Frank Sidebottom
| Chris Sievey | |
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Sievey as Frank Sidebottom at the Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London
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| Pseudonym | Frank Sidebottom |
| Born | Christopher Mark Sievey 25 August 1955 Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 21 June 2010 (aged 54) Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
| Medium | |
| Years active | 1970s–2010 |
| Website | www |
In memory of chris sievey, 1955-2010 creator of frank sidebottom “as long as i gaze on timperley sunset i am in paradise”
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.
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.
Sievey grew up in Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire (2.5 miles from Timperley, the town with which Frank Sidebottom would be associated). In 1971 he decided on a career in music and hitch-hiked to London with his brother, staging a sit-in at the Apple Records HQ, demanding to see one of The Beatles. 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. He then began working under the name 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 credited to The Freshies but "Baiser" (1979) credited to Chris Sievey, and the Red Indian Music EP credited to 'The Freshies with Chris Sievey'. 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" (Razz 4), "No Money" / "Oh Girl" (Razz 5) and "Yellow Spot" (Razz 6). Radio 1, and in particular Mike Read, on his breakfast show, gave The Freshies a lot of airplay, especially the MCA release. The Freshies also produced a couple of "jingles" for the programme. After the "success" of "I'm in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk", they 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 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. 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. There are master copies on cassette in circulation though (albeit, very few). By 1983, he had abandoned The Freshies and began moving in a new direction.
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