Death, Funeral and Memorial Concert
Sievey was diagnosed with cancer in May 2010. On Monday, 21 June 2010, Sievey died at Wythenshawe Hospital. He collapsed at his home in Hale, Greater Manchester, and was found by girlfriend, Gemma Woods, who called an ambulance. He was 54 years old. Sievey left a daughter Asher aged 30, and two sons: Stirling, 31, and Harry, 18. After it was reported that Sievey had died virtually penniless and was facing a "pauper's funeral" provided by state grants, a grassroots movement on various social networking websites quickly rallied round and donated significant sums to help out with the costs, raising £6,500 in a matter of hours. The appeal closed on Monday 28 June with a final balance of £21,631.55 from 1632 separate donations.
Sievey's funeral was held on 2 July 2010 at Altrincham Crematorium. The private service was attended by more than 200 members of his family, friends and former colleagues.
On 8 July 2010, over 5,000 fans of Frank Sidebottom gathered for a party at the Castlefield Arena in Manchester to celebrate Sievey's life. The acts included Badly Drawn Boy and surviving members of Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band who played in tribute.
Read more about this topic: Chris Sievey
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