Chris sievey, who played frank sidebottom, is to feature in a biopic in 2014. Mike joyce from the smiths with the frank sidebottom head. Getting inside the head of the real frank sidebottom. There has never been an artist quite like chris sievey or his. Son of frank sidebottom creator chris sievey killed in.
Frank sidebottom out of his head hardcover november 6, 2014. Frank sidebottom head and suit for sale franks, suits. Mar 29, 2019 meanwhile, there is also an authorised biography, frank sidebottom out of his head by mick middles, and a new documentary about sievey out this week from the studio behind amy, the oscarwinning. Nov 06, 2014 the emergence of jon ronsons film, frank, steve sullivans exhaustive documentary being frank. Pal takes readers inside franks head with biography. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The chris sievey story and the bizarre erection of the frank sidebottom statue in his native timperley last october before 2,000 devotees all combined to make this the most extraordinary stories of recent decades. Aug 10, 2014 chris introduced frank to the freshies at a rehearsal, said mick middles, author of frank sidebottom out of his head, an authorized ebook biography out in hardcover in november.
Nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity. Whats up doc chris sievey was born on august 25, 1955 in ashton on mersey, greater manchester, england as christopher mark sievey. Especially since frank was cowritten by jon ronson, a onetime member of one of the real franks troupes, the oh blimey big band. Bbc frank sidebottom creator chris sievey was a genius. For those of you untutored in the genius that was frank sidebottom, in real life frank was a quasicartoon character with a giant papier mache head, who was still living with his mum and staying with his auntie at the seaside in blackpool, at the age of thirtyfive. He resurrected frank in 2006, with a fiveyear plan which was supposed to culminate with chris publically removing franks head and revealing himself as the power behind sidebottom. A funny, sad and true story about jon ronson, frank sidebottom and other. Nov 17, 2019 the books timeline spans more than a quarter of a century and includes cameos from sieveys family and friends as well as the likes of mark e smith, steve coogan, jon ronson, caroline aherne, chris evans, mark radcliffe, and, er, bros. As a frank fan from the 80s and with a knowledge of the territory described in the book i found out of his head a great read, even though more could have been covered on franks recorded output and there was nothing about the rerecording of the megastore vocal, quite an important if ridiculous episode in the. Jan 12, 2014 the music journalist mick middles recently sent me his notyetpublished biography frank sidebottom. It was released theatrically in ireland and britain on 9 may 2014 and on dvd.
Sometime later, jon has attempted to track down frank, but all his attempts have failed. Apr 24, 2014 in his movie, fassbender plays a musician called frank who wears an oversized comic book head. This became the subject of feverish speculation during his zenith years. The son of frank sidebottoms creator was run over by a car and killed after he fell off his bicycle while spaced out on strong lager and drugs, a court heard. Book launch of the mick middles book out of his head a biography for frank sidebottomchris sievey. The muchloved comedy character, famous for his oversized paper head, was the alter ego of musician and.
Dec 17, 2012 mike joyce at the christmas frank sidebottom statue fund raiser at the night and day 15th december 2012 saying a few words about the event, and the original frank sidebottom head. Frank sidebottom out of his head by mick middles, mark radcliffe. Out of his head by mick middles for free with a 30 day free trial. Jun 25, 2010 chris sievey, creator of frank sidebottom, was heading for a paupers funeral until a campaign by fans raised. Sievey fell into an alcoholic spiral, losing his wife and family and piling up tax debt, and he gave up on frank, too. Frank riffs on the pop curiosity frank sidebottom the. Why the oddball genius of frank sidebottom will live forever. Apr 17, 2019 even at the height of his popularity during the late 80s, frank would hire out his services to come to your house to entertain. The papiermache headed frank hit the heights of fame during the madchester music period. Jul 24, 2018 the son of frank sidebottom s creator was run over by a car and killed after he fell off his bicycle while spaced out on strong lager and drugs, a court heard.
Frank sidebottom was unique, and that comes across nicely in this short book about him and his creator, chris sievey. His book captures perfectly that rarest of journeys when an onlooker got to see the man born chris sievey turn into frank. Buy frank sidebottom out of his head by mick middles, mark radcliffe from waterstones today. For those of you untutored in the genius that was frank. Mike joyce at the christmas frank sidebottom statue fund raiser at the night and day 15th december 2012 saying a few words about the event, and the original frank sidebottom head.
Frank sidebottom was a novelty act from the manchester music scene of the late 80searly 90s. Out of his head the authorised biography of chris sievey by mick middles available from rakuten kobo. Frank runs out of the motel room and is hit by a car, smashing the fake head. The true story of the character that inspired the movie frank, out of his head is the authorised biography of the late chris sievey, whose life was considerably stranger than fiction.
The character was instantly recognisable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early max fleischer cartoon. Frank sidebottom out of his head is a fascinating and bittersweet read, and is very highly recommended. A documentary is now telling his full story for the first time. Frank sidebottom and jon ronson, birmingham, the 1980s. See all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. When sievey died, his funeral had to be crowdfunded.
He is the author of many bestselling books, including frank. An interesting question and answer session chaired but mick middles and on the panel, barry. Sporting a fibreglass cartoon head, frank played by chris sievey would perform strange beatlesqueenbruce springsteen covers with his oh blimey big. If you saw lenny abrahamsons frank 2014, starring michael fassbender as an eccentric, reclusive singer beneath an outsize papiermache head with pacmanshaped eyes, you might imagine you know the story of frank sidebottom.
And this is no halloween cosplay moment, its a still from a new movie, frank, currently being shot in new mexico, in which michael plays frank, an outsider showman with great comic preposterosity, at the helm of an indie band, very much like the cult british entertainer frank sidebottom, in fact. 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. Out of his head is written by sieveys friend the journalist mick middles and is as intoxicating and sobering as sieveys life seems to have been. Frank sidebottom and the man behind the mask bbc news. Jon gives chase but realises frank has escaped, now without the fake head. Nov 22, 2014 book launch of the mick middles book out of his head a biography for frank sidebottom chris sievey. Smashwords frank sidebottom out of his head a book. Frank sidebottom out of his head by mick middles the true story of the character that inspired the movie frank, out of his head is the authorised biography of the late chris sievey, whose life was considerably stranger than fiction. There has never been an artist quite like chris sievey or his fantastic comedic alter ego, frank sidebottom. Smashwords about mick middles, author of frank sidebottom. Gchq cracks frank sidebottoms secret codes bbc news. In the documentary being frank, martin sievey chriss brother states this was made using plaster of paris.
Sievey, under the guise of sidebottom, made regular appearances on north west television throughout the late 1980s. He finally succeeds in tracking frank to his hometown of bluff, kansas, where he is living with his parents. When his head was on, the man behind frank sidebottom would never answer to his real name. Meanwhile, there is also an authorised biography, frank sidebottom out of his head by mick middles, and a new documentary about sievey out. More there has never been an artist quite like chris sievey or his fantastic comedic alter ego, frank sidebottom. That, however, is where the similarities with the original frank sidebottom end.
In the late 1980s i was the keyboard player in the frank sidebottom band. The cryptic codes of a comic icon were only cracked by a. Yes, it has mostly been written before, and it is short, but it still made me smile, and reminded me of the many good memories io have of chris and frank. Smashwords frank sidebottom out of his head a book by. The chris sievey story and the erection of the frank sidebottom statue in his native timperley last october before 2,000 devotees all combined to make this the most extraordinary stories of recent decades. The comic genius behind mancunian legend frank sidebottom is facing a paupers funeral after dying virtually penniless.
Oct 17, 2018 as an avid frank sidebottom fan, i was really looking forward to the film, frank. When his head was on, the man behind frank sidebottom would never. Jun 21, 2010 frank sidebottom was instantly recognisable with his papiermache head chris sievey, who has died at the age of 54, was the man behind comedy cult icon frank sidebottom. The emergence of jon ronsons film, frank, steve sullivans exhaustive documentary being frank. This book throws you head long into the fascinating life of sievey and once youre there its extremely hard to avoid frank sidebottom. The books timeline spans more than a quarter of a century and includes cameos from sieveys family and friends as well as the likes of mark e smith, steve coogan, jon ronson, caroline aherne. The music journalist mick middles recently sent me his notyetpublished biography frank sidebottom. Frank is a 2014 film directed by lenny abrahamson, produced by david barron, ed guiney and stevie lee and written by jon ronson and peter straughan.
But then, in the mid2000s, he devised a fiveyear plan for bringing the. In his movie, fassbender plays a musician called frank who wears an oversized comicbook head. Getting inside the head of the man who was frank sidebottom. As an avid frank sidebottom fan, i was really looking forward to the film, frank. Getting inside the head of the man who was frank sidebottom bbc. A new book will lift the lid on the life of the man behind cult comic frank sidebottom.
Sporting a fibreglass cartoon head, frank played by chris sievey would perform strange beatlesqueenbruce springsteen covers with his oh blimey big band, of which jon ronson was the keyboardist. The authorised biography of chris sievey by mick middles, mark radcliffe hardback, 2014 at the best online prices at ebay. His comic creation sievey in a papiermache head inspired lenny abrahamsons frank. Apr 04, 2019 he resurrected frank in 2006, with a fiveyear plan which was supposed to culminate with chris publically removing franks head and revealing himself as the power behind sidebottom. Ive become completely obsessed with both sievey and sidebottom. An article in the guardian by jon ronson, a former member of franks band, tells his story and mentions the book. Since finishing the book the first time im going back to read it again, something i rarely do i find myself thinking about sievey almost every day. Frank sidebottom was possibly the strangest pop star in history. Even at the height of his popularity during the late 80s, frank would hire out his services to come to your house to entertain. Chris introduced frank to the freshies at a rehearsal, said mick middles, author of frank sidebottom out of his head, an authorized ebook biography out in hardcover in november. If i were to claim he did, i would just be a griefstalking nonsensespouter of the highest order. Frank is a 2014 black comedy film directed by lenny abrahamson, produced by david barron, ed guiney and stevie lee and written by jon ronson and peter straughan. Anew book will lift the lid on the life of the man behind cult comic frank sidebottom. An article in the guardian by jon ronson, a former member of frank s band, tells his story and mentions the book.
A statue of sidebottom was erected in his home town of timperley, greater manchester sievey was born in nearby ashtononmersey. And now theres talk of a cartoon, a film and a no 1 hit. You can find out more in our privacy policy and cookie policy, and manage your consent at any time by going to privacy settings at the bottom of any page. May 14, 2014 the true story of the character that inspired the movie frank, out of his head is the authorised biography of the late chris sievey, whose life was considerably stranger than fiction. Feb, 2017 chris sievey died from cancer in 2010, and a bronze statue of his legendary comic character frank sidebottom complete with his famous paper mache head now stands in timperley village in his. The day papier mache headbased comedy died frank sidebottom did not have a huge impact on my life. Frank sidebottom documentary traces troubled life of. The true story of the character that inspired the movie frank, out of his head is the authorised biography of the late chris sievey, whose life. Frank riffs on the pop curiosity frank sidebottom the new. In the 1980s and 90s, frank sidebottom was a giantheaded, cartooneyed, cult comedy hero but few knew who was behind the mask.
Jan 15, 2014 frank sidebottom was a novelty act from the manchester music scene of the late 80searly 90s. The true story that inspired the movie english edition. This was initially made from papiermache, but later of fibreglass. His book captures perfectly that rarest of journeys when an onlooker got to. A comprehensive book about chris seivy the previous mysterious creator of frank sidebottom, hoping one day there will be a book of his art having seen that with my own eyes.
Chris sievey had no assets and little money in the bank, his family have. The true story that inspired the movie by jon ronson. Whether pushing for chart action while fronting his former band the freshies or allowing the bombastic sidebottom to wreak anarchy and chaos on television, radio or with the oh blimey big b. Son of frank sidebottom creator chris sievey has died. May 12, 2014 as a frank fan from the 80s and with a knowledge of the territory described in the book i found out of his head a great read, even though more could have been covered on franks recorded output and there was nothing about the rerecording of the megastore vocal, quite an important if ridiculous episode in the. Read unlimited books and audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and. Chris sievey died from cancer in 2010, and a bronze statue of his legendary comic character frank sidebottom complete with his famous paper mache head. He died on june 21, 2010 in wythenshawe, manchester, england. Oct 24, 2014 a new book will lift the lid on the life of the man behind cult comic frank sidebottom. More there has never been an artist quite like chris sievey or. The muchloved comedy character, famous for his oversized paper head, was the alter ego of musician and artist chris sievey, who died from cancer aged 54 in 2010.
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