With his trademark over-sized, papier-mache head and nasally pitched voice, Frank Sidebottom was a regular presence on the radio and television throughout the 80s and 90s.
The release of the biopic ’Being Frank’, which tells the story of the man behind Frank Sidebottom, Chris Seivey, who died in 2010, was released earlier this year, and this has given the owner of a local brewery a chance to remember the mark he left on the island.
Martin Brunnschweiler, who owns Bushy’s Brewery, has organised a special screening of the film to be shown at the Broadway Cinema on Saturday, May 18, from 5pm.
Martin, along with the regulars from the old Bushy’s pub, on the corner of Victoria Street, struck up a close friendship with Chris, and he would regularly travel over to the island to perform shows at the iconic venue.
Even at the height of his fame, which included hosting his own Channel 4 programme, ’Frank Sidebottom’s Fantastic Shed Show’, he could be seen sat around the tables, chatting to locals, replete with his oversized head and sharp suits, or performing to hundreds of people on stage.
Martin hopes to hold an evening where old regulars from Bushy’s can come down and remember the times, both with the close friendships they struck up with Chris and generally reminisce about the popular pub and venue.
’I honestly couldn’t tell you how many times he came over and played in the old Bushy’s back room,’ said Martin.
’He would do a comedy show in our big room, which would always be packed full. He must have come over a dozen or so times in the late 80s or early 90s, even when he was at the height of his career.’
The friendship began after some of the locals watched an early Frank Sidebottom show in England.
’I can’t remember exactly when, but they came back from the Reading festival, all of them talking about this comedian they’d seen wearing a fake head.
’They’d met him and got his phone number, and convinced me to invite him over.
’So we made contact, brought him to the Isle of Man, and that was the start of a great friendship between Bushy’s and Frank Sidebottom.
’A big feature of him visiting the island is that he would bring his football team over.
’He had a team called the Timperley Big Shorts, and we would regularly have a match with the Bushy’s team, which was called Dynamo Zhivagos at the time.
’Frank would turn up in a full Big shorts strip, complete with the head, and do the ceremonial kick-off. The teams would play for a trophy that he made out of an old biscuit tin, which he called ’The Crumbs’ trophy.
’He loved coming over here, either by himself, with the team or with a group of friends.
’Chris used to come over here as a child for holidays, and he had a lot of fond memories of the island. He had a lot of friends over here, and was known by a lot of regulars in the pub.’
Martin said the film is a tough watch at times, as it shows Chris’s struggle with being identified as a character, rather than an artist.
But he said that Frank’s legacy, as a ground-breaking comedian who paved the way for the likes of a whole generation of Northern comedians, should be remembered.
’It is a fascinating and very sad film really,’ he said.
’He was a very talented and creative man, and always seemed to be on the edge of breaking through. Mark Radcliffe worked a lot with him in the early days, and Chris Evans used to drive for him before he became famous as a presenter on Channel 4.
’He also helped create the character of Mrs Merton for his radio show. Caroline Aherne played Frank’s nosey neighbour, and they made this character long before it made it to the television.
’But we want to show the film and remember the times we had with Frank. We are going to make the afternoon into a Bushy’s reunion, and we’d like anyone who remembers being there, or remembers seeing Frank in the pub to come down and join in. It’s an excuse to have a get-together.’
Tickets for the screening of ’Being Frank’ are £10, which includes a Bushys souvenir, available form the Villa Marina box office, or online from villagiaety.com
by Mike wade
twitter:@iomnewspapers