Frank Sidebottom dies

[Gavin Scott]

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ncer_fight

The man behind cult comedy character Frank Sidebottom has died after he was found collapsed at his home in Hale.

Comedian Chris Sievey, 54, who had performed as Frank for over 25 years, was recovering from an operation to remove a tumour from his chest.

But he carried on working and only ten days ago he launched a comedy song for the World Cup, titled Three Shirts On My Line.



Frank Sidebottom, who has died after collapsing at home, pictured earlier this month at the launch of his comedy World Cup song Three Shirts On My Line Frank Sidebottom, who has died after collapsing at home, pictured earlier this month at the launch of his comedy World Cup song Three Shirts On My Line

The man behind cult comedy character Frank Sidebottom has died after he was found collapsed at his home in Hale.

Comedian Chris Sievey, 54, who had performed as Frank for over 25 years, was recovering from an operation to remove a tumour from his chest.

But he carried on working and only ten days ago he launched a comedy song for the World Cup, titled Three Shirts On My Line.

Chris started out as a musician in the 1970s and created the character Frank Sidebottom, known for an outsized papier-mache head, as a music fan from Timperley who followed his punk band The Freshies.

The Freshies' biggest hit was the 1981 song "I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk" which was renamed as "I'm In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk" after Virgin objected.

After the band broke up, Chris carried on performing as Frank Sidebottom and put together a stand-up comedy routine which was performed entirely in character.

His sharp 1950s-style suits and round papier-mache head made him instantly recognisable.

Often accompanied by his sidekick Little Frank - a glove puppet made in his own image - Frank became a regular face on TV in the 1980s and 1990s.

From being an occasional guest on Saturday morning children's TV show No 73, he went on to have a regular slot on late pop impresario Anthony H Wilson's game show Remote Control, where he would introduce the Frank's Fantastic Question section.

He also had regular slots on radio, working with Chris Evans, Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley.

His TV fame peaked in the early 1990s with his own series Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show.

David Behrens, who produced the 1992 ITV series, said today: "Chris was a genuinely funny and creative comic talent, and he had a huge and loyal base of fans. He had been ill recently but his death is terribly sudden and sad.

Mr Behrens added: "He came from a great comedy tradition in refusing to acknowledge his real identity when he was in character. As soon as the prop head went on, he'd answer to Frank, never Chris. A real one of a kind."

The comic creation's songwriting skills led to singles and EPs including Christmas Is Really Fantastic, the Timperley EP and Smiths parody Panic! (On The Streets Of Timperley).

His live act would also see Frank sing a medley of Queen songs, complete with Freddie Mercury moustache.

Sgt Pepper Knew My Father - an album released to celebrate the Beatles' original - featured Frank Sidebottom alongside acts including Wet Wet Wet and Sonic Youth.

Despite fading from TV in recent years, Frank remained a popular gigging comedian. He was performing until the end, appearing on stage only last week.

His agent Nigel Round said: "Everybody who knew Frank is going to be gutted."

Mr Round said the comedian downplayed the cancer he was fighting in recent months.

"He always said it was no problem, he was going through treatment but it was being sorted out."

Mr Round added: "He was just a nice bloke. He was quite a private person. He never spoke about Chris Sievey, it was all about the character."

His agent said Sievey was planning to come out from under the paper-mache mask in the coming years. "Everyone kept it really quiet. We were probably only 12 months from him uncovering himself," Mr Round said.

Chris posted a message on his Twitter account on Sunday morning saying: "I'm still feeling very poorly".

He was found collapsed at his home in Hawthorn Road, Hale, by his girlfriend and she called an ambulance at 12.40 am on Monday.

It is understood he was still alive when the ambulance arrived and he was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Wythenshawe Hospital confirmed Chris died in the early hours.

A spokesman said a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out to determine the exact cause of his death.

Mark Alston, 34, a close friend for many years who helped organise Chris’s appearances as Frank Sidebottom, said: “It is just really awful. I just feel in shock. He was a big comedy name in Greater Manchester – one of the biggest. He was also a musical genius and a good friend to many. He was a legend in the region and will be missed.

“He was carrying on performing right until the end. He was saying that he was going to get shut of the cancer and not to cancel any more bookings.

“He had a massive group of friends and associates. He influenced and brought happiness to thousands of people.”

Some fans have now started an online campaign to take Frank's World Cup song to the top of the charts in his memory. The song was due to be released on iTunes shortly before he died.

[iSon]

Not wishing to namedrop - but I met Chris and "Frank" a couple of years ago. He was so quick witted and an extremely clever man. A great shame to hear of his passing - I was aware that he was ill and that things hadn't looked good, but still a big shock.

Sorry for the delayed reaction to this by the way, I'm just catching up on Metro time on my day off while I wait for my new iPhone to come to life!

[Gavin Scott]

Sorry for the delayed reaction to this by the way, I'm just catching up on Metro time on my day off while I wait for my new iPhone to come to life!

*excuse us*, but Metropol isn't the online equivalent of the People's Friend in a dentist's waiting room.

Please dedicate proper contribution time.

[nwtv2003]

I'd only got into Frank Sidebottom's acts/shows etc in the last few years (mainly thanks to Channel M and YouTube) and I thought he's fantastic, but I hadn't realised he had been ill so I was rather shocked at his untimely death on Monday.

Although it was great to see on Tuesday that thanks to a generous online group Frank/Chris will get a decent send-off, as he was due to have a paupers funeral.

It's really sad, really sad, Thank You.