The former owner of the recording studio and community centre where cult comedian Frank Sidebottom made his hilarious music has described plans to bulldoze the building as ‘a tragedy’. Plans have been submitted to Trafford council asking permission to demolish the former Riddings Community Centre in the Timperley area of Altrincham in order to build five homes.
It was in the basement of the Riddings that musicians Howard Woolley and Dave Cartwright ran the ‘Meek’ recording studio. There they recorded Frank making his quirky tunes, including the hilarious ‘Panic on the Streets of Timperley’, along the similar lines to The Smiths’ hit ‘Panic’.
Howard and Dave also took rare photographs of Sidebottom without his paper mache head as he played guitar and sang his tunes with a clothes peg on his nose. The duo, who lost more than £150,000 when the studio eventually went bust during the financial crash of 2008, are offering to give the photographs to any relatives of the late comedian/singer who may come forward.
