| | Frank | Sidebottom | The band's front man. AKA: Chris. |
| | | | Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band - The band the protagonist sometimes played keys for. (Which eventually turned into a full-time gig.) |
| | Shep | | A man in Highbury. |
| | | | Grandstand - A Show in BBC that broadcaster the day's football scores. |
| | | | Drunk Tramps - A song the protagonist wrote. |
| | Paul | Merton | Comedian. |
| | John | Dowie | Comedian. |
| | Mark | Thomas | Comedian. |
| | Mike | Doherty | The guy who called Jon over the phone. Drummer of the band. |
| | Midge | Ure | The lead singer of the band Ultravox. |
| | Rick | Sarko | The guitarist of the band. |
| | Patrick | Gallagher | The bassist of the band. |
| | Mike | Middles | Music journalist. |
| | Bob | | An amicable cat Mike was living with. |
| | Pee Wee | Herman | A comedic character created by Paul Reubens. |
| | George Bernard | Shaw | Wrote The Unreasonable Man. |
| | Urban | Avenger | A real-life superhero who chose to remain masked for long periods. |
| | Paula | | Chris's former wife. |
| | | | Man from Delmonte - The indie band Jon managed when he wasn't touring with Frank. |
| | Jonathan | Richman | An artist Frank and Jon supported. |
| | Gary | Glitter | An artist Frank supported. |
| | Edward | Barton | A quiet, bearded man who would stand onstage and scream. |
| | | | Hulme - A desolate housing estate near the city center. |
| | | | Charles Barry Crescent - One of the crescents. |
| | | | John Nash Crescent - One of the crescents. |
| | Nico | | Moved into Hulme from the Velvet Underground. |
| | Caroline | Aherne | Chris's brother-in-law's friend. A secretary working at the BBC. |
| | Mrs. | Meron | Frank's neighbor. Voiced by Caroline. |
| | Bert | | Caroline's father. |
| | Maureen | | Caroline's mother. |
| | Mani | | Jon's next-door neighbor. Part of the band Stone Roses. |
| | Chris | Evans | The band's driver. |
| | Lennox | Lewis | Entertainer. 2nd highest paid entertainer Year 2000. |
| | Elton | John | Entertainer. 3rd highest paid entertainer Year 2000. |
| | | | Opus III - A group that covered Edward's "It's a Fine Day". |
| | Kylie | Minogue | Singer. |
| | Richard | | Guitarist of the Desert Wolves. One of the most successful tour managers. |
| | | | Desert Wolves - An '80s indie band. |
| | Lloyd | Cole | Songwriter. |
| | | | Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - A rock band. |
| | Woody | Allen | Managed by Richard. |
| | The Spice | Girls | Managed by Richard. |
| | The | Pixies | Managed by Richard. |
| | | | The Ronson Mission - Jon's show on BBC2 after leaving Frank's band. |
| | Frank | Hatherley | Jon's old college lecturer. |
| | Janet | Street-Porter | From BBC. |
| | | | Grosvenor House - A five-star hotel in Central London. |
| | Adam | Buxton | Radio presenter. |
| | | | Pingu - A children's claymation series where Chris worked as an animator. |
| | George | Clooney | Actor. |
| | Peter | Straughan | The film writer of The Men Who Stare at Goats. |
| | Lenny | Abrahamson | Director of the Frank film. |
| | Stanley | Kubrick | Director. |
| | Rick | Senat | Stanley's old business affairs manager. |
| | Stephen | Mangan | Actor. |
| | Daniel | Johnston | Texas singer-songwriter. |
| | Jeff | Feuerzeig | Created the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. |
| | Louis | Black | Daniel's friend. |
| | Mabel | | Daniel's mother. |
| | Bill | | Daniel's father. |
| | Don Van | Vliet | Ruled over his band with a tyrannical fury. AKA: Captain BeefHeart. |
| | | | The Shaggs - A strange band. |
| | Dot | Wiggin | A singer in the band The Shaggs. |
| | Betty | Wiggin | A singer in the band The Shaggs. |
| | Austin | | Dot and Betty's father. |
| | Bonnie | Raitt | American singer. |
| | Terry | Adams | Singer in the band NRBQ. |
| | Fred | | Dot's then-husband. |
| | Kurt | Cobain | Nirvana front man. |
| | Carla | Bley | Jazz composer. |
| | Susan | Orlean | Journalist. |
| | Sterling | | Chris's son. |
| | Neil | Taylor | A Timperley village councillor. |
| | Michael | Fassbender | Stars in the Frank movie. |
| | Maggie | Gyllenhaal | Stars in the Frank movie. |
| | Domhnall | Gleeson | Stars in the Frank movie. |
