The musician discussed politics and Brexit in a new interview
Damon Albarn has called for music to be more political, saying “selfie music is not sustainable”.
The musician appeared on BBC 6 Music’s The Leisure Society programme with Gemma Cairney earlier today (April 21), during which he discussed politics and Brexit, as well as his love of travel.
Asked if travel was something he felt was important, Albarn said: “Yeah it’s really important and I honestly feel that we could definitely tone down the extremist views people seem to behold at the moment if they weren’t so isolated in their own little bubble.
“The internet has given this weird access to everyone to feel like they’re informed and they connect with the world but they’re not physically going to the places. If you physically see the bigger picture, not just the harsh edit of what something is, and you see the human side of what it actually is, you have such a different view.”
6 Music’s @gemcairn joins mega-muso @blurofficial-frontman @Damonalbarn for a chat about travel and adventure from his West London studio.
He continued to explain that was why Brexit “has been so depressing.” “On the surface, it makes sense to me to stay friends with your neighbours – that just seems like basic common sense,” he said. “On the broader picture, the licenses given to some of the really tragic ideas that people are harbouring at the moment, that is the tragedy of Brexit. It’s opened a Pandora’s box.”
Cairney then brought up the subject of how music was becoming more political in the wake of recent political events, with which Albarn agreed. “It needs to – it really, really needs to,” he added. “The selfie music is not sustainable. Have I made a selfie tune? I probably tried to but my innate obtuse nature prevented me from doing it properly.”
When asked if the band had been contacted with any offers for any such shows, the frontman replied: “Yes, they have been. I’d only want to perform that if it was a positive thing. Say we got to the point of having a second referendum, then I would be happy to play that record as a celebration and as a way of reminding ourselves of a time when we had an idea of Britishness that wasn’t political.
“It was more about our music and culture. That was a bit naïve, no question, but it had a funny side, it had a humour to it. So I’m not against performing that album but I wouldn’t want to do it if I felt like it was just about money.”
In Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!, we quiz a grizzled artist on their own career to see how much they can remember – and find out if the booze, loud music and/or tour sweeties has knocked the knowledge out of them. This week: Slick Rick, who is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his debut album ‘The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick’
1: ‘What kind of fuckery is this/You made me miss the Slick Rick gig’is a lyric from a song by which singer?
“Amy Winehouse.”
CORRECT. It’s from ‘Me and Mr. Jones’.
“My first impression when I heard it was it was good to have somebody of that high status mention you in their hit. I was impressed by that, and it was a nice compliment by such a big celebrity at the time. Rest in peace.”
You’re referenced constantly in pop culture. Have any nods surprised you?
“I look at it as an honour. It keeps your name alive in different genres of music and aspects of culture. So I’m honoured and enjoying the recognition.”
2: Which band raps: ‘Knock an eyeball out, like you Slick Rick’?
“Oooh…I don’t think I know that one.”
WRONG.It’s Insane Clown Posse, from their ‘Kickin’ Kickin’ track.
“Okay….(Laughs) I didn’t know that one! At first, I didn’t need to wear the eye-patch so I tried to wear glasses and stuff like that and it just wasn’t working for me, so I went with the patch and got used to wearing it. It reminded me of a young Sammy Davis Jr. At the time, there was a lot of variety in the hip-hop scene and a lot of golden celebrities, so I guess the patch and the English accent gave me a distinct recognition against my peers. If you say ‘You know the rapper with the patch on?’, people are gonna say ‘You mean Slick Rick/Ricky D?’, ‘cos there’s only one.”
3: What number was ‘Children’s Story’ ranked on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop?
“I don’t know. (Laughs) I’ve no idea!”
WRONG.It was 61.
“61? Oh, okay. I was going to say 62 (Laughs).
Did you know at the time it was special?
“Yeah I tried it out in my community and once I knew my community felt it, I was confident within myself that it was going to be a hit. I was pretty sure once it spread throughout the hip-hop community, it would make its mark.”
Is it interesting looking back and seeing how the lyrics predicted your imprisonment for attempted murder a year later?
“Not really, because at the time, you’re an excited youth and want to tell a story that’s relevant and exciting and draws your peers in – I wanted to make Goodfellas or The Godfather 1, 2, and 3 in a hip-hop way.”
4: Which then-unknown rapper appears in your 1988 ‘Teenage Love’ video?
“That would be Big Daddy Kane and Dana Dane….”
Think more unknown at the time…
“Oh! Lil’ Kim! (Laughs) Right!”
CORRECT.
“In that video, I remember I didn’t like the coat I had on underneath my fur coat – little errors. Other than that, I had fun. I remember borrowing Big Daddy Kane’s gold chain to look fly because he was getting more money than me at the time. I didn’t know Lil’ Kim at the time. But people told me years later it was her and it was shocked ‘cos I didn’t know this little girl in the video as an extra was actually this big celebrity.”
5: In Keri Hilson’s ‘Knock You Down’, which song of yours does Kanye West reference?
“Um, I don’t know. Sorry!”
WRONG.It’s ‘Hey Young World’.
“Oh yeah! He says something like ‘Hey young world, I’m the new Slick Rick’. Got you!”
What do you think of the current state of hip-hop?
“I like the direction it’s going in. I’m like everybody else – if the hits are good, they’re appreciated by the community. It’s like the Apollo theatre. If something is good, you get the standing ovation but if it’s not good, the guy with the shepherd’s crook pulls you off. I look at it like inspiration. It’s like if Van Gogh was paining and another painter came along and inspired him continue his craft in his lane. It’s like you wouldn’t pit Picasso against Van Gogh, you know what I mean? But they could inspire each other to continue their craft and make excellence in their lane – so it’s pretty much the same thing. We inspire each other to be more excellent in our individual craftmanship. Etc.”
Was there a moment where you felt like you’d become a rap elder statesman?
“I guess when you see a lot of younger artists use your material in their new record – that helps with the whole elder statesman thing. Plus I’ve set the bar at a certain place – so I always try to stay above the bar. That’s just how I move and shake.”
6: You appear as a character in the game Def Jam: Fight for NY. What is the name of your Blazin’ Move?
“Um…I have no idea.”
WRONG.It’s ‘The Show’, named after the Doug E Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew breakthrough single you featured on.
“Ok, got you! ‘The Show’ was like groundwork of me moving into a different tax bracket! You go from a minimum wage lifestyle and then move into a different tax bracket and build from it. It’s like if I made an apple pie and I knew it was selling, then I would need to keep on making the pie in the same way to keep the momentum going. Once you have a recipe that works, you keep going with it and you should achieve wealth and celebrity. ‘The Show’ and [B-side] ‘La Di Da Di’ was the groundwork for ‘The Great Adventures of Slick Rick’ and showed me what kind of humour and music, grit and music is acceptable to achieve this status.”
Mark Ronson called ‘La Di Da Di’ the ‘National Anthem’ of hip-hop and is one of the most sampled tracks ever…
“Back in the day when me and Doug E Fresh made records, it was simple and easy to sample because the whole song was pretty much words without a lot of musical instruments to block it. It was easy to take sentences and words from ‘La Di Da Di’ and incorporate it into your songs – there’s a whole four minutes of conversation where you could just grab something. If you’re in the hip-hop game from those early days, you’d sample from your hip-hop collection – pretty much that would be one of the easiest ones to sample from.” The one that stood out for me the most would be Color Me Badd sampling ‘to the tic toc you don’t stop’ in ‘I Wanna Sex You Up’ – that was good for keeping your name alive through dry spells.”
7: Which group recorded a diss response track to ‘The Show’ called ‘The Showstopper’?
“Oh, that was Salt-N-Pepa.”
CORRECT
“(Laughs) It was a shock because we wasn’t expecting someone to come from the left at us like that. The last time something probably happened like that was [UTFO’s] ‘Roxanne Roxanne’, and then Roxanne Shanté hit back with ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’, and there were a load of response tracks. So it was a shock to see someone come at us from leftfield that we didn’t know at all, but you’ve just got to roll with the punches. It was 30-odd years ago and we’ve done a lot of shows together with Salt-N-Pepa since. It was all youthful stuff, you know.”
8: You performed ‘The Show’ on Top Of The Pops in 1985. Can you name any of the other acts who appeared on your episode?
“Not really no. In fact, I don’t even have a video of that show. That’s a good one! Who else was on?”
WRONG. You could have had Madness, Wham!, Dee C Lee, Lionel Richie, Feargal Sharkey or Midge Ure.
“On the same episode? Interesting! I didn’t know that. I was raised in England until I was 11 years old so it was a big deal to go back to your birthplace on the most popular music TV show at that time. It felt like a big accomplishment.”
Being born in Britain, the US authorities famously tried to deport you in 2001 in a case that seems to have parallels with the situation faced by 21 Savage earlier this year…
“I learned that you’ve got to be very adult about your situation. You can’t be too childish in your youth, ‘cos it could cost you your freedom later and your immigration status years later. Water under the bridge now and all you can do is everybody else the best. I guess law and order had their reasons. And they started searching for other cases I had nothing to do with, and trying to justify such a long search. But there was nothing – so I just had to wait them out.”
“At my 50th birthday party?! Whoah…..it was Nas. (Laughs) The great Nasir!”
CORRECT.
“He was his own style of rap, his own way of telling stories and generational input – so it’s refreshing to see others with the same excellence in the same rap genre. We come together and increase each other’s stature.”
10: Who joined you and Mariah Carey to perform ‘Giving Me Life’ on her tour in March?
“Blood Orange.” CORRECT
“That was fun because Mariah Carey has a different audience to hip-hop – like a wider, almost Whitney Houston type of audience. So we get exposed to another crowd – one in a financial higher tax bracket who holiday in The Hamptons.”
Everyone knows what to expect from a music concert. The lights go down, the audience erupts into a chorus of applause and the idolised superstar arrives on stage, bursting with energy, ready to entertain the throng of their adoring fans for one night only. It’s pretty spectacular. But, ever wondered what happens once the curtains close and the lights go up? Are there diva tantrums? Catty fights between dancers? Tour riders demanding vitamin water to bathe pet dogs? Yes Mariah, we might be looking at you for that one, girl. If you have, you’ve come to the right place as Metro.co.uk will give you an all-access, backstage look into what it really takes to make the tours of your favourite popstars come to life, while also reminiscing on some unique moments that made headline news. Touring is not only an experience for the performer and the fans – the backing dancers, singers, stylists and others are also very much a part of the process and, perhaps more importantly, the backbone of these mammoth shows. So grab your backstage pass as we get the inside scoop from Oasis’ record label executive Tim Abbot because, in this case, What Happens On Tour (Doesn’t) Stay On Tour…
The Gallaghers or, the ‘tornado of madness’, as Tim recalls (Picture: Redferns)
They could just switch on this tornado of madness Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll – it may sound like a cliché today but Oasis were the epitome of it all in the 90s. Tales of their debauchery were a sure-fire way to sell newspapers in the pre-social media age and, even today, anecdotes about their raucous antics are legendary. But one man who was there through it all, from the sweet beginning to the bitter end, says the Gallagher brothers’ true disposition behind-closed-doors may actually surprise even the most hardcore fans who know them best (to a certain extent, at least). Tim Abbot was managing director of Creation Records, the label responsible for ‘discovering’ Oasis. He was there the moment Liam and Noel walked into the label’s offices – and was also there when Oasis came crashing down, seemingly irreparably, in 2009. Recalling his first impressions of the Gallagher brothers, Tim told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was absolutely struck by Liam, he had a real presence. He just had it.
Liam is the ‘king of the wind’up’ (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I was proper mesmerised by him and we had a lot of groovy bands like Gillespie, Teenage Fanclub, then this 20-year-old kid rolls down and just had this presence.’ He added of Liam’s sibling: ‘Noel was really matter of fact but it’s interesting, they really looked like a band in the early days. And that’s what struck me right away, just the confidence really. ‘They were just normal people – milk and two sugars please – and then all of a sudden they could just switch on this tornado of madness and then just switch it off. As I always say, it was organised chaos. Ah, that old organised chaos reasoning… Isn’t that just an eloquent way of saying ‘winging it’? Not quite, according to Tim who insists there was ‘total structure’. ‘Underneath, we ran like a proper military operation. It was calculated, organised chaos,’ he explained. Or, in other words: ‘It was eat, sleep, Oasis, repeat.’ ‘Sometimes they wouldn’t go to sleep and that went for everybody. Sometimes we wouldn’t sleep for a couple of days. How we did it is pure imagination – better touring through chemistry,’ he added.
The Gallaghers were the epitome of the rock n’ roll lifestyle and their drug use while on the road was no secret. Tim insists the rockers didn’t have a drug problem and that much of the reports were ‘blown out of proportion’. The music exec explained: ‘I can categorically say I never saw any one of them have any issues with coke and drugs. ‘Coming off the acid house generation, I’d say two thirds of young people were doing ecstacy. It was massive. There were too many hairdressers and not enough drug dealers on tour ‘People like doing drugs. Why? Because they f***ing like doing them. There’s a percentage of people who have addictive issues and issues upon top of issues. Sadly people fall through.’ Of the Gallaghers’ drug use, Tim continued: ‘It was controlled. I think everyone in the band is straight now. ‘It’s a sad look but at the time… there were too many hairdressers and not enough drug dealers on tour. That’s where it started going wrong for me. Creation Records, we were rock n’ roll.’ Tim laughs off Noel’s famous boastful claims that he used to sprinkle cocaine on his cereal, he admits their tour rider was mostly Jack Daniels and bottles of lager. Standard.
Noel ‘knew where he was taking Oasis from day one’ (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It was that exotic. But f***ing lots of it,’ he laughed with fond memories. He added: ‘If there was five of us, we’d try and blag 10, 12 cans or bottles each. It was enough so everybody had a bottle of Jack Daniels. ‘Everybody nicks your rider anyway. If you were taking stuff back on the bus from after the gig, then life was good.’ ‘Basically you’d drink yourself to sleep – apart from the driver,’ he joked. In the midst of what Tim describes as ‘organised chaos’, there were reports of fights and brawls. ‘We weren’t threatening but definitely bolshy,’ Tim stated. ‘Touring is like that – you come in a city in America and there’s 14 of you on a bus and you’re a unit. As soon as you arrive somewhere, you have to use all your skills to get what you want. ‘You have to be quite firm so that’s why we always had strong people around us like, “Don’t f**k with us”. But we’re really nice people if you’re nice people. ‘That was the attitude, it was nice to be nice.’
Oasis also consisted of Tony McCarroll, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan (Picture: Redferns)
They’re still in love with each other really Of course there were occasions when the Gallaghers weren’t sparring with each other, but sometimes overzealous fans. Tim recalled: ‘I remember some guy threw a bottle at Liam once, it didn’t break so he jumped into the audience, came back and finished the song… let’s leave it at that. In 2009, the Gallaghers quite literally came to blows in a fight that definitively ended Oasis for good. Noel has since claimed he walked out after Liam swung a guitar at him but Tim insists: ‘Whatever the issue was then, it wasn’t the real issue.’ He continued: ‘They’re two very nice blokes at war with each other. There was tension all along, even from the early days. ‘What people don’t see is there was still massive love there – they’re still in love with each other really.’ Tim added: ‘I personally think it was a gig too far.
Tim is ‘hopeful’ the Gallaghers will mend their feud… but it’s not looking likely (Picture: Getty Images)
‘They’d been out on tour for two years, it just broke. I don’t think there was one thing. ‘Noel couldn’t take it anymore and why should he? If you’ve got a family and that amount of money, probably got ambitions of your own…’ The epic fallout was inevitable for Tim, who said: ‘To this day, Liam is the king of the wind-up. ‘You cannot go head-to-head with him, he will eventually wear you out.’ Tim ‘hopes’ for a reunion but it isn’t looking likely with the Gallagher brothers still tearing chunks out of each other on social media and in interviews. Oasis were the last hurrah of true rock n’ roll according to Tim. ‘You’ll never grow a band like that again organically or through word of mouth,’ he claimed.
Steve Sullivan, director of the wonderful ‘Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story’, tells us about his seven years immersed in the surreal world of the man with the papier macher head
I have flashes of memories of Frank Sidebottom’s public wake, which took place in Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl for an audience of 5000 following Frank’s – or rather Chris Sievey and Frank’s – death, in the summer of 2010.
I vaguely remember them throwing Little Frank, Frank’s ventriloquist dummy, in the Manchester ship canal. I think I remember there being an Egyptian-style sarcophagus on stage which purported to contain the mummy of Frank. It had his face painted on the outside, with those beautiful blue eyes mooning out at the crowd. At one point, I’m sure Elvis and Jesus came down from heaven to assure the crowd that Frank was settling in just fine. There were videos of his animations, and a film of Frank breaking into Smiths drummer Mike Joyce’s house, and there was a performance from a band called The Refreshies, after Chris Sievey’s own group The Freshies. Mostly, I remember thinking: is he really dead, or was this all a dead brilliant prank?
“I know what you mean,” says Steve Sullivan, director of Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, a masterful documentary about the cult figure and the man behind him, which is in cinemas now. “I half expect Frank to turn up at a screening saying [adopts familiar nasal whine], ‘Don’t watch that, it’s bobbins, watch me instead. Come outside, let’s have a fantastic show…”
Frank Sidebottom occupies a pretty unique position in British culture. An artist, comedian, musician and prankster, he achieved fame in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, a period in which he would pop up on your TV with alarming regularity, like a leak from a parallel dimension where surrealism ruled. “And it wasn’t just kids telly,” says Steve. “I don’t know if you remember The Hitman And Her, which was a late night telly show with Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachan in a nightclub in Leeds or Halifax or somewhere like that. Frank Sidebottom would be there dancing away in his suit, probably sweating buckets. He could pop up anywhere at that time”
Beloved of the music scene, particularly in Manchester, Frank introduced both The Smiths at Manchester GMEX and Bros at Wembley while each was at the height of their fame. He performed at Reading Festival, toured around the UK and released a series of records in which he’d cover songs in his own inimitable style – one particularly illustrative example was called ‘Frank Sidebottom Salutes The Magic Of Freddie Mercury And Queen And Also Kylie Minogue (You Know, Her off “Neighbours”)’.
His rise preceded the boom in Manchester music and the reframing of Manchester as – for a few short years – the capital of cool. He was beloved of bands and music fans in the city, possibly because he embodied that point of difference that bands like Happy Mondays had to the mainstream culture. Steve puts it neatly: “I’ve come to think of him as the Court Jester of the Manchester music scene.”
But as the film reveals, that role had its own tension; Sievey, primarily, had wanted to be a pop star with his band The Freshies who almost – almost – had a hit with a song about fancying a girl who worked in Virgin Megastore. It was called ‘I’m In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Megastore Check-Out Desk’. Steve tracked the individual down for the film – though her contribution sadly remained on the cutting room floor, along with hundreds of hours of footage. “She’s called Helen, and she’s holding hands with Chris across the counter on the cover of the single,” says Steve. “What she remembers most is his hands being really sweaty, but that he was really nice and gentle and just a lovely guy. She also didn’t reckon she was the original girl he fall in love with – she said there was another girl who’d worked there who was quite foxy but she’d left by the time of the photoshoot.”
Chris’s daft sense of humour was evident in The Freshies, but so was his innovative, artistic spirit. In a pre-YouTube age, he was a very early adopter of the camcorder, which he’d use to produce longform Freshies videos. When fans ordered them, he’d personalise each one with messages from Frank, who was invented as a demented Freshies super-fan.
“Someone said to me that Frank dressed in such a way that he looks like a bank clerk, which is what the character started out as: he was supposed to be a bank clerk for a little while when he was really embryonic. I think of him like the surrealist artist Magritte: Magritte would wear a suit so he could blend with the bourgeoisie Frank can never can be part of the bourgeoisie because he looks respectable but he’s completely mad.”
Frank would support The Freshies at gigs, and – to Chris’s frustration – would go down a storm with the crowd. Eventually, Chris gave in, and started performing as Frank full time. When he did so, he remained resolutely in character – Frank was a method piece, and the papier-macher head gave him perfect anonymity.
“I think the mystery was a big part of the appeal for his audience,” says Steve.
Did he feel like he was blowing the mystery with the film, revealing the man inside the mask? “I did think long and hard: is this going to ruin it for anybody? But I thought, well, I’ve seen him without the head on and I can watch Frank Sidebottom now and take it at total face value, and that’s because of the level of individual personality Chris brought to the character.”
Steve’s personal interest in Frank began when he was working at a comic shop in Preston, Lancashire, in the 1990s. Frank had been booked to make a personal appearance at the shop’s other branch, in Blackpool, and called the shop to check the arrangements. It was Frank, not Chris, to whom Steve answered the phone. Having just had a brief conversation with “the most famous person I’d spoken to at that point”, Steve watched as his boss discussed arrangements.
“He got about a minute into the conversation then just looked at the receiver in a really weird way and put and put it down without saying goodbye, which back in that day was quite unusual,” says Steve. “He told me: ‘I would have said goodbye but we were in the middle of the conversation and Frank just shouted, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go, my mum’s just come in!’ and slammed the phone down.’ It just stuck with me: why would a creative person just be messing about making it harder for themselves? And he’s fascinated me from that point onwards really.”
Later in life, when Steve was an established film maker and Chris – or Frank – was on the comeback trail following a number of wilderness years lost to drink and drugs, Steve contacted Frank by the only means possible: a PO Box in the Cheshire town of Timperley, much-eulogised in Frank’s music. “I wrote to him on a Tuesday, he must have got the letter on a Wednesday and I got a reply on the Thursday from Frank Sidebottom, all in his lowercase handwriting. It just said: ‘Come on Sunday, bring a fantastic film crew.’ and that was it.”
When Steve turned up, Frank was hosting one of his Magical Timperley Tours, in which fans would be guided through the village. “The joke is it’s just a village same as any other village” – albeit one now boasting a statue of Frank Sidebottom – “but he shows you what’s magic about it, like the fact that the Post Office has two post boxes – one for left-handed people and one for right-handed people. He wanted to take us into the chippy when I was there and break the British record for the most people in a chippy. On one tour he did a lock-in at the pet shop.”
That experience – for a small audience, and absurd in every way – is the essence of Frank. “He took the mundane details of everyday British life and turned it on its head,” says Steve. “He wanted to make boring stuff subversive and magical.”
Chris had always been a prankster – one of his childhood best friends told Steve that a favourite trick of Chris’s was to slip off at house parties and switch the labels on every tin can he could find – but Frank allowed that side to run amok. “People tell me he’d do something outrageous as Frank, reappear as Chris and people would be furious with him. He’d say, ‘Well, don’t blame me, I didn’t do that – Frank did it,’” says Steve. “A woman emailed the other day to say that Frank did a personal appearance at her husband’s record shop in the Northeast. He turned up to sign stuff but he just started picking up random 12-inch singles and snapping them in half and flinging them around the shop like frisbees. It’s like, You’re destroying property and your wrecking somebody’s record shop!”
A big theme in the film is that struggle between the artist and his creation. Chris would always maintain the illusion that Frank was a separate person. Going through the archive material that was the basis for the crowd-funded film, Steve couldn’t help but question how real the schism was to Chris and Frank. “One of the strangest things I found was two copies of an audio cassette single of [1990 single] ‘Birthday’ by Paul McCartney. One copy had ‘Frank Sidebottom’ written on it in silver marker pen, and the other had ‘Chris Sievey’. So, you know, what do you make of that? Did they each have to have their own cassette single?”
The Beatles, oddly, were a point of conflict for Chris and Frank. “In Chris’s dreamworld he would have been John Lennon, which is why Frank became a big Paul McCartney obsessive,” says Steve. “Frank always thought he could have been in The Beatles. He used to do a great routine about [pre-fame incarnation] The Silver Beatles where there was 128 of them at John Lennon International Airport going over to Hamburg, and Paul turns around on the gangplank and says, ‘I think we’ve got too many members, we need to get rid of a few,’ and Frank says, ‘Well this is basic five, obviously, but Pete shotton we can let go of…”
Steve speaks warmly about Frank, but even more warmly about Chris, who seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything. As Frank, he had a beautifully drawn comic strip in the comic Oink (also home to early work by Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker), he programmed video games (even, pointlessly, putting one on the B-Side of a Frank Sidebottom single, which required the user to tape it themselves) and took up a latter-day career as an animator before his death at 54.
Steve has been immersed in the film for seven years, during which time he’s heard countless stories of personal encounters with Frank. In the spirit of Sidebottom, who would reply to all communication from fans, he’s tried to answer everything. But the most poignant reflections come from Sievey’s own family and friends, and particularly his ex-wife, Paula. “She still loves him,” says Steve. “I think she always will and that’s what really comes across, which is what makes it more heartbreaking.”
Frank Sidebottom by Phil Fletcher
Sievey’s family gave Steve carte blanche to tell the warts-and-all story in his own way. But mostly, what he uncovered were heartwarmingly human stories about a brilliant, if flawed, man. In the film, Chris’s son tells the story of how during his parents’ separation his dad asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He said: “You”. So Chris wrapped himself head to toe in wrapping paper and stood there, fag in mouth, in the living room on Christmas morning.
The family can be heartened that the film does Chris’s legacy proud, and the archive materials that went into its making have now been accepted by Manchester Central Library to be preserved in perpetuity. They were, before the film, rotting in a cellar and bound for the dump.
Fans, too, can be pleased that Being Frank erases memories of Frank, the Hollywood bastardisation of the Frank Sidebottom story in which Michael Fassbender played a papier-macher head-wearing artist. It was serious and pretentious and, you suspect, Frank may have deemed it bobbins. Steve can’t. “I actually signed a non-disclosure agreement to not express any opinions about it,” he says.
As for his own film, Steve hopes it will “spread the seed of this creative weird man around the world.”Volume 0%
“Hopefully over the years it will find its way to all kinds of strange places around the world,” he says. “My ambition is that people will go and see it because they’ve heard of Frank Sidebottom but they’ll discover this artist called Chris Sievey that they didn’t know about before. And if people, in the future, when they think about Frank Sidebottom remember Chris the artist as well, then that would make me very happy.”
Ironically, that’s the last thing Frank would have wanted.
Let’s take a look at some of the best film soundtracks ever compiled, from Trainspotting to Pulp Fiction.
Trainspotting (1996)
Danny Boyle’s era-defining look at life in Edinburgh’s seedy underbelly kicked off with the classic scene of Ewan McGregor haring it down the road to Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. From there, the soundtrack included New Order’s Temptation, Sing by Blur and the evergreen Born Slippy by Underworld. And, for added authenticity, the smackhead anthem Perfect Day by Lou Reed.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Quentin Tarantino’s stone cold classic opened to the surfin’ sounds of Misirlou by Dick Dale and featured Jungle Boogie by Kool And The Gang and loads more cult rock and soul. But it was the cover of Neil Diamond’s Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon by Urge Overkill that sticks in the memory – mainly down to fact that its soundtracks Uma Thurman’s character about to almost cark it on heroin.
Quadrophenia (1979)
The Who’s 1973 concept album forms the backbone to Franc Roddam’s movie version of the Mod odyssey. However, it’s the 1960s tracks on the accompanying soundtrack album that set the scene for the tale of Phil Daniels as Jimmy The Mod: Green Onions by Booker T and the MG’s, Louie Louie by The Kingsmen and a couple of songs by the Who’s former incarnation The High Numbers.
The Beach (2000)
Danny Boyle again, this time casting Leonardo di Caprio in Alex Garland’s tale of a secret beach paradise gone wrong. Blur, Leftfield, Moby, Underworld, Faithless, New Order and UNKLE with Richard Ashcroft all featured, but it was girl pop act All Saints and Pure Shores that was the hit.
Kill Your Friends (2015)
Kill Your Friends follows a ruthless A&R man in the 90s British music scene, so it’s no surprise it has a killer soundtrack. Based on John Niven’s novel of the same name, the ‘Britpop thriller’ features tracks from Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, The Prodigy and Echo and The Bunnymen.
Kids (1995)
Larry Clark directed this movie about promiscuous teenagers encountering HIV in the mid-90s, which starred Chloë Sevigny. The soundtrack featured post-rock legends Sebadoh and Slint, plus a whole heap of Beastie Boys.
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010)
Edgar Wright directed the movie based on a graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley, which had an excellent selection of tunes, including tracks by Frank Black, The Black Lips, The Bluetones, Blood Red Shoes, Broken Social Scene, Beck and the not-very-nice Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Britain’s finest heavy metal band hit America for a turbulent tour in support of their Smell The Glove album and the subsequent documentary has a great soundtrack. From the gender politics of Big Bottom, the conceptual Stonehenge to the just plain fun (Tonight) I’m Going To Rock You (Tonight), the album captures a band in a period of transition. Better than Shark Sandwich.
The World’s End (2013)
The final helping of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ features absolute bangers from the likes of Primal Scream, Suede, Pulp and Blur.
Easy Rider (1969)
Perhaps the best movie to come out of the counterculture in the late 1960s, Dennis Hooper and Peter Fonda star as two bikers out to lose themselves in the back roads of America. Along the way, they pick up Jack Nicholson and drive up and down on their “hogs” to the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and The Byrds. Any motorcyclist who says they’ve never had Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf run through their head as they ride is a LIAR.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Another freeform Baz Luhrmann adaptation of a classic story: Jay-Z produced the album, which featured a collaboration between Beyonce and Andre 3000, Lana Del Rey, The xx, Florence And The Machine, Jack White and Nero.
500 Days Of Summer (2009)
The romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel featured an outstanding soundtrack including tracks by Black Lips, Regina Spektor, Wolfmother. Alongside those heroes were the classic There Goes The Fear by Doves, Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap and Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths.
Purple Rain (1984)
Mr Prince officially went from cult figure to pop superstar on the release of this semi-biographical movie. P plays “The Kid” and the film details his troubles with his band, his parents and his woman. All of this is soundtracked by classics like Let’s Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, I Would Die For U and the title track, during which Prince’s guitar apparently ejaculates over the audience. Go and watch the film – it definitely does.
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Michael Winterbottom’s tale of Anthony Wilson and the rise and fall and rise and fall of the legendary Factory Records label was sure to have a great soundtrack. Covering the two very different brands of Manchester music – from post-punk to the acid house-tinged “baggy” era – everyone’s present and correct. Happy Mondays provide the title track, Joy Division dominate, there’s some old school punk from The Clash and Buzzcocks and the new song from New Order (Here To Stay) is no slouch either.
The Crow (1994)
Tragedy cursed this adaptation of the influential comic book, with star Brandon Lee being killed during filming after a prop gun misfired. A long shadow appropriately hung over the movie, which bears a suitably dark soundtrack: Nine Inch Nails cover Joy Division, The Cure recorded their most gothic song (Burn) and The Jesus And Mary Chain, Pantera and Stone Temple Pilots all feature.
About A Boy (2002)
Damon Gough aka Badly Drawn Boy provided the soundtrack to this adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel, staring Hugh Grant. It includes the wonderful Silent Sigh and Hornby himself has lauded the track A Minor Incident in his book 31 Songs.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The unique Marvel comedy was a runaway success due to its fresh take on the superhero genre, it’s dark humour and its amazing music. The soundtrack is based on a mixtape in the film called, Awesome Mix Vol 1, and includes the likes of David Bowie, Marvin Gaye and The Runaways.
Singles (1992)
The soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s comedy featured a who’s who of grunge acts: Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, Smashing Pumpkins and Screaming Trees. Only Nirvana was conspicuous by their absence.
Pump Up The Volume (1990)
This Christian Slater comedy-drama about a pirate radio station is all but forgotten now, but the soundtrack is pretty cool and a great snapshot of the era, featuring Pixies, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden and US hardcore punkers Bad Brains collaborating with Henry Rollins on a cover of the MC5 classic Kick Out The Jams.
Submarine (2010)
Comedian and actor Richard Ayoade directed this sweet coming of age saga and got none other than Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys to write five songs for the soundtrack. The nearest thing we’ll get to a Turner solo album for the time being.
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
The Beatles’ self-produced TV movie was a huge flop when it went out on Boxing Day evening in 1967, but the soundtrack more than made up for the lack of plot, coherence or decent acting. We get the title track, The Fool On The Hill, Blue Jay Way and the show-stopping I Am The Walrus: John Lennon at his most psychedelic.
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