Frank Sidebottom at the Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London

Frank Sidebottom is a fictional comedic character created and performed by English comedian and musician Chris Sievey. Frank is instantly recognisable by his spherical papier-mâché head (styled like an early Max Fleischer , Disney or Merrie Melodies cartoon), worn by Sievey during performances. Frank also usually wears a sharp suit, in a 1950s style. Image File history File links Frank_sidebottom. ... Image File history File links Frank_sidebottom. ... Papier-mâché around a form such as a balloon to create a pig. ... Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883–September 11, 1972) was an important pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon. ... The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Merrie Melodies end title Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. ...

The concept behind Frank is that he's an aspiring pop star from Timperley (a village in Altrincham, Greater Manchester). Although seemingly middle-aged, he still lives at home with his mother, to whom he makes frequent references. His mother is apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Frank sometimes has a sidekick in the form of Little Frank, a hand puppet who is otherwise a perfect copy of Frank. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Altrincham (pronounced Oltringum) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. ... Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England which has a population of 2. ...

Sidebottom's former Oh Blimey Big Band members include Mark Radcliffe and Jon Ronson, and his driver was Chris Evans. Mark Radcliffe (born 29 June 1958) is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s. ... Jon Ronson Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a Cardiff born Jewish journalist, author, documentary filmmaker and radio presenter. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Frank's character is optimistic, enthusiastic and seemingly unaware of his failings. Comedy characters Mrs Merton and John Shuttleworth both started out as Frank's sidekicks on his radio show "Radio Timperley", and the similarity of the characters is evident, all of them exuding a sense of great ambition which belies a domestic lifestyle in the north-west of England. Caroline Aherne (born December 24, 1963) is a British comedienne. ... Graham Fellows is an English comedy actor and musician, best known for creating the character of John Shuttleworth, an aspiring singer/songwriter in his late 50s from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with a quiet manner and slightly nerdish tendencies. ...

History

Frank was first revealed to the world on a 12in promotional record which came free with the Chris Sievey-created video game The Biz for the ZX Spectrum computer. The Frank Sidebottom character then went on to focus his output on comedy records, many of which were put out on the 'In Tape' record label of Manchester and previous to that, the 'Regal Zonophone' label. The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ...

He reached cult status in the late eighties/early nineties thanks to extensive touring of the country, and focusing on smaller towns such as St Helens. Performances were often varied from straight forward stand up comedy and featured novelty components such as tombola, and a lot of crowd interaction. Sometimes the show also included lectures. Contrasting against the alternative comedians of the time, Frank Sidebottom comedy was family-friendly, if a little bizarre for some tastes. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Frank also had his own comic strip in the children's weekly comic Oink! which was launched around the mid 80s as a rival to Viz. Oink! was the title of a British comic for children which was published from 3 May 1986-22 October 1988. ... Viz is a method of introducing a list or a series. ...

Frank was perhaps most popular in the North West region of England, where his success was caught up in that of the Madchester scene, and for a time was a regular on regional ITV station Granada. He even featured as a reporter on its regional news programme, Granada Reports. At one point Frank had his own television show on ITV entitled Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show. He also made numerous appearances on Channel 4, including the British version of the game show Remote Control, where each week he would pose "Frank's Fantastic Question" to the contestants. An NME Originals issue covering the Madchester movement. ... It has been suggested that Channel 3 (UK) be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Granada Reports is the flagship news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, transmitting to the North West of England. ... Remote Control is a TV game show that ran on MTV for five seasons from 1987 until 1990. ...

Along with television, the Frank Sidebottom character also made appearances on radio, on stations such as Manchester station Piccadilly Radio and on Radios 1 and 5, alongside Mark and Lard. Piccadilly Magic 1152 AM Piccadilly Magic 1152 (also known as Magic 1152) ‘Greatest Hits Non-Stop,’ was Manchesters first commercial radio station. ... Mark and Lard Mark and Lard, the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), are former BBC Radio 1 disc jockeys. ...

Frank sang Being For the Benefit of Mister Kite on the charity album Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father, which featured other acts like Michelle Shocked, The Christians, Sonic Youth, Billy Bragg, Hue and Cry, The Fall and Wet Wet Wet. Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston, 24 February 1962, in Dallas, Texas) is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose music and performances are influenced by her Texas roots, her political activism, and a self-assured style that her first major label producer likened to troubadours such as Joni Mitchell, Spider... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... Stephen William Bragg (born December 20, 1957), known as Billy Bragg, is an English musician renowned for his blend of folk, punk-rock, and protest music, and his poetic lyrics dealing with political as well as romantic themes. ... At common law, a hue and cry (Latin, hutesium et clamor) was a process by which bypassers were summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who had been witnessed in the act of committing a felony. ... The Fall are an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in 1976. ... Wet Wet Wet are a successful Scottish pop band of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. ...

Frank faded into obscurity in the late nineties, rarely appearing either on TV or live appearances. A one off performance at Manchester's Club Indigo Vs Manic Street Mania in December 2005 seemed to be the catalyst for an unlikely comeback.

In 2006, Frank reappeared in Greater Manchester by the name of Kerri McMoonface on, Channel M. His new show, Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in B/W, features celebrity guests and animation. The first showing of each show is in black and white ("so you don't have to turn the colour down"), whilst subsequent repeats are shown in full colour. He has also made three appearances on Iain Lee's programme on London's LBC. Channel M is a television station which is based in Manchester. ... Iain Lee (born 9 June 1973) is a radio and television presenter. ... LBC Radio (originally the London Broadcasting Company) operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. ...

His most recent show has been a "test card" shown late at night on Channel M, where he and Little Frank ramble on and sing songs whilst framed in a parody of the classic "Test Card F" in the guise of the little girl and cuddly toy. Test pattern A test card, also known as a test pattern in North America, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no programme is being broadcast (often at startup and closedown). ... Test Card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for more than three decades. ...

On the March 6 2007 episode of The Podge And Rodge Show, he appeared in their 'Sham-Rock' talent section, performing a medley of songs by The Smiths. He received an overall score of 22 points from judges James Nesbitt and Glenda Gilson, putting him in 1st place for all the series' acts so far. March 6 is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Smiths were an English rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... James Nesbitt (born January 15, 1965) is a British actor who is best known for his roles in ITVs Cold Feet and the BBCs Murphys Law as well as a series of television advertisements for the UK Yellow Pages. ...

Frank will be starring in his own exhibition of drawings, animation and cardboard at London's CHELSEA space gallery next to Tate Britain from 4th July - 4th August 2007. He will also be appearing at Late at Tate Britain on August 3rd 2007. Tate Britain is a part of the Tate Gallery in Britain, along with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. ...

Trivia

• On Saturday 26th May 2007, Frank appeared on the ITV2 show "Greased Lightnin' Results", performing the title track from "Grease"
• In 2005, Frank wrote an episode of Pingu entitled Bedtime Shadows, available on the DVD Stinky Pingu.
• In June 2006 Frank was the subject of an exhibition at Tate Britain at which he premièred the first episode of his new animation series Frank's World.
• Frank is a supporter of Altrincham F.C.
• His catchphrase is generally a reworking of "You know it is, it really is." and is placed at the end of every song he performs, after which he thanks the listener.
• He appeared in the Peter Kay, Matt Lucas and The Proclaimers Comic Relief Video
• Frank Sidebottom is referenced as part of the British cultural pantheon and, more importantly, a specifically intoned voice (by anti-hero D.S. Bruce Robertson) in Irvine Welsh's book Filth.

Pingu Pingu is a Swiss animated childrens television series about a family of penguins who live at the South Pole. ... Tate Britain is a part of the Tate Gallery in Britain, along with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. ... Altrincham F.C. are a football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Matthew Richard Lucas (born March 5, 1974) is an English comedy actor. ... The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twins Charlie and Craig Reid. ...

External links

• Guardian feature by former Sidebottom keyboard player Jon Ronson
• Frank Sidebottom site, run by Frank's official webmaster, Russ.
• Frank's World, another official site, ostensibly run by Frank himself.
• Little Frank's site
• The Frank Sidebottom World Wide Shed, unofficial Frank site, established 1994.
• Frank's Myspace