Being Frank ..

Oh, blimey! I had such a great day yesterday at the unveiling of a statue to the memory of Frank Sidebottom, the alter-ego of Timperley comedian/musician Chris Sievey. Hundreds of people turned out for the occasion, eventually blocking the entire crossroads at the centre of the village! Anarchy! The fun thing for me was that, unlike the press who were gathered around the statue, I didn't have to get the picture of the day for a newspaper. Rather, I was able to wander at will around the whole event and document it from all angles. Happily, that involved covering the music being played in the Stonemasons Arms, and the sight and sound of Chris' son Harry playing Freshies' songs with two of the original group - echoing a shot I did at Bowdon Vale Youth Club in 1979 - is a memory I'll cherish for a long time. Click on the pix to see 'em larger and here if you've the time to wade through all 445 shots of the day. Nice to see Steve Sullivan and his crew there too, filming more footage for their forthcoming documentary Being Frank, and it was nice to be able to show some of my old Freshies' pictures at a 'pop-up' exhibition in Timperley Library. Over 150 fans walked across to see it! Thank you for the interest, everybody!

So, back to portraits and I'm looking forward to shooting a couple of family sessions at the studio this week. Interestingly, I've also been booked to shoot a forthcoming Baby Shower. It's good to know this other work is coming in as, being frank, the Wedding season has more or less dried up for this year now, and it'll be a couple more months before I cover another one. Come and keep me busy at the studio ..