Chris Sievey, who has died aged 54 after suffering from cancer, achieved the kind of success as Frank Sidebottom that often eluded him under his own name. Sidebottom, complete with papier-mâché head and a curious line in daft Bontempi songs, became a huge hit on the 1980s indie circuit, shoring up his fame through a series of television and radio shows. He was an inspired creation, a nasal-voiced pop star from the Cheshire seat of Timperley, releasing records in praise of his home village and oompah-muzak covers of old classics. His popularity peaked in the early 1990s, with the TV series Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show and guest slots on the children's Saturday morning ITV show No 73.
Sievey himself grew up in Ashton-on-Mersey, five miles from Timperley. The audacious beginnings of a pop career got under way in 1971, when the 15-year-old Chris and his brother Martin hitchhiked to London to stage a sit-in at the Beatles' Apple HQ. They eventually convinced the engineers to let them record a session. Sievey subsequently cut various demos, mailing them to record companies and receiving bushels of rejection slips. He later published them as a book.
Undeterred, he predated the DIY punk ethic by starting his own label, Razz, in 1974 and releasing singles and EPs with the Freshies from 1978 onwards. Among his bandmates were Martin Jackson, later of Magazine, and the future Cult guitarist Billy Duffy. The longest-serving line-up, however, comprised Barry Spencer (guitar), Rick Sarko (bass, ex-Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds) and Mike Doherty (drums, ex-Smirks) and lasted from 1980 until 1982.
The band's biggest-selling 45 was I'm in Love With the Girl On the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk – retitled I'm in Love With the Girl On a Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk, after complaints from the Virgin boss Richard Branson – which reached No 54 in February 1981. It was a typically playful offering, entirely in keeping with Sievey's wilful sense of the absurd. Other songs included I Can't Get Bouncing Babies By the Teardrop Explodes and If You Really Love Me, Buy Me a Shirt.
His innovative ideas extended far beyond indie labels and bizarre song titles. The Freshies produced the first multimedia single by including The Biz, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum game written by Sievey, on the vinyl version of one of their releases in June 1983. The Biz also introduced the character that Sievey would become famous for, initially devised as a one-off promotional gimmick.
In early 1985 he recorded a hopelessly upbeat, Casio-driven version of the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK and posted it to all the major record labels. A covering letter supposedly read: "Dear X, I'm thinking of getting into showbusiness. Do you have any pamphlets?" EMI were foolhardy enough to invite him over, where he arrived in full Sidebottom mode. "Have you been in showbusiness for long?" inquired the A&R chief. Frank took one look at his watch: "Ten seconds."
Sidebottom was fully inhabited by Sievey. Once the outsized head and 1950s suit were on (the effect not unlike an Oliver Postgate version of the US avant-garde group the Residents), he would answer only to "Frank". The premise was simple but hilariously effective – an aspiring suburban pop star who still lived at home with his mum, and whose chirpy ambition only served to magnify an innate lack of talent. But it was also a gentle spoof of the entertainment business itself.
Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band, which included the DJ Mark Radcliffe, the journalist Jon Ronson and a then-unknown Chris Evans, toured the halls of Britain, playing ramshackle covers of Bohemian Rhapsody and the Benefit of Mr Kite, to an increasingly fervent fan base. A typical show would consist of surreal observations on life in Frank's shed, a cameo from glove puppet Little Frank and, more often than not, a tombola. It was lo-tech genius from a hi-spec mind.
Among the singles and extended EPs were Frank's Firm Favourites and The Magic of Freddie Mercury & Queen, for which Frank struck a cover pose in white vest and thick black moustache. Sidebottom's Radio Timperley show, recorded in his shed, became a cult fixture on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, helping launch the career of Caroline Aherne's Mrs Merton. He also appeared alongside the Factory Records boss Anthony Wilson on Channel 4's Remote Control.
As Frank Sidebottom's popularity dipped in the mid-90s, Sievey began working as assistant to the art director at the Altrincham-based company Hot Animation, on the children's TV shows Pingu and Bob the Builder. He had previously been a writer for the satirical comic Oink!, a milder 80s rival to Viz.
Sievey returned to television as Frank in 2006, hosting Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show on the Manchester station Channel M. Most recently he had been touring with the punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
Last month, Sievey announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer. His last public appearance was on the opening day of the 2010 World Cup, when he commandeered a Manchester pub to launch his World Cup single, Three Shirts On My Line. He is survived by his children Stirling, Asher and Harrison from his marriage to Paula, which ended in divorce, and by his brother Martin.
• Christopher Mark Sievey, musician and comedian, born 25 August 1955; died 21 June 2010