Caroline Aherne's first comedy gigs

She sometimes said she'd rather be a hairdresser but Aherne's cheeky early appearances in the pubs and clubs of Manchester led her to TV fame.

Virtual celebration of Frank Sidebottom creator planned

An online celebration of the life of Frank Sidebottom creator Chris Sievey will take place later this month.

"He was pushing some mysterious envelope and he made the public an accomplice," says John Cooper Clarke of Chris Sievey, the restless genius responsible for Timperley's Frank Sidebottom. This is the extraordinary and moving story of the late outsider artist inside the papier-mache head, featuring contributions from collaborators such as Jon Ronson and Mark Radcliffe. As the latter observes, Sievey's antics were somehow extremely silly and extremely clever at the same time.

DVD review: Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

This is a first class documentary about a minor popular culture icon who deserves to be remembered.

Review - Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

This documentary about one the most peculiar of musicians is best described in the words of his most famous creation: "Absolutely fantastic!"

GCHQ cracks Frank Sidebottom's secret codes

Intelligence agency GCHQ has cracked secret codes hidden by the man behind cult comedy character Frank Sidebottom.

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story review

It''s not entirely clear whether Chris Sievey would approve of this documentary. He always insisted on remaining entirely separate from his alter-ego Frank Sidebottom almost to the extent, it is suggested, of schizophrenia. He hated being seen without the papier-maché head, with bandmate Rick Sarko believing that was because he had an almost pathological fear of being seen as a normal human being.

Watching the new documentary Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, it makes sense that the titular performer behind cult entertainer Frank Sidebottom - a mainstay of the alternative comedy scene in the late 80s and early 90s- would choose a giant papier-mâché head for his alter ego: Sievey's anarchic brain was fizzing with so many ideas that his own head clearly had no hope of containing them. That's the never-quite-stated thesis of Steve Sullivan's wonderful trawl through the late artist's extensive career. Unlike the Michael Fassbender-starring Frank, which used Sidebottom as a jumping off-point for a funny, poignant, fictional exploration of the connection between artistic genius and mental illness, the new film isn't all that interested in rehashing that debate. Instead it constructs a portrait of someone who couldn't have lived an ordinary life if he'd tried. And he did try. He was married, had kids, worked factory jobs - but with access to the vast audio and video archives that Sievey kept of his tireless efforts to make it as a legitimate pop star, we get to see how a relentlessly creative mind can thrive, even in a place as seemingly banal as his hometown of Timperley. It's not always a flattering portrait. Nor is it glamorous. And yet it's precisely this unvarnished look at a way of life that continues to be mythologised and romanticised that gives the film added power.

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story review

This documentary about Sievey's wacky comic creation makes a good case for bestowing posthumous national treasure status.

Review - Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story

Steve Sullivan's engaging documentary explores the comic character and his creator.