last meeting how thin he looked he didn't know it then, but it had been throat cancer. Three years following the end of 7T3, Frank became a regular cast member on the fourth, and final, season of the children's TV series Motormouth. Photograph: ITV/REX, Frank Sidebottom with Jon Ronson in Birmingham in the 1980s Photograph: Jon Ronson, Maggie Gyllenhall, Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson in Frank, Frank review a weird, wonderful movie that dances to a different beat, Panic on the streets of Timperley! . 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. Sometimes, on the way back from some gig, I'd become aware that we were taking a detour to some house somewhere with some women we somehow met along the way. The old band members had a certain avant-garde loucheness. The person that emerges from behind the mask via the documentary however is a wonderfully positive optimistic and . It was lo-tech genius from a hi-spec mind. [citation needed] Frank appeared briefly as a Manchester United fan in an advert for the FIFA 10 video game in 2009. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of "Little Frank", a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank. The audacious beginnings of a pop career got under way in 1971, when the 15-year-old Chris and his brother Martin hitchhiked to London to stage a sit-in at the Beatles' Apple HQ. Chris had written his first LP by this stage, "The Johnny Radar Story", which, for various legal and contractual complications, was never released on vinyl. Liz Whitaker, Brian Little, Nick Herbert & Sarah Ball, Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show (Season 1), Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show (Season 2), The Most Annoying Pop Songs. We Hate to Love: Episode 3, Gareth Cornick, Nick Cory Wright, Richard Dean, Chris Hill, Kevin Hylands, Lindsay Jex, Kate Morey & Lyn Rowett, Side A is a song, Side B is a computer program, Demo mini-album, sent to fan club members, With the Freshies; promotional EP meant to promote, Collection of unreleased recordings sold through, Collection of telephone calls answered by Frank. By 2000 he was earning 35m in a year, making him Britain's highest-paid entertainer. And meanwhile we were crisscrossing Manchester and Bury and Leeds and Sheffield and Liverpool in our Transit van. Along 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. Chris was totally out of control. And thatwas when I realised I was in love with this person, she says. And there I was, in the passenger seat of a Transit van flying down the M6 in the middle of the night, squeezed between the door and Frank Sidebottom. [22][23], 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. 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. pauline hanson dancing with the stars; just jerk dance members; what happens if a teacher gets a dui Frontman of new wave band The Freshies, he restlessly experimented with new ideas, including self-produced videos. Frank premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, and opens in cinemas nationwide in May 2014. 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. 9: A Tribute to The Beatles in Aid of Cambodia", "What's up doc? [ 1] Life went back to normal. However, the TV was repossessed, and the family ended up cooking burgers over aBunsen burner after the electricity was turned off when the bill wasnt paid. Chris Sievey Sievey as Frank Sidebottom at the Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London, in December 2006 Pseudonym Frank Sidebottom Born Christopher Mark Sievey (1955-08-25)25 August 1955 Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire, England[1] Died 21 June 2010(2010-06-21)(aged 54) Wythenshawe, Manchester, England Medium Comedy Music Years active 1969-2010 2018, Documentary/Music, 1h 40m. While an obvious reference to the character, it also is a joking reference to Led Zeppelin guitarist/founder Jimmy Page, who produced all of their albums. When he'd remove the peg after a long stint I'd see him wince in pain. 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. After Motormouth's cancellation, Frank was given his own show, titled Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show, a television programme shown in 1992 featuring Chris Sievey as fictional character Frank Sidebottom. Now divorced from Paula, he was an animator on the children's claymation series Pingu. 2023 date, start time and how to watch, From the stripper to the slap: the worst moments in Oscars history, Pedro Pascal is the best actor on TV even behind a mask, Whats on TV tonight: Django, Abbott Elementary, The Mandalorian and more, Anne Reid on her Daniel Craig sex scene: I was very scared. Chris also cheated on his wife with groupies who would ask to have sex with him while he wore Franks head and left his children without money during week-long benders. [42] Reg is one of the few examples of Chris playing a character on television not related to Frank Sidebottom. But he did leave a league of fans, whoclubbed together to crowdfund a send-off, with enough money left for a memorial concert. [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. 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. Middles likens Chris to transgender people, trapped in the wrong body. 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. It wasnt. series 1 episode 1 STV for TVS 1992 (edited) - YouTube", "Frank Sidebottom memorial song: Christmas Is Really Fantastic", "Tribute to Frank Sidebottom, the comic who broke the mould", "Victoria Wood honoured at Chortle Awards", "Frank Sidebottom statue unveiling at precisely 11.37am", "Frank Sidebottom dies after collapsing at home", "Frank Sidebottom comic faces pauper's funeral", "Frank Sidebottom's creator saved from pauper's funeral", "Frank Sidebottom's creator Chris Sievey's funeral held", "Frank Sidebottom farewell party packs Manchester arena", "BBC In pics: Frank's Fantastic Farewell", "Things to do in Manchester this weekend: March 1 to 3", "Frank Sidebottom exhibition opens today in Manchester Central Library - and a new film next week", "GCHQ cracks Frank Sidebottom's secret codes", "Frank Sidebottom: the true story of the man behind the mask", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Sievey&oldid=1140092399. Chris remained a crew member until the show's sixth season, but continued to work on the series' specials until 2005. Chris had always said we could do what we wanted with the story. Two huge eyes were staring at me, painted onto a great, imposing fake head, lips slightly parted as if mildly surprised. A Timperley village councillor, Neil Taylor, started his own fund-raising campaign for a memorial statue Frank cast in bronze. But the man underneath the hot, uncomfortable fibreglass head was Chris Sievey, a musician, artist and comedian from Manchester. chris cole day trader net worth; why did kim fischer leave the mentalist. He used to tell me that it was just fans.. So I quit college and moved to Manchester. Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band, which included the DJ Mark Radcliffe, the journalist Jon Ronson and a then-unknown Chris Evans, toured the halls of Britain, playing ramshackle covers of Bohemian Rhapsody and the Benefit of Mr Kite, to an increasingly fervent fan base. One track from this, "Lazy Rising More Slowly, Where R.U, Oh 'Chele'", was released on the 2019 outtakes and rarities compilation Being Frank.[33]. I never understood why Chris sometimes kept Frank's head on for hours, even when it was only us in the van. By the end of the day it was 1,632 donors raising a total of 21,631.55. [26][27] He later recorded "Flying" for another Beatles tribute album, Revolution No. Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, 2018. His children were playing outside. The NME savaged us. Frank Sidebottom made Sievey a star, but did that weighty head stifle the talents of the real Chrisunderneath? 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 Despite this, one year later, he was offered a full time place in the band, which he accepted. Chris's house was in a normal, nice, modern cul-de-sac. The 54-year-old was pronounced dead at Wythenshawe Hospital, a spokeswoman. FilmFour wanted to fund its development. Chris Sievey was a hugely talented musician and artist whose pop band The Freshies made terrificpop music but barely troubled the charts in the Eighties. His mother was apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Some thought he might be the alter ego of a celebrity, possibly Midge Ure, the lead singer of Ultravox, who was known to be a big Frank Sidebottom fan. [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. Talking to his ex-wife Paula and children Stirling, 40, and Asher, 39 (their younger brother Harry - also a talented musician, like his father - was killed in a road accident in 2017 aged 24),. He also appeared alongside the Factory Records boss Anthony Wilson on Channel 4's Remote Control. This album introduced the character Mrs Merton, portrayed by Caroline Aherne. Hundreds of online tributes have been paid to the 24-year-old musician.. The show was produced by Dave Behrens[44] for Yorkshire Television and was shown on ITV. Camouflage first appeared on Sievey's 1982 'Denigration Now' VHS and cassette. Obsessed with The Beatles, aged 15 he hitched to the headquarters of the bands Apple record label, where he held a sit-in protest in a bid to see his heroes. Christopher Mark Sievey (Frank Sidebottom), comedian, singer, songwriter, illustrator, animator: born Ashton-on-Mersey 25 August 1955; married (marriage dissolved; three children); died. At home there was a loving family atmosphere with Paula and their three children Stirling, now 40, Asher, 39, and Harry, who died in a crash in 2017 at the age of 24 until Chris really went off the rails. You just need wife who doesnt mind cleaning jobs she adds with a big laugh. georgetown child psychiatry; the sardine can morro bay. Christopher Mark 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. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Featuring Frank Sidebottom, Ross Noble, Johnny Vegas, Mike Joyce, John Cooper Clarke, Mark Radcliffe, and John Thomson . At this Frank raised his hands to his head and began to prise it off, turning slightly away, like he was shyly undressing. 96%. Do you have any pamphlets?" There is always a moment failure begins. In the 1990s after Mrs Merton became famous, Chris was after some kind of payout, but it never happened. He choreographed it so I would begin the show. Afterwards he migrated to What's Up Doc?,[30] where Sievey would not only portray Sidebottom, but also create the recurring segment Life with the Amoebas. It was very poorly attended. "You're Jon," he said. Ad vertisement from shop CustardGB. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. The place was packed. Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin. 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 characters name, she had crafted her own thing out of it.[21]. Biography Stirling was born in Manchester in 1980 as Stirling John Sievey. A covering letter supposedly read: "Dear X, I'm thinking of getting into showbusiness. We began to sound like an excellent 1980s wedding band. I didnt have any choice we were being threatened with eviction, andthe gas and electricity were about to be cut off. Things became so bad that Paula took their three kids to live in a hostel following their eviction for not paying the rent. In 1983, with the band on hiatus, Sievey went solo. Born in Sale, a couple of miles from Timperley, to dad Victor, a raincoat salesman, and housewife Betty, he started smoking cannabis at the age of 12 and was experimenting with LSD four years later. As I walked in he started playing a tight soul-funk riff with seeming nonchalance, but I understood it to be an act of aggression. I had similar concerns. Richard was not the only proper musician Chris brought in. They released 2 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. It became difficult when hestarted to drink and disappear for days on end. His five year plan that was cut short by his death involved using the character of Frank to build up a public profile and then remove the head at his zenith like an unmasked Kendo Nagasaki to emerge as Chris Sievey, musician. Under the head Chris would wear a swimmer's nose clip. More than 20,000 was raised to save him from a paupers funeral, with comedians Phill Jupitus and Jason Manford putting their hands in their pockets. An example of this was Caroline Ahernes Mrs Merton character, who made her debut on one ofSieveys radio shows in Manchester. "Why would Chris want to rehearse?" And towards the end of the crowd-funded film, which was a hit at last years South By Southwest Festival in Texas, we see Frank singing: I hope when Im dead Ill be fantastically famous.. I let out a gasp. Her Off "Neighbours"), Split 7-inch FlexiDisc with the Hitchcocks, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 11:00. Denigration Now is a mini-album by Chris Sievey, released immediately following the demise of The Freshies, sent to members of Sievey's mail-order club 'The Whispering Campaign'. We had to stop them. Their van driver was Chris Evans. ", "So," I said. One of them produced a ball, the audience split into teams and, ignoring us, played a game. Ithought he was hilarious; I couldnt wait to get to work as we worked on opposite sides of the samebench and every so often Id get this screwed-up piece of paper thrown over to me and it would saysomething really funny. But then, in the mid-2000s, he devised a five-year plan for bringing the. 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. It got hold of him and it was quite bad. 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. I'd like to say that during the years since Richard the bass player took an instant dislike to me a dislike that only intensified during the months that followed before the band imploded, and climaxed in him yelling that he'd like to break my "keyboard-playing fingers" he went on to have a disappointing life. Stream The Freshies - My Tape's Gone - Rough'n'Ready - Chris Sievey by Being Frank documentary on desktop and mobile. His popularity peaked in the early 1990s, with the TV series Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show and guest slots on the children's Saturday morning ITV show No 73. Do you have any tips?". In 2014, a feature-length documentary about the life and art of Chris Sievey, entitled Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story[11] was announced and was released in March 2019. I scrutinised their faces. By Ian Wolf 29 April 2019. Chris formed the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band in 1983. Camouflage is an single / programme by Chris Sievey released in 1983. It did not work but the sound engineers did agree to let Chris and his brother Martin record a few tracks. There are master copies on cassette in circulation though (albeit, very few). I said. Do you have any pamphlets?" There would be partying while I sat outside on the sofa. A skilful guitarist and a saxophone player turned up in the spare bedroom too. What the hell was Frank Sidebottom, anyway? Sidebottom's Radio Timperley show, recorded in his shed, became a cult fixture on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, helping launch the career of Caroline Aherne's Mrs Merton. [31] The popularity of these appearances lead to him getting his own show on the network, Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show, which lasted one season in 1992. He died on June 21, 2010 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. [16] It was likely the failure of his third Zonophone EP, Sci-Fi, that caused him to be dropped by the label. (1992), No 73 (1982) and TX (1985). The arrival of a decent pay cheque allowed him to indulge his worst habits. He just started doing loads of drugs, cocaine, drink. 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. Chris Sievey, but people across the country who were fans of the cult character. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Kate Shaw, and Chris Hayes attend the 2014 Women's Media Awards at Capitale on October 29, 2014 in New York City. 66. Zonophone released his third EP 'Frank's Sidebottom's Firm Favorites' in August of 1985. Within an hour 554 people had donated 6,950.03. There can't have been more than 15 people in the audience. Other songs included I Can't Get Bouncing Babies By the Teardrop Explodes and If You Really Love Me, Buy Me a Shirt. They became big names in a way that Frank/Chris never did. "I don't know," he said, looking pleased. Another of the men came bounding over to me. It is understood that his girlfriend called an ambulance and he was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital, where his death was confirmed.Manchester Evening News, 22 June 2010. Frank had faded into obscurity in the late 1990s, rarely appearing either on TV or making live appearances, but, a one-off performance at Manchester's Club Indigo Vs Manic Street Mania in December 2005 seemed to be the catalyst for a comeback. tyler . He was wondering if I'd write something about my time in the band to help him with the comeback. Then Mike phoned and asked if I wanted to be in Frank's band full time. We hear from older brother Martin; ex-wife Paula; children Stirling, Asher and Harry; and many more. . The EP reached 97 in the UK Charts on 31 August 1985 before dropping completely. Sievey fell into an alcoholic spiral, losing his wife and family and piling up tax debt, and he gave up on Frank, too. In 2003, he became a writer on Fimbles, and then, in 2004, on the British revival of the Swiss stop motion programme Pingu. It is the story of two men . When he had some, hed just give it away and it wouldall be gone in a day. 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. Among the singles and extended EPs were Frank's Firm Favourites and The Magic of Freddie Mercury & Queen, for which Frank struck a cover pose in white vest and thick black moustache. The hot, uncomfortable fibreglass head was Chris Sievey, but it never happened, as he died from in2010! Asked if I wanted to be cut off quot ; Frank Sidebottom possibly... An undoubted success as Frank, but did that weighty head stifle the talents of the tour we were Manchester. The cult character reached 97 in the audience to him and it was donors! 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