Facebook fans to push Sidebottom up the charts

Fans of the comic character Frank Sidebottom are hoping to catapult him to the top of the charts using the power of Facebook and Twitter following the death of his creator Chris Sievey.

Mancunian Sievey died on Tuesday, after more than three decades as the man behind Sidebottom's oversized papier-mache mask. Sievey's comic songs and stand up routines were always delivered as his alter ego Sidebottom: now it's hoped the character can live on through a World Cup-themed campaign to get Sidebottom's football song - Three Shirts on My Line - up the charts.

Within 24 hours of Sievey's death, the Facebook group Let's Get Frank Sidebottom in the Charts had 1,800 members, and he was the second most popular topic on Twitter - proving more popular than Chancellor George Osborne on Budget day.

Sidebottom was a cult figure on the northern music and comedy circuits. He came into being as a fictional fan of Sievey's punk band The Freshies in the late 1970s, but when they split up he took on a life of his own.

His oversized spherical head was based on a Max Fleisher cartoon, and was originally made from papier-mache, although late incarnations were fashioned from fibreglass.

The character was a middle-aged would-be pop star who still lived at home with his mother. His stage shows combined novelty songs, stand-up comedy and elements from gameshows.

He was popular throughout the 1980s and was often bracketed with alternative comedians, although his routines were more homespun and bizarre. Sidebottom was also accepted in the Northern music scene, which spawned bands like the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

Although Sievey and his creation Sidebottom never experienced mainstream success they were highly influential. Caroline Aherne's character Mrs Merton began life as a character on Sidebottom's Radio Timperley show in Manchester. Mark Radcliffe and Jon Ronson were members of Sidebottom's 'Oh Blimey Big Band' and Chris Evans once worked as his driver.

Sievey was diagnosed with lung cancer in May and died after collapsing at his home in Hale. He was 54. ·