Chris Sievey: The man behind the papier-mâché mask of Frank Sidebottom | The Independent Chris Sievey: The man behind the papier-m&acirc;ché mask of Frank Sidebottom Thursday 24 June 2010 23:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online The Manchester musician and comedian Chris Sievey brought a surreal sense of humour, amazing attention to detail and great fun and dedication to both stages of his career. I first came across him in the late 1970s as a solo artist and the frontman of The Freshies, a punk band who embraced the DIY ethos and released a series of catchy power-pop EPs and singles on Sievey's Razz label. Eventually, Sievey's unbounded enthusiasm and endearing charm and perseverance won through and MCA licensed "I'm In Love With The Girl On The Virgin Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk", replaced the Virgin reference with the vague "A Certain..." to appease Richard Branson and the BBC and secure airplay on Mike Read's Radio One Breakfast Show, and The Freshies spent a couple of weeks on the singles charts in February 1981.

In fact, they narrowly missed out on a Top 40 placing and a Top Of The Pops ppearance because a postal strike affected the collection of chart data from the North-west. However, neither the record-shop-themed follow-up "I Can't Get 'Bouncing Babies' by The Teardrop Explodes", nor the anti-war "Wrap Up The Rockets" charted and, after another single on Stiff in 1982 The Freshies broke up. Sievey had already introduced Frank Sidebottom, a character wearing an over-sized papier-mâché head, as a fan of The Freshies in the video for "Rockets", and developed this oddball comic creation further. His alter ego wore a 1950s-style sharp suit, played the banjo or a Casio keyboard, spoke or sang in a nasal whine and found everything "Fantastic". Ever the optimist, Sidebottom still dreamt of pop stardom.

He name-checked Timperley, the village within the Altrincham area of Greater Manchester where he lived with his mother, at every opportunity, even when adapting Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" – "Is this the real life, or is this just Timperley?" sung with a stuck-on moustache à la Freddie Mercury – the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The UK" or "Panic" by The Smiths. He became a fixture of the comedy circuit, a recurrent guest on Mark Radcliffe's Hit The North programme on Radio 5 in 1990, and developed a cult following. Something of an acquired taste, Sidebottom and his Little Frank puppet sidekick nevertheless proved hugely popular with both children and students. His persona harked back to the days of George Formby but was also the product of a rich Manchester scene which had already seen the emergence of left-of-centre musical acts with a humorous, satirical or poetic bent like Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, the Smirks, Jilted John and John Cooper Clarke.

Indeed, Sievey helped nurture the comedic talent of Caroline Aherne, who debuted her Mrs Merton persona on Frank Sidebottom's Radio Timperley, the comedy series he made for Piccadilly Radio, while early incarnations of Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band featured the broadcasters Radcliffe and Marc "Lard" Riley, and were driven by a young upstart called Chris Evans. Born in 1955 in Ashton-on-Mersey, Sievey was a huge fan of the pop music he would later make gentle fun of, most famously with his take on the Beatles' "Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!" for Sgt Pepper Knew My Father, the charity album for Childline, in 1987. He idolised the Fab Four and in 1971 hitchhiked to London with his brother Martin to stage a sit-in at Apple Records in an attempt to secure a deal. They did get to record a session but Apple folded shortly after. Throughout the rest of the '70s he sent demo tapes to record companies and collected the rejection slips, subsequently publishing them in a booklet packaged with a cassette release, the No-Go Demos, in 1980.

He recorded with the drummer Martin Jackson, later of Magazine and Swing Out Sister, and the guitarist Billy Duffy, best known for his work with The Cult, but only began gigging in 1980 when The Freshies settled on a line-up comprising guitarist Barry Spencer, bassist Rick Sarko and former Smirks drummer Mike Doherty, who became his agent when he turned to comedy as Sidebottom, the self-styled Bard of Timperley. In the mid-1980s, after a spell on the EMI-owned imprint Regal Zonophone – once the home of Formby – he signed to In-Tape Records, the independent label set up by Riley, and also collaborated with him on the satirical comic Oink!, which attempted to mirror the success of Viz and lasted until November 1988. He became a regular on the regional news programme Granada Reports and guested on the Saturday morning children's show No 73. In the early '90s he fronted Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show which was shown on most of the ITV network, and appeared on the British version of Remote Control, the game show hosted by Anthony H Wilson of Factory Records fame.

Sievey seemed to grow tired of Sidebottom and mothballed the character while he worked on the children's TV shows series Pingu and Bob The Builder at the Altrincham-based Hot Animation company. In 2006, he reappeared on Channel M, the local Manchester TV channel. He exhibited his drawings and animation work at London's Chelsea Space gallery and also presented "An Evening With Frank Sidebottom" at Tate Britain. More recently, he toured with Clarke and had just released a World Cup comedy song entitled "Three Shirts On My Line". He was diagnosed with cancer last month but had been confident of making a recovery. Paying tribute to Sievey on his Radio 2 show on Monday night, Radcliffe said. "I genuinely believe him to be one of the very few people I met whom I would call a genius. He never became hugely successful – he defined what a cult figure is in many ways. In the North-west he was elevated to cult hero status. Frank Sidebottom was a meticulous comic creation, almost like Hancock. Chris knew every aspect of Frank's world. He knew who his friends were, what he ate for his meals, what his pets were.

The character also tapped into this era where everyone wants to be famous without being equipped, either talent-wise or personality-wise, to do it. "Frank did his Radio Timperley and TV shows from his shed. Doing "Born In Timperley" instead of "Born In The USA", he punctured the grandiose pomposity of pop music while at the same time maintaining that love he had for it. He was also an incredibly gifted and creative artist. Quite often, he would have brilliant ideas and never quite get to the execution of them. In 1983, I remember he brought me a 12in record. One side of it was a computer game called "The Biz" for ZX Spectrum. Everybody said: a computer game, on a disc? Don't be stupid! He was a wonderfully talented bloke. He taught you that life could be viewed slightly differently from how everybody else views it." Pierre Perrone Christopher Mark Sievey (Frank Sidebottom), comedian, singer, songwriter, illustrator, animator: born Ashton-on-Mersey 25 August 1955; married (marriage dissolved; three children); died Wythenshawe, Manchester 21 June 2010.

More about: R.I.P. cult comic Chris Sievey, a.k.a "Frank Sidebottom" · Newswire · The A.V. Club Share Tweet According to sources throughout the U.K. , Chris Sievey, former lead singer of the Freshies and alter ego of Frank Sidebottom, has died of cancer. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer of pop-punk band the Freshies, who had a memorable hit in 1980 with “I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk,” Sievey became better-known for creating the character of Frank Sidebottom, a simpleminded, easygoing fanboy from the town of Timperley. As portrayed by Sievey in a huge papier-mâché head, Frank had an enthusiasm for robots, holidays, sport, and his mum, and was frequently tormented by an identical-looking puppet sidekick named Little Frank. The character became a cult success and, eventually, Sievey's primary pursuit; in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he did a number of television appearances, radio shows, and stand-up performances as Frank Sidebottom.

Though most popular in the United Kingdom, Sievey gained a cult following in the U.S., primarily through the Frank Sidebottom albums released on the In Tape label, which often consisted of skits featuring Little Frank and whimsical covers of songs by the Rolling Stones, Elton John, the Sex Pistols, and other popular artists, rewritten to reflect the character's quirky passions. (The songs almost always ended with a nasal but sincere “Thank-you.”) Frank Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 107 out of 144 people found the following review useful: Reminded me why I go to the cinema. from United Kingdom 14 May 2014 I went to see Frank at the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton with my wife. I was not expecting much; I tend to dislike rock biopics and the whole premise of man-in-giant-papier-mache-head thing seemed gimmicky. Frank is wonderful. The comedy is effortless, the dialogue is smart but not pretentious, the performances are elegant and understated. Fassbender is great and the head thing really works for him. One of the real pleasures of this film is its narrative depth.

The story arcs of the protagonists manage to be wholly natural and yet surprisingly subversive. At no point does the film simplify or 'talk down' to the audience. The music is good too. Go see it. Go see it while it is still in the cinema. Was the above review useful to you? 78 out of 107 people found the following review useful: Frank is a thoughtful, imaginative and amusing piece of work making for a hugely watchable and enjoyable movie. from London 24 April 2014 Michael Fassbender dons a huge fake head in the enjoyable Frank showing at Sundance London. The movie is a fictionalised account based on a book written by journalist Jon Ronson who also co wrote the screenplay. In the 1980s Ronson played keyboards in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band in which Frank wore a big fake head and nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity. In a small quiet English seaside town Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to pursue his passion for writing songs in between working at his humdrum day job.

Even given his undoubted enthusiasm for trying to be creative Jon struggles to actually write anything even vaguely resembling a half decent couple of lyrics. On Twitter he likes to tweet his songwriting status or more the lack of it along with updates on what he is eating for lunch. But when a band comes to town and their keyboard player goes off the rails he sees opportunity knocking to join the band for an actual gig. Shortly after he finds himself travelling with the band to Ireland to record an album which ends up taking him on a pretty epic journey. Jon's new band members are a weird, odd bunch of characters which include the slightly crazed and volatile Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Don (Scoot McNairy) an ex-keyboard player of the band who now operates as a kind of manager, and then there's Frank the band's enigmatic front man played by Fassbender and who insists on wearing an over-sized fake head at all times. Frank is a hard film to easily define and although it manages to remain on the right side of upbeat with plenty of laughs it does gently broach issues revolving around mental health.

The exploits of the band trying to make a album touch on notions of artistic endeavour, originality and the sphere that songwriters and musicians have to encounter in trying to be creative. While generally having to be the subject of suspicion and hostility enforced by most of the band Jon is encouraged by Frank's friendship and welcome remarks about his on the face of it tragically lame attempts at songwriting and starts to be become more emboldened about his actual merits and worthiness. Gleeson does a terrific job in portraying his character Jon's transformation and voyage from awkward geeky young dude trying hard to fit in, to feeling like he was the main man in charge of the band's destiny and even catalyst towards the success he so craves. Ultimately though a hard lesson in self discovery awaits him. The movie keeps you guessing about what is going to happen next and trying to work out the main characters and how they interact with each other. In the history of bands there are lots of examples of artistic spats, personal issues and tragedies, conflicts, inner working quirks and inspiration which are all evident in Frank. Summing up Frank is a thoughtful, imaginative and amusing piece of work making for a hugely watchable and enjoyable movie. Was the above review useful to you?

70 out of 98 people found the following review useful: Frank - a weird but extremely rewarding watch from Glasgow, Scotland 22 May 2014 Frank is probably the hardest film that I have ever watched to describe to someone who has never watched it. After viewing I had literally nothing to say. This is because it was a truly excellent watch. I was initially attracted to 'Frank' by its strange and wacky trailer with promised an insane black comedy. The first hour of Frank delivers on this completely and it is hugely entertaining. Some of the funniest scenes that I've seen at the cinema this year. This in my mind is properly revised comedy, until the film which is currently sitting at the top of the box office charts 'bad neighbours.' Anyways i digress. During the last portion of the film there is a massive shift in the films tone, which could have easily been extremely jarring for the viewer but it is delivered in such a way that it only seems natural. This is when I decided that I did truly love the film. Not only was i capable of making me laugh but then also then to look at the more serious end of the coin.

I don't think that 'Frank' will make anywhere near as much money as some of the larger blockbuster which came out this week, but I done believe that it will linger in the memory of those who watch it. I can almost guarantee that Frank will become a cult classic over time. (Also the soundtrack is bloody brilliant) Was the above review useful to you? 41 out of 59 people found the following review useful: Inside the Head that's Inside the Head from Dallas, Texas 30 August 2014 Greetings again from the darkness. Most movies fit pretty easily into a genre: drama, comedy, action, etc. This latest from film festival favorite Lenny Abrahamson is tough to classify. It begins with silly and funny inner-dialogue from an aspiring musician/songwriter (Domhnall Gleeson), transitions into a dark dramady with complex characters and dialogue, and finishes as a bleak statement on mental illness and the music business. That's more than I would typically disclose, but some have described the film as an outright comedy and I find that unconcsionable. If you are expecting a laugh riot, you will not only be disappointed, but are likely to miss the unique perspective provided.

The screenplay is written by "The Men Who Stare at Goats" collaborators Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan. Clearly inspired by the late British comedian and musician Chris Sievey (and his character Frank Sidebottom), Mr. Ronson's work with Mr. Sievey is the driving force. It's also the reason Gleeson's character is emphasized over Michael Fassbender's titular character who dons the paper mache head for the bulk of the movie. This script decision probably keeps the film from being truly great. The exceptional and attention-grabbing first 15 minutes set up a movie that dissolves into an exploration of the creative process within mental illness ... Franks states numerous times that he has a certificate (certifiable). There is also an ongoing battle between art and commerce, as waged by Maggie Gyllenhaal's character and that of Gleeson. Social Media power is on full display as this avant-garde performance art band gathers a huge following prior to ever really producing any music. Without seeing Frank's facial expressions, we witness his transformation from mystic/guru to an unstable and socially uncomfortable dude striving for likability, but unsure what the term really means. Must artists suffer for their art?

Why does society latch onto the newest social media gimmick? What is creative success and why are so many afraid of it? The film begs these and other unanswerable questions. Certainly interesting, but definitely not 90 minutes of laughter. Was the above review useful to you? 40 out of 64 people found the following review useful: well worth seeing from london uk 17 May 2014 Funny, endearing movie led with a strange, flinty charm by Domhnall Gleeson, and expertly directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Within what is fundamentally a straightforward story, a lot of themes are packed - artistic credibility, the easy triumph of mediocrity, the nature of identity and individuality. And there are more. Too many, really. The writers are keen to maintain a light tone, as if wary that the heavier themes might weigh us all down too much. Fortunately they have two major, definitely not mediocre, talents on hand to maintain the required balance: Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who are both amazing. For Fassbender in particular there needs to be a special award for succeeding in being intensely moving whilst wearing a false head.

So although the movie as a whole doesn't quite add up to more than the sum of its parts, it is nonetheless a wonderfully quirky, often hilarious, strangely touching piece of work. Well worth seeing and supporting. Was the above review useful to you? 37 out of 59 people found the following review useful: Just lovely from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, UK 11 May 2014 So Frank is a great film. Let's be clear, this is not a bio-pic. It was inspired by Frank Sidebottom in so much as the story is about a band whose front man wears a big papier-mâché head. It's a really lovely story of an odd group of musicians and their new keyboard player Jon. The musicians are all a bit barking and the beautiful Maggie Gyllenhaal is the craziest. The whole cast are superb and Michael Fassbender is excellent under the head as well as showing that he is a great vocalist too. The film is engaging, funny and moving.It also made me jump more than any horror movie ever has. It has some wonderful scenes that made me laugh out loud and the direction is just beautiful with some truly clever touches.

It starts with a very unusual aural soundscape that draws you in immediately and finishes with the band's songs playing over the credits that guarantee you won't leave until the final note of "Lone Standing Tuft". Incidentally a documentary about Frank Sidebottom is in production right now and Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story will be out soon. Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: A Frank Review from United States 25 November 2014 I happened to see the trailer for a movie I had never heard of, called Frank, at 8:45AM this Saturday morning. Within five minutes of seeing the preview, I found that the Angelika Theater at Mockingbird Station was the only place in Dallas showing this wonderfully bizarre looking movie, and by 10:20AM, I was sitting in a dark room with about twelve other people, waiting to see just what this giant paper-mache head had in store for us. Maybe I should step back to explain that last part. Frank revolves around an avant-garde musician names Frank, who is never seen without an oversized paper-mache mask on.

The trailer promised quirky indie escapism, possibly some decent music, and some references to SXSW  ahhh, there is such beauty in under-promising and over-delivering. For a brief moment, it feels like Frank will be little more than a stylized fictional Behind The Music type of movie because the central narrative is observed and reported from the viewpoint of an involved outsider, the new guy in the band. The outsider point of view is a perfect choice, however, because the audience then has the same questions as the narrator so we're all in it together. Is the end product of music/art as important as the process of creating it or who you create it with? Frank captures the ambition and compulsion of creating art and very harshly slaps away any generalizations of how or why an artist is the way he is. The paper- mache head isn't a gimmick for the movie or the music.

On the topic of music, Frank and his band The Soronprfbs, are easily ranked in the top five fictional bands  The Wonders(That Thing You Do), Stillwater(Almost Famous), Eddie & The Cruisers(Eddie & The Crusiers), Wylde Ratttz(Velvet Goldmine), and The Soronprfbs(Frank). The music falls somewhere between The Flaming Lips, Jim Morrison, and an extremely catchy coffee shop rambler. The band is absolutely mesmerizing every single second they are on the screen and much of that credit has to go to Michael Fassbender. Because we can't see his face, every bit of emotion must be poured out elsewhere. Fassbender delivers an extremely physical performance. From the combination of his hands and voice, to the way he shuffles when uncomfortable, to the way he loses control when he sings, the small crowd that happens to see Frank this year will be seeing one of the best performances of 2014. It has been almost two days since I saw Frank and I still can't get it out of my mind.

Maybe it's the music or maybe it's the acting but I think the bigger reason is that it asks the questions I thought only I had. How does someone create something both abstract and powerful? What part of my brain should I be tapping into? Why can't I? Frank is a photograph of the special brand of artistic jealousy that wants to be or at least be part of something bigger and better than ourselves, all while realizing the privilege of simply getting to be witness to that greatness. Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Funny to start but becomes very tedious 9 February 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Frank is certainly a film that I thought had a lot of good and bad points. The story is unique and Frank is a very mysterious character. Most of the film takes place in a nice remote setting which adds a great atmosphere. The acting throughout from all the cast is of a very good standard. Domhnall Gleeson was absolutely fantastic and executed the jokes to perfection. I particularly enjoyed when we heard his thoughts/updates out loud, there were very funny at the start of the film. The humour overall is dry but works for the most part.

Apart from Jon's thoughts out loud I would say the hot tub scene was also quite memorable. The film takes a tragic turn midway through and the band also progress. I felt that after an hour the novelty wore off slightly and it became very tedious to watch, I really started to lose interest. The second half of the film didn't really work for me and I felt disappointed after such a great start. The film wasn't engaging enough to make me connect to the characters as the serious stuff happened but it was very enjoyable when it was more on the comedy side. A well made film with great performances that unfortunately lost its way towards the end. Some will love it, some will hate it and I can see both sides to that argument. Overall I would say 5/10. Was the above review useful to you? 19 out of 30 people found the following review useful: Sometimes the chances of being a little different or strange pay off and sometimes they don't 18 June 2014 *** This review may contain spoilers *** The film Frank and its title character both offer a weird exterior but beneath the quirkiness is a familiar arching goal and story structure dedicated to resolving a psychological crisis.

It could be a criticism of the film that it buries its conventional resolutions and codas deep beneath the strange behaviour of its characters. Yet it is also using this conventionality to express the truth and desires about the character Frank (played by Michael Fassbender). Although Frank wears a giant head to hide his face from the world and even the members of his rock 'n' roll band, underneath is an unstable but real person whose most relatable aims are to reinvent himself and his identity to achieve total uniqueness. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, from a screenplay by Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy screenwriter Peter Straughan and Jon Ronson, Frank is at its best when it finds funny variations on parodying the difficulties of the creative process. An artist isn't expressing their work to themselves but to other people. Is it more acceptable to be weird and unique, but detached from others, or generic and predictable? The way the film generates these questions after an initial viewing heightens its value and relevancy. The film is loosely based on the experiences of its screenwriter Jon Ronson, who met the real life comedic character Frank Sidebottom. The Guardian posted an extract from Ronson's book Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie.

He describes how in 1987 he was asked to fill-in as a keyboard player for the punk band The Freshies, led by Chris Sievey. Frank was Sievey's invention. On stage he would wear the giant papier- mache head and would only responded to being called Frank. The character wore a 1950s style suit and sang on stage with what Ronson called a "high-pitched nasal twang". Frank's story was that he still lived at home with his parents and his goal was to become a pop star. The character grew in popularity by covering popular songs and also by appearing on radio and television shows. In the extract, Ronson struggles to understand why Sievey kept the head on for so long and also the fluctuations in his weird and irrational behaviour. He likened Sievey to being transgender and trapped in the wrong body. To protect Sievey from speculations about how obsessive he was about Frank, Ronson decided to fictionalise the film version. The differences in the real story and the film are sizeable. The film is set in the present day Britain, allowing for light references to social media like Youtube, Twitter and view counts.

In the film Frank (Fassbender) has no alter ego. He is a mystery because he refuses to remove the head, even in the shower. This perspective of Frank is drawn from Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), a young man with a boring day job who is looking for inspiration for his music career. One day he is invited to play with Frank's band "The Soronprfbs". The band is compromised of Don the manager (Scott McNairy), who has his own fetishes, a Frenchman (Francois Civil), a female drummer (Carla Azar) and also Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who intensely dislikes Jon for moving in on the group. After a failed gig, the band takes an unexpected detour to a lakeside cabin in Ireland where they attempt to compose an album using Frank's unconventional methods of musical recordings and rehearsals. One of the largest payoffs for Ronson and Straughan's script is forwarding the narrative a year while the group is in the cabin. The time shift is unexpected and lends itself to the film's thematic and comic structure: the friction between the band members as they sometimes hilariously fail to achieve artistic uniqueness.

There is great variation in how the film draws humour from this second act. Slapstick is a strong device with Frank recording the sounds of his gumboots or a toothbrush or when Jon tries out a new method of shaving, which I thought was the film's funniest moment. Characterising the band members with black, self-deprecating nudges is essential in preserving the comic energy too. The way Don hints about Frank's unstable upbringing and his own quirks involving mannequins inspires some funny dialogue riffs on the way artists posture about having tragic upbringings and childhoods. There has never been a successful artist who wasn't miserable. While Frank is treated like an awe-inspiring idol of mystery, some of the side characters like Clara are as obscure because we see few other sides to them when they could have been more rounded. It is slightly disappointing that the laughs don't carry into a shabby third act in America. Some of the disjointedness between the locations could be intentional to reflect Frank's unease and nervousness but it still feels dislocated from the previous two acts.

The film also sheds a lot of its comic wit in favour of a more sombre and serious tone that emerges almost out of nowhere followed by a simple and easy conclusion that seems formulaic in its message about speaking truthfully to find proper artistic rewards. It is odd that the film starts to edge towards those same painful upbringings that it initially parodied. Perhaps with more time with Frank the man instead of the image it might have been a more moving ending to the story. Yet since watching the film, Frank has grown on me because of the weight of the ideas about creativity and complacency. It also relishes an interesting cast who aren't renowned for their comic traits. Sometimes the chances of being a little different or strange pay off and sometimes they don't. It is the joy and the pain of any art form. Was the above review useful to you? 30 out of 53 people found the following review useful: Lovely love story from Hojai, Assam, India 8 June 2014 The movie has engaging, funny and moving.It also made me jump more than any horror movie ever has. It has some wonderful scenes that made me laugh out loud and the direction is just beautiful with some truly clever touches.

The comedy is effortless, the dialogue is smart but not pretentious, the performances are elegant and understated. Fassbender is great and the head thing really works for him Frank is a hard film to easily define and although it manages to remain on the right side of upbeat with plenty of laughs it does gently broach issues revolving around mental health. The exploits of the band trying to make a album touch on notions of artistic endeavour, originality and the sphere that songwriters and musicians have to encounter in trying to be creative Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 13: Readers recommend: Songs about brands | Music | The Guardian Songs about brands Share on Messenger Close Few subjects have received as many recommendations as songs about brands, which shows the special relationship between pop and brand names since the dawn of rock'n'roll. Brands of particular items - especially certain clothes and fashion accessories, cars and alcoholic drinks - have become synonymous with rock. Even the Clash abandoned their usual principles to allow Levi's to use Should I Stay Or Should I Go for an advert, claiming that the jeans are an iconic rock item - a view borne out by Carl Perkins' Levi Jacket (And a Long Tail Shirt) from 1958.

Hip-hop is still particularly besotted with brands, an early example being Schoolly D's 1986 Gucci Time, which sings the praises of a bling timepiece 22 years before Wiley. Cadillacs have been long associated with pop, and there are scores of songs about them, two of them by petrolhead Bruce Springsteen - Pink Cadillac (also a hit for Natalie Cole) and the playlisted Cadillac Ranch. Also in the garage is Serge Gainsbourg's 1968 Ford Mustang, in which the notorious Frenchman serenades "a package of cool" that you can often find on eBay at a knockdown price - my neighbour has one. With all those cars, you'll need to know where to fill them up. Rickie Lee Jones packs motoring metaphors into her wonderfully evocative The Last Chance Texaco, about a romance that's pulled in at the last fuel stop before the desert. In 1980, Chris Sievey (now better known as Frank Sidebottom) promoted the Freshies' glorious I'm in Love With the Girl On the Virgin Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk by parading outside said record emporium with a sandwich board proclaiming his ardour.

Alas, Cupid's arrow didn't strike Richard Branson, and his then company insisted on a title change to "A Certain". With so many songs about naughty rock'n'roll pursuits around, it was nice to be able to choose pharmaceutical songs of the prescription, branded variety. One alert reader recommended the Hold Steady's Ask Her for Adderall (an amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), despite it only being released last week. In this Steady stormer (mystifyingly, only a bonus track on their new album Stay Positive), a romantically suffering Craig Finn also requests Klonopin, an anticonvulsant. Readers like me who prefer their pharmaceuticals even more mundane are advised to tuck up in bed with Gregory Isaacs' reggae Night Nurse, a cold remedy. If that sounds suspiciously like product placement, here are two songs to summon pop's whiff of insurrection. It was great to be reminded of X-Ray Spex's Warrior in Woolworths, in which Poly Styrene describes a store assistant's plots to overthrow commercialism.

Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit may be the definitive grunge anthem of teenage alienation, but Teen Spirit is an American deodorant. This week's playlist 1 Carl Perkins Levi Jacket (And a Tail Shirt) 2 Schoolly D Gucci Time 3 Bruce Springsteen Cadillac Ranch 4 Serge Gainsbourg Ford Mustang 5 Rickie Lee Jones The Last Chance Texaco 6 The Freshies I'm in Love With the Girl On the Virgin Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk 7 The Hold Steady Ask Her for Adderall 8 Gregory Isaacs Night Nurse 9 X-Ray Spex Warrior in Woolworths 10 Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit Next week: Anti-work songs. Sundance 2014: Frank, review - Telegraph Sundance 2014: Frank, review Michael Fassbender stars in an off-beat and punk-spirited film playing Chris Sievey's alter ego, Frank Sidebottom 4 Sundance 2014: Michael Fassbender (centre) plays Frank Sidebottom in Frank By Amber Wilkinson 11:32AM GMT 19 Jan 2014 Dir: Lenny Abrahamson.

Starring: Domnhall Gleeson, Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy. 94mins Director Lenny Abrahamson's latest film is "loosely inspired" by journalist Jon Ronson's spell as a keyboard player with comic and musician Chris Sievey – better known as his papier mache head-wearing alter ego Frank Sidebottom. Ronson, writing with his Men Who Stare at Goats collaborator Peter Straughan, takes us into the world of the title character through the experience of Jon (Domnhall Gleeson). He is an innocent abroad – in the Adrian Mole mode – who dreams of being a musician despite not having enough creative juice to fill an egg cup. A chance encounter with some musicians – they are watching a suicidal bandmate being rescued, in a hint of darkness to come – leads to him join the Soronprfbs. These avant-garde outsiders are led by Frank (Michael Fassbender, who, it turns out, has a good singing voice and doesn't need moving facial features to make an impression), a genius whose decision never to remove his fake head is unquestioned by the band.

Related Articles Frank Sidebottom: enduring oddball - Telegraph Film Frank Sidebottom: enduring oddball Chris Sievey’s alter ego with the papier-maché head has inspired an upcoming film – not bad for a one-off character designed to promote a videogame, says David Quantick Chris Sievey as Frank Sidebottom Photo: Rex By David Quantick 7:00PM BST 07 May 2014 One of the odder, and arguably unexpected, sidelines of the music scene in the late-Seventies was the emergence of the punk and new-wave novelty artist. Perhaps it was the humour in much of new-wave music, perhaps it was the fact that punk’s fondness for seven-inch singles and EPs (as well as cheap, easily made records) meant that any maverick with a funny idea could come to the fore. Artists as diverse as John Dowie (whose Jim Callaghan remains the weirdest reggae record ever) to Jilted John (whose eponymous single was a massive UK hit) were able to make their own daft version of punk. And in the Eighties, there was still scope for silliness.

Ted Chippington, a comic beloved of Stewart Lee , became a cult figure. John Shuttleworth, created by Graham Fellows of Jilted John fame, crossed over to radio. But the greatest, and oddest, of them all was Frank Sidebottom . Frank stood out from the crowd. Maybe it was his massive papier-mâché head. Maybe it was his nasal Mancunian accent, which sounded as if he had a clothes peg on his nose. Or maybe it was the fact that all the songs he sang and played on his ukulele ended with the words “You know it is/ It really is”. Frank was like some mutant post-punk George Formby. He claimed to be 35 and living with his mum. He had a sidekick, a miniature version of himself, called Little Frank. Little Frank seemed to infuriate Frank, possibly because he had power over no one else at all. Within weeks of signing to EMI in 1985, Frank was a national sensation, at least in the then-still influential rock press. Music journalists loved his reworkings of classic songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Anarchy in the UK.

He even appeared on the NME’s Sgt Pepper Knew My Father charity album, on which the best track isn’t Wet Wet Wet’s number-one rendering of With A Little Help From My Friends, it’s Frank’s grandiose stagger through Being For The Benefit of Mister Kite). Related Articles READ: Man behind cult comedy figure Frank Sidebottom dies But Frank had a secret. He wasn’t really called Frank Sidebottom. He didn’t live with his mum, he wasn’t 35 and he didn’t have a papier-mâché head. He was Chris Sievey, a veteran of the Manchester music scene, whose band, The Freshies, had recorded several great singles, most famously the brilliant anthem I’m in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Check-Out Desk. Previously, Sievey had been known for his ability to combine a good tune with a humorous lyric, but this was something different. He’d created Frank solely as a character to promote a computer game, The Biz, which he’d written for the ZX Spectrum. Sometimes, however, creations can take on a life of their own.

As an NME writer, I was lucky enough to interview Frank in 1985 when his Frank’s Firm Favourites EP came out on the EMI subsidiary Regal Zonophone (revived specially for Frank and then later for another Mancunian comic genius, Morrissey ). I met him at EMI’s headquarters in Manchester Square and we spent a pleasant, if bizarre, hour talking about a range of topics. Then we went outside with the photographer, and Frank, instead of posing, undertook spontaneous interviews with passers-by. Nobody seemed too fazed about being interrogated by a man with a huge papier-mâché head. After the interview, I was packing up when a man came up to me and said, “Hello, David, how was that?” I was puzzled by this stranger accosting me until I noticed that his nose was bright red, exactly as if it had spent the last couple of hours with a clothes peg attached to it. The odd thing – and I’ve interviewed plenty of people in and out of character, be they actors, comics or musicians – was there was nothing about Chris that suggested he might also be Frank. Frank Sidebottom was a fully formed and arguably independent creation.

Chris Sievey as Frank Sidebottom on Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show Photo: Rex Over the next few years, I followed Frank’s, or rather Chris’s, career with interest. I was at the Royal Opera House when Frank gatecrashed a press conference for the release of the 1992 Olympic theme song Barcelona, a duet between Montserrat Caballe and Frank’s musical hero Freddie Mercury . Frank interrogated Freddie at length, and Freddie took it well, despite Frank’s apparent conviction that Freddie’s surname was pronounced Mer-CURIE, to rhyme with “her fury”. After that, Frank continued to pop up in various places. There was Frank’s own TV series, Frank Sidebottom’s Fantastic Shed Show, apparently broadcast from Frank’s mum’s garden, which also featured Frank’s regular guest, his neighbour, Mrs Merton, who went on to greater fame in later years. There was a comic strip for Viz rival Oink! And there were radio series, records, tours, TV appearances, and gigs (Frank’s backing group, the Oh Blimey Big Band, now featured on keyboards a young Jon Ronson, more of whom later).

Frank Sidebottom had become part of our culture, and he was both laughed at and loved – for once the novelty had worn off, something else remained. Frank was a character, full of impotent rage, puffed up with pride at his own achievements, determined against the odds to become an entertainer. But, above all, he was a child, with a child’s sense of self-worth and irrational bouts of joy and anger. Over the years, Sievey evolved his character into something more complex than the ukulele-playing big head of the early years. He also saw several of his collaborators – Aherne, Ronson, even his drivers Mark Radcliffe and Chris Evans – achieve greater success than he had, while his own career stayed pretty much the same. Sundance 2014: Michael Fassbender (centre) plays Frank Sidebottom in Frank Then in 2010, Chris Sievey was diagnosed with cancer. Since his death the same year , something extraordinary, if not entirely unexpected has happened. Frank has achieved his dreams of fame and respect. There is a statue of him in Timperley, his soi-disant home.

And insanely but appropriately, there is a film, loosely based on a Jon Ronson article (which later became the basis of a book). In Frank, Michael Fassbender plays a fictionalised version of the character , wearing a new version of the papier-maché head throughout. Ronson’s book, Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie , an affectionate and heartfelt retelling of their time together, came out in January. (I saw Jon deliver a talk about it at the Laugharne Festival, a talk made even more memorable when it was followed by a short set from the Oh Blimey Big Band, with keyboards by Ronson and vocals by Chris Sievey’s son Harry), while Frank Sidebottom out of his Head: The Authorised Biography of Chris Sievey by Mick Middles is published on May 5. Frank Sidebottom’s place in history, then, seems secure. For a one-off character designed to promote a video game, Frank may well outlive us all. And whether you see him as a cultural phenomenon, an extraordinary novelty act, or – as I do – one of the funniest and most enduring oddballs of all time, that can only be a good thing.

Frank opens in UK cinemas on May 9. Various Artists | Obscure Independent Classics, Vol. 2 | CD Baby Music Store Obscure Independent Classics, Vol. 2 MORE ALBUMS BY THIS ARTIST Recommended if You Like C. W. Vrtacek John Trubee The Freshies More Artists From There are no items in your wishlist. Obscure Independent Classics, Vol. 2 The second volume of generally unknown but interesting recordings from the golden age of post punk DIY. Originally released on vinyl L.P. in 1986. Genre: Release Date: 2016 We'll ship when it's back in stock Order now and we'll ship when it's back in stock, or enter your email below to be notified when it's back in stock. Sign up for the CD Baby Newsletter Your email address will not be sold for any reason. To listen to tracks you will need to update your browser to a recent version . Tracks Guitar Frank Other Guitar Brown and the Brownmen Share this song! 12. Looking at the World Through the Bottom of a Glass Davy Walklett clip 13.

Untitled: Working Title: Energy for Legs: Do the Soft Handle Sheer Tights with Nude Toe Baby The Three Sharp Pins 14. Emily, Are You Happy? C.W. Vrtacek Available as MP3, MP3 320, and FLAC files. ABOUT THIS ALBUM Album Notes Original sleeve notes from 1986... This is the second L.P. in a series which is supposed to contain many small segments of bizarre, undiscovered genius; where musical boundaries are altered while no-one's looking and sound quality and other decent professional standards are stabbed in the neck and left bleeding in the gutter to be spat upon by rabid dogs. Possibly the best independent record label in the universe is Hamster Records of Ipswich - responsible for L.P.s by THE JUNG ANALYSTS, Push Button Pleasure, Enski Boski and one of the world's leading obscure genii R. Stevie Moore (must remember to ask him for a track for Vol. 3). JACKIE CHARLTON SAID is the most famous track (because it's the only one they've had played on the radio) by THE JUNG ANALYSTS.

Behind this band (and Hamster) is Terry Burrows, a man with a bedroom full of recording gear (I think its his bedroom). There are about 1 1/2 ANALYSTS L.P.s out on Hamster and another one on Cordelia. This track disapproves of killing animals for fun. Eg. the only record release so far by LEVEN SIGNS, the L.P. "Hemp is Here" which was poached from its original cassette version on Robert Cox's Unlikely Records - because it was so good. Peter Karkut and Maggi Turner do this stuff in London. They use percussive rythms and an organ but nobody has yet been able to put a name to what kind of music it is. I don't know... Turkish Gothic... no... erm... Chris Sievey and THE FRESHIEShave made something like 15 singles since what? 1978? but they haven't quite made it big in show business yet. (The nearest they came must have been the Virgin Megastore single...

and Wrap up the Rockets must have shifted a few units.) What people don't realise is that behind almost all of these slick, 3 minute, power pop classics lie absolutely excellent songs. MY TAPES GONE, one of their early, not too slick, singles has got a fascinating surreal tape recorder metaphor in it... "I wanna rewind to the bit whin I very first saw you... zero it... edit it... and make a continuous loop..." Chris Sievey is currently appearing in Frank Sidebottom. CHRIS GROSS makes cassettes and puts them out on his Utility Recording label. He lives in New Jersey, USA. He says that he tries to avoid sounding futuristic and he's influenced by the culture of the late 18th century. Would you know from listening to the record though? He's also a cartoonist/illustrator and his work has appeared in various publications including the New York Times. FRANK BROWN'S real name is Frank Borman and he was born in Austria in 1948. The Brownmen, probably the hottest avant-guard blues band, are the best known exponents of this particular obscure musical form. FRANK BROWN is a huge cult figure within the movement which is based in Vienna.

AGB developed in Vienna 200 years ago as an antithesis to the popular Strauss waltzes of the period; disident chamber orchestras would introduce radical and unexpected changes of tempo into dances at public functions. The genre was revived in the fifties as a reaction against rock and roll. THE PERSIAN CAT DANCE was recorded live in Austria and is the only known recording of the ensemble. KENNEDY SAYS makes fun of the silly American tendency to canonise JFK in lieu of our ancient European heros they seem to be jealous of over there. TERRY AND GERRY deflate it by casually mentioning the Bay of Pigs and generally being mildly ironic. (I hope that's right). This group is very nearly too famous to be on this L.P. They've made lots of records for In Tape (to whom: thanks) THE COUCH by MILOVAN SRDENOVIC and LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF A GLASS by DAVY WALKLETT are two tips of one creative iceberg which have arisen in Huddersfield. Yes, it's one of those eccentric geniuses who pretend to be nine groups at once.

WALKLETT alias SRDENOVIC (anagram?) alias the genitals alias Eva Perouk alias the Golden Testicle of God (correct me if I'm wrong Davy) has this big Beefheart / country and western voice, and makes tapes under all the above names. Many of these are very good; I recommend Soap Opera and Seven Deadly Songs. NO IMAGE is another pop classic from the hit factory in Norwich, locally known as Le Jardin Electronique (c.f. Kamizake Pilots and Fire Hydrant Men on Vol. One). I don't actualy know very much about AL LEEDER because his biography is all about West Ham for some reason; what is this? a football program? Let me just conclude by insinuating that he's an internationally known rock star being enigmatic. PAUL KELDAY is an anachronism from Brighton. He has a back catalogue going back 15 years some of which is apparently quite well known in electronic music circles. You can get cassettes called such things as "the plane of the inner-between" and "microcosmos".

Kelday's music reminds me of Tangerine Dream before the technology evolved enough for them to become bland, back in 1971. He's probably the last person alive doing this kind of thing; actually it's quite refreshing. This track was created especially for this L.P. The master tape of LADY FRIEND was only recently discovered in a cellar in San Francisco by archivists searching for clues to the location of David Crosby. Originally wrongly identified as a rare Byrds master, this track is now believed to be by the ultra-legendary PSYCHODELIC FILBERTS, possibly the most underground rock band in the world. The only reliable thing known about them is that they are very very very psychodelic indeed. There is only one other recording by the band known, and this is on a Yeah Yeah Noh record. What does it all mean ? ANDREW NICHOLL'S debut L.P. comes out soon on this label.

His main ambition is to be as famous as John Coltrane for playing saxophones with his jazz group; but here we see him on his own, sitting at the piano in his little music room hammering out a not-beautiful Satiesque hymn tune of his own devising. He was in a group called The Sincere Americans in about '79 and he's played with the Deep Freeze Mice, the Metal Doughnut Band and Yeah Yeah Noh. When Rob Grant and Phil Byrtles left the Sinatras (see Vol. 1) they formed (this early incarnation of) THE THREE SHARP PINS - with Mark Fowler and John Southgate. This unusual instrumental outfit never released anything except in odd places like this. Rob, otherwise known as Mr. Concept, has an L.P. out (on Cordelia), and Yeah Yeah Noh have recorded a cover version of this track (they called it Mr. Hammond is out to Lunch). This one was recorded back in about 1981. I think they are still going - must remember to ask Rob next time I see him. C.W. VRTACEK'S latest L.P.

"days and days" is on Recommended; they describe him, in their catalogue, as the president of the avant-guard. This previously unreleased track is an example of what he's been doing since. The line-up is CWV - guitar, synthesiser; Kimberly Gellatly - toy xylophone; Michael Gellatly - assistant to Emily; Emily - throat noises. I have specific instructions not to tell you anything else about Michael Gellatly and Emily. C.W. VRTACEK has made about 3 or 4 L.P.s but they're probably difficult to get hold of. THE WIMPS existed from '77 to '80 and were a bunch of 17 year old schoolboys. They were: Robert Metcalfe, J. Rog Eyams, Saul Rosenbery, Rick Marshall and Matthew Illegible. They made two records, the Hamburger Radio e.p. and a single called "At the Discoteque". The odd thing is that at least half of the songs on these were absolutely first rate (e.g. this one). Perhaps I should try to get another one for Volume 3.

Time marches on inelluctably forwards, the past is blown away like Autumn leaves in a cold November wind... Rog is now an actor with the Royal Shakespeare company... J is a Kibbutznik in Israel... Saul is a jazz pianist... Rick is a biologist near Bristol... Robert went on to join the Wibbley Brothers... What? MODERN GIRLS was written about the woman who Matthew later married. .....life.... See volume one of this L.P. for details about the dangerous lunatic known as JOHN TRUBEE and also the first half of this telephone conversation, of which one reviewer said "TRUBEE seriously upsets a complete stranger and calls it art". This sort of thing is likely to give him incalculable pleasure. TRUBEE has two L.P.s out on Enigma. You decide..... no... I'll decide... I say it's all good clean fun.... Alan Jenkins Frank Review 2014 | Movie Review | Contactmusic.com Frank Review By Rich Cline While this comedy-drama is sometimes wilfully absurd, it's also exhilarating cinema, telling its story with conflicting amounts of warm emotion and prickly abrasiveness.

Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson (What Richard Did) is known for keeping his audience on its toes, shifting moods and navigating sharp plot turns. And while it takes a while to get into the rhythms of this movie, it ultimately wins us over entirely. Loosely based on the true story of English musician Chris Sievey (aka Frank Sidebottom), the film centres on the art-punk band Soronprfbs, which is fronted by Frank ( Michael Fassbender ), who wears a gigantic papier-mache head both on and off stage. While touring in Britain, he recruits the nerdy aspiring musician Jon ( Domhnall Gleeson ) to join the band for a gig in Ireland and then stick around to write and record the next album. This means that Jon must figure out how to relate to the bandmates, all of whom seem to have serious issues. Frank's girlfriend is the freaky noisemaker Clara ( Maggie Gyllenhaal ), and there's also hapless manager Don ( Scoot McNairy ) and opinionated but aloof musicians Baraque and Nana ( Francois Civil and Carla Azar ).

Abrahamson lets the film play out in the same utterly bonkers style as Soronprfbs' chaotic songs: veering from subtle harmony to soaring emotion to pure chaos. And through it all there's a remarkably resonant centre as we take this journey alongside Jon, who is played by Gleeson like the obnoxious little brother we can't help but love. Meanwhile, Fassbender delivers a remarkably soulful performance from within that big head, using his voice and body to add layers of intriguing depth. And Gyllenhaal continually surprises by undermining her intensely scary character with unexpected expressions of raw feeling. This is a fragmented film that continually undermines audience expectations, finding humour in personality clashes and generating big emotional responses even though most of the characters remain rather unlikeable. And in the final act, when the band hits the road and travels to Texas for a seminal gig, there's an unnerving kick to the story that leaves us with the feeling that we have taken an epic journey that will make us see the world in a whole new light. Facts and Figures

Question: Artist and musician Chris Sievey is better known as whom?
Answer: Frank Sidebottom