In the late 1980s Jon Ronson was the keyboard player in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band. Frank wore a big fake head. Nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity. This became the subject of feverish speculation during his zenith years. Together, they rode relatively high. Then it all went wrong.
Twenty-five years later and Jon has co-written a movie, Frank, inspired by his time in this great and bizarre band. Frank is set for release in 2014, starring Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Domhnall Gleeson and directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie is a memoir of funny, sad times and a tribute to outsider artists too wonderfully strange to ever make it in the mainstream. It tells the true story behind the fictionalized movie.
Jon Ronson is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He is known for works such as Them: Adventures with Extremists (2001), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004), and The Psychopath Test (2011). He has been described as a gonzo journalist, becoming a faux-naïf character in his stories. He produces informal but sceptical investigations of controversial fringe politics and science. He has published nine books and his work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, City Life and Time Out. He has made several BBC Television documentary films and two documentary series for Channel 4.
Frank Sidebottom was a novelty act from the Manchester music scene of the late 80s/early 90s. Sporting a fibreglass cartoon head, Frank (played by Chris Sievey) would perform strange Beatles/Queen/Bruce Springsteen covers with his Oh Blimey Big Band, of which Jon Ronson was the keyboardist.
Ronson’s brief memoir comes out just as a movie version of Frank Sidebottom, starring Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal, is released and recounts the barmy days he was in the band. There isn’t much to this book – Frank was a character Sievey played who revelled in chaotic stage shows and whose success was relatively low (his biggest gig was opening for Bros at Wembley to an audience of 50,000 who booed him as he came out and played terrible renditions of Bros songs).
It’s kinda funny and tragic that there was this Jekyll/Hyde nature to Sievey and that he actually seemed to prefer being Frank to the person he was in real life, and that professionalism was the death of the band – Frank’s improv/freestyle showmanship was what made him stand out, and bringing in actual musicians and rehearsing made him less appealing to audiences. Ronson clearly liked Sievey a lot and his book casts him as crazy and George Bernard Shaw’s Unreasonable Man, but that these were admirable qualities in this unique individual and made him stand out.
Ironically, nearly everyone else in Frank’s periphery became hugely successful – but not Frank. Caroline Aherne, then a secretary at the BBC, played a character in a skit during Frank’s radio show: Mrs Merton. Aherne took the character and developed it into The Mrs Merton Show and the enormously successful follow-up, The Royle Family, making millions and winning numerous awards.
Their van driver was Chris Evans who went on to become one of the highest earning celebrities in the UK, earning tens of millions for his breakfast radio show; and of course Ronson himself who went on to become a successful journalist, documentarian, and bestselling writer.
Frank Sidebottom/Chris Sievey would die of throat cancer in 2010, penniless, whose funeral and commemorative statue would be paid for by his fans, who came out in droves to donate when he passed.
Ronson’s short memoir – nearly 70 pages made up of double spaced, large font sentences with full page photos – is padded out further with a brief look at another outsider artist music group, The Shaggs. They were a small group from the American South who grew up on a farm, isolated from the outside world, and banned from listening to music until one day their crazy dad gave them instruments and demanded they become a successful band.
The music they made is the music of people who didn’t know what music was and who created it without influences or having heard a single song – the results are extraordinary! Check out “Philosophy of the World” for some of the weirdest music you’ll ever listen to (though The Shaggs have their fans – Kurt Cobain and Frank Zappa both rated their record as among their top 5 greatest albums ever made!).
This is an entertaining short book about a moderately interesting person that doesn’t quite feel worth the full hardback price as you’ll read this in under an hour, and the piece will probably appear in a Jon Ronson collection like Lost At Sea sometime in the future. That said, the Kindle price is (currently) 59p which is definitely worth it. Despite its brevity though, Frank is a fun read that Ronson and Frank Sidebottom fans will enjoy.
Wow. I knew nothing of Frank Sidebottom before reading this - I had never heard of him or seen his iconic fake head. I just knew that I really enjoyed 'The Psychopath Test' by Jon Ronson and I was willing to give this inexpensive book a try. I really enjoyed it. It was a shock to me, going from knowing nothing about someone with such a strange career as Frank Sidebottom to reading about his life in depth, but it was a very interesting experience. Jon Ronson is a great journalist and writer and he makes it all seem so much larger than life.
Also notable for educating me about the band 'The Shaggs,' which I had never heard of before. Truly bizarre stuff. Well worth a read. I'm definitely going to continue on to read the rest of the books Jon Ronson has written so far.
I once saw Frank Sidebottom leaning up against the side of a Sheffield theatre, furtively smoking during the interval at his own show, 'headless', and half-shielded by the night. I found that I didn't know where to look; I didn't want to spoil the illusion of Frank Sidebottom by seeing the man, Chris Sievey, beneath that bizarre papier-mâché façade. I’ve always thought that when the truth of an illusion is exposed, a little of the magic dies.
This short book, however, retains a lot of that magic – it being more of an insight into Frank the character than Chris the man. It is a touching little tribute, and written with much genuine affection and respect for this cult hero who remained always somewhere on the outer fringes of fame. Jon writes of his experiences with the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band with much wit and humour. I couldn't help but smile throughout it.
Frank fans will love this. Those eager for a deeper insight can turn to Mick Middles 'Frank Sidebottom: Out of His Head', but this – Jon Ronson's quiet salute to an enigmatic hero – was perfect.
There was always something haunting about Frank Sidebottom with his plaster-cast face and nasal whine. He also had a fun, parochial charm. Here Ronson recalls his time in the band, ahead of the premiere of his (at the time) forthcoming semi-biopic named “Frank.” The film is well worth checking out alongside this short, affectionate read regarding an iconic and manic outsider.
Jon Ronson narrates his own book — closer to a short story, really — on Frank Sidebottom, the alter ego for musician (or should I say, performance artist?) Chris Sievy. Ronson released something in 2014 to accompany the release of the film Frank, a fictionalized account of the real Chris Sievy. Or should I say, Frank? That’s because Sievy treated his real self and his persona of Frank, which sported a fiberglass head, as distinct.
Like Ronson, we are left wondering what Sievy’s real goal or motivation were. However, Ronson handles Sievy’s psychological underpinnings and the interesting journey of the band The Oh Blimey Band, in which the frankly untalented Ronson played keyboard, with aplomb. A fun read that will leave you thinking.
It’s insane to me how interesting a person Jon Ronson is. Not only is there all the journalist and screenwriter stuff I know him for and the fact that, for instance, he went to school with the people involved in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire coughing scandal, but he also used to be the keyboardist for Frank Sidebottom and managed the band Man from Delmonte. What.
"El Madrid, it's nice to see ya It's really nice to be here I love you All" Frank Sidebottom always seemed to be there, in the background of my youth but I never knew more than his paper maché head, but I knew from an early age that I was intrigued. In my adultness the film just appeared and I said to my girlfriend 'Frank Sidebottom, we should watch that'. She had never heard of him, but we watched the film and loved it, then Frank was forgotten again. Then Christmas 2018, my girlfriend, now my fiancé bought me this book, and like the film it came out of nowhere, I didn't know there was a book, but I was like 'Hey, it's Frank Sidebottom', and I read the book. The book doesn't really give too much away about Frank, or Chris and it is very small, and brief but I like that. I could go online and read all sorts of stories about Frank, but I don't want that, I want him to just casually come in and out of my life, if and when and as he chooses. See you again Frank...3 1/2 🌟
Diinspirasikan daripada watak yang betul-betul wujud, Frank adalah alter-ego seorang lelaki yang berbakat dalam bidang muzik tetapi terlalu eksentrik untuk terus maju dalam dunia hiburan.
Dalam filem, kepelikannya dilebih-lebihkan. Tapi malang nasibnya, tak jauh beza. Frank mati kerana kanser dan dalam keadaan tak berharta. Filemnya lebih menarik.
Membaca buku ini, menyedarkan kita, kisah sebenar kalau tidak diolah boleh jadi membosankan (seperti buku ini). Sebab itulah hasil adaptasi filem atau drama, akan ada banyak perbezaan daripada sumber asal dan biasanya lebih dramatik.
I sat and read this this morning in one sitting, with it being so short, and it just reminded me of a time during university when I was obsessed with Jon Ronson. He’s just such an interesting person and I enjoy his anecdotes and journalism.
There was a band called Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band that I never heard of until I saw the movie inspired by the lead singer, who wore a giant cartoon head while performing and off-stage, too. I’m surprised he slipped under my weirdar, as I love strange music, which my wife calls bug music (she thinks it sounds like swarming insects — some does, and it’s great!). One-time keyboard player and current journalist Jon Ronson wrote FRANK: THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE MOVIE about his time in the band. It’s a quick, funny, sad read about the freaks who collect on the margins of society and make the world a better place, even as the world ignores or discards them. While many of those nuts spiral into drug and alcohol abuse, I’m still going to raise a glass to Frank after I finish writing this, and to Ronson, who’s the perfect Boswell to these neglected Johnsons.
Reading this made me wish I'd kept up with Frank after buying his debut single in 1984, at least to have seen him play live.
Then Ronson recalls Frank's biggest gig, at Wembley Stadium supporting Bros along with Double Trouble and Debbie Gibson. Oddly, I was there. Now wracking my brain to recall the events described...
Interesting brief honest look at Frank Sidebottom band from keyboardist Ron Jonsons POV Some really cool stories of some people he knew and was interesting seeing how him being part of it all came about. Was cool hearing my hometown mentioned (Gorton) and other places around Manchester. Might be better for fans of Frank Sidebottom band
I was looking through Netflix for a movie to watch when I came upon one simply named Frank. The premise was strange but looked like it could be entertaining. It was about a guy who joined a band, who's lead singer wore a large paper mache head all the time. All the time even when he slept or had a shower. Strange yes, but the movie was fantastic, probably the best one I had seen all year to say the least (go watch it).
Watching it two times in a row wasn't enough, so I looked online for anything else about the movie. Lo and behold it was somehow related to a real life Frank. I just had to find out more.
First thing I came upon was this book. It was written by one of the screen writers, who had been in the band with Frank. He was known as Frank Sidebottom. Other then the head and being in the band, the real Frank had nothing to do with the movie.
It's still a pretty entertaining read, so if you want to know a little about a crazy character and a guy who truly did things his own way, you should give it a read. But even if you don't, WATCH THE MOVIE.
I remember Frank Sidebottom popping up on TV as a child, but I always thought he was some kind of children's entertainer like Roland the Rat or Timmy Mallett, but apparently I was wrong. He was the alter ego of a very strange man. This 'book' is more of an article, a puff piece for the film that is coming out soon, so we don't get much about Chris Sievey or Frank Sidebottom. If a proper book comes out I will certainly read it, because I need to find out more about this strange man and his papier-mâché head.
A Flat-Account of a Three Dimensional Life This greatly disappointed me; it's little more than an extension of a much briefer account in Ronson's earlier essay collection and led to a repellant and completely fictional film 'interpretation'. Over time, it seems as if Ronson is losing his knack for engaging the reader and falling onto a quasi-Broomfield shock journalism. The shorter essay was fine, this is a pinned-together filmic tie-in that was a waste of money if you already got the earlier collection.
A very quick read (only 68 pages) but still entertaining enough. The book and movie bear very little resemblance to each other in fact the movie version seems to based on an entirely different person. For completists only.
Not quite as riveting as th film, but the book sure as hell explains why. It's a nice little look into how writing fiction based on fact can bring in any factual elements it needs or wants to make something great.
That was awesome! I knew nothing about Frank and honestly just picked this up because it was written by Jon Ronson and it was at a discount books market esque place. I started reading it right away because it was so short and was very pleasantly surprised! That was a lot of fun!
Frank is as weird and charming as its protagonist. The movie is a strange black comedy about a young keyboardist that joins a band. Interestingly, the musical group happens to be filled with former mental patients and the lead singer, Frank, wears a sizeable cartoonish mask over his head at all times. The movie has a lot of things to say about creativity and the pursuit of happiness, but the most exciting part for me is that it was partly inspired by a true story.
I knew next to nothing about the real Frank when I watched the movie. The only things that I knew were that he was based on a British personality that went by the name Frank Sidebottom from the 80’s. Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie by Jon Ronson is an exciting look at the whole Frank Sidebottom phenomenon that would later become the inspiration for the movie. Ronson writes a memoir of his time in Frank’s band as the keyboardist.
The book humanizes Frank Sidebottom and lets you in on who he was under that mask. In the movie, it was an intentional decision to fictionalize who Frank was in hopes to not damage the character in both the real world and on film. In both instances, Frank seemed to be blessed and cursed with an uncontrollable creative imagination that fueled his music. Everyone, audience and band members alike, were just along for the ride. It is clear that he wore a mask so that he can be more than he could ever be without it, or it’s possible that he was afraid of who he was underneath it.
Eccentric is probably the most appropriate word for the artist known as Frank Sidebottom. The pages in the book not only chronicles the time that Ronson was in Frank’s band but also the years that followed that lead to him co-writing the script for the feature film. There are only ninety-six pages in this book, but I enjoyed each one. The brushes with fame that eluded Frank are heartbreaking to read due to him being a slave to his own creativity. He may have the unique designation of being one of the weirdest fictional and nonfictional characters to have ever existed. Also, he is one of the most lovable.
3.5 stars. This true story behind Ronson’s film (which I haven’t yet seen -- I’ve just placed it on hold from the local library) is at its strongest when Ronson is meditating on what it means to be marginal. Frank Sidebottom -- like The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, or any number of unknown musical oddities laboring on the fringes -- does it not only for love of the music, but also because they MUST do it. They have no choice, whether it be from compulsion or from a mental itch that can only be scratched through their unique performances. Ronson himself explores those fringes in his journalism. In the most revelatory moment of the book, Ronson concedes that he actually exploits these fringes, almost as a way of saying, “See? We are normal -- not like these odd ones.” He comes to much the same conclusion near the end of The Psychopath Test, but with a little more for the reader to contemplate than in this brief profile of Frank.
Although I thought the read was worth it for these insights, I found the first half (a personal narrative of how Ronson met Frank and how they toured for two years) to be a little flat. It felt like Ronson were writing the piece out of sense of duty. Only when he moves away briefly from Frank’s narrative and then returns to Frank for the somber conclusion does the driving point finally come into focus.