When Chris Sievey sadly died in June this year, the obituaries naturally concentrated on his papier-mâché-headed alter-ego Frank Sidebottom. Most of them mentioned his early work with The Freshies, but it was a little eerie that none of them carried a picture of Chris as himself, without Frank’s disguise.
Not everyone took to him, but while Sidebottom may have been bizarre, he was always cheerful and optimistic, convinced that, though he still lived with his mum in Timperley, he was on the verge of pop greatness. His plinky-plonk keyboards and nasal delivery disembowelled songs by everyone from the Pistols to Kylie and Queen – and great fun they were too; but there was equal genius in the banter, both live and on record.
His first records were on Regal Zonophone, but most of his EPs and LPs were on Manchester imprint In-Tape. These four CDs round up all the In-Tape material, including the Medium Play 10” album that’s never been released on CD before. It’s rounded-out with sleevenotes by Sievey himself, original artwork and tributes from friends, family and fans, plus a DVD.
