The Freshies

The Freshies

The Freshies are a punk group from Manchester, United Kingdom, led by Chris Sievey. They form in the mid-1970s and issue their first single, The Freshies EP, in 1978 on the Razz label.

Recording and releases

The band’s best-known and biggest-selling song is I’m In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk, originally released in 1980 and later retitled I’m In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk at Virgin Records’ request. The song reaches number 54 in the UK charts in 1981.

Sievey creates the Razz record label in 1974, ahead of punk’s self-financing DIY approach. Razz releases more than 60 titles, including much of The Freshies’ material.

Line-up and associated musicians

Sievey is the central figure in the group, and his alter-ego Frank Sidebottom is also one of the band’s biggest fans. Other musicians who play with him include Martin Jackson, later of Magazine, and Billy Duffy, later of The Cult. The usual line-up consists of Barry Spencer on guitar, Rick Sarko on bass, who previously plays with The Nosebleeds, and Mike Doherty on drums, who previously plays with The Smirks.

Notable ideas and formats

The Freshies also produce what is described as possibly the first multimedia single, by including The Biz, a Sinclair ZX81 game, on the tape version of one of their singles. Sievey later uses a similar idea as a solo artist with his single Camouflage.

Chris Sievey

Sievey dies in 2010 from head and neck cancer. After his death, money is raised to fund his funeral.