The Story of Frank Sidebottom

· Before Frank Sidebottom was born, young Chris Sievey was desperate to make it as a musician. Aged 15, he hitch-hiked from Manchester to the Apple Records headquarters in London with his brother and staged a sit-in before engineers eventually let them record a session. He recorded many demos, but all were rejected – he later compiled all of his rejection letters into a book.

· Sievey set up his post-punk band The Freshies in 1977, and was joined by musicians Martin Jackson, Billy Duffy and former Nosebleeds bassist Rick Sarko. The Freshies were on the fringe of the late-1970s Manchester scene. Undeterred after all his musical setbacks, Sievey set up his own label in order to release their music. But the closest they got to the charts was number 54 in 1981.

· After The Freshies split, Sievey kept making music while also experimenting with the newfangled art of computer programming. In 1983, he released the solo single ‘Camouflage.’ On the B-side was the audio data for "the world's first computer promo", a music video created entirely using the Sinclair's blocky graphics.

· The character of Frank Sidebottom was first revealed to the world in 1984, on a promotional record for The Biz, a video game that Sievey had created. Sievey had initially created the character to be a fan of The Freshies, but the popularity of the character forced Sievey to focus on Frank Sidebottom as his own unique entity. He began releasing Frank Sidebottom comedy records, many of which were released on Marc Riley’s In-Tape record label in Manchester.

· Frank Sidebottom’s weird and wonderful brand of alternative comedy reached cult status in the late 80s/early 90s. Frank began appearing on Piccadilly Radio in Manchester, children's TV programme No 73, Anthony H Wilson's Channel 4 game show Remote Control and slots on BBC Radios 2 and 5. He supported boy band Bros at Wembley Stadium in 1989 (disastrously by all accounts) and reached the peak of his fame with his own TV series, Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show, on ITV in 1992.

· In the late 80s, Sidebottom also fronted Frank Sidebottom’s Oh Blimey Big Band, which also featured Mark Radcliffe and writer Jon Ronson. It was Ronson’s experiences touring with the band that led him to write a Guardian article about Sidebottom, and inspired Lenny Abrahamson’s film Frank. Ronson has also released a book entitled Frank: The True Story That Inspired The Movie, further detailing his time with Sidebottom.

· During Sidebottom’s mid-1990s heyday, his remarkable cast of sidekicks began to overshadow him in the limelight. Sievey had asked his brother-in-law's friend Caroline Aherne to voice the part of Frank's neighbour Mrs Merton for a radio show. Mrs Merton went on to get her own TV show before Aherne achieved comic greatness with The Royle Family. Chris Evans, who was a driver for Chris/Frank, became a household name as a DJ and TV host. Jon Ronson found success as a writer and presenter, while Mark Radcliffe - another band member - is now a BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music host.

· After fading into obscurity in the late '90s, Sidebottom made a comeback in the mid-2000s. In 2006, he got a new TV show on a local Manchester station, Channel M. Frank Sidebottoms’s Proper Telly In B/W featured celebrity guests and animation. On March 6, 2007, Sidebottom appeared on an episode of The Podge And Rodge Show. He appeared in their 'Sham-Rock' talent section, performing a medley of songs by The Smiths. He also supported John Cooper Clarke on a UK tour.

· When Sievey’s drawings, models and animations went on exhibition at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London in 2007, Sidebottom turned up to the opening. He caused a huge ruckus, and splashed paint all over the walls. The people running it ran up to Sievey afterwards and said, “Why the hell did you do that?” Sievey replied “What are you asking me for? It was Frank.”

· Reckless with money, Sievey was virtually penniless when he died from cancer in 2010. When word got around that he was to have a pauper's funeral, Sidebottom's army of fans mobilised to raise £15,000 in 24 hours. Their devotion continued with campaigns to raise a slightly surreal statue of Sidebottom in leafy Timperley and to fund Steve Sullivan’sBeing Frank documentary. See [link]beingfrankmovie.com[/link] for more information.