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Chris Sievey became a legend as Frank Sidebottom, a bizarre enthusiastic figure with an over-sized papier-mâché head.
See the real story behind one of Britain’s most intriguing counter-culture icons in Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. After numerous attempts to become a punk-rock star with his band The Freshies, Sievey started dressing as a strange alter-ego with a giant papier-mâché head, AKA Frank Sidebottom. Beneath the head was a brilliant musician and comedy genius, remembered here by figures including former band member Mark Radcliffe and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
Initially, Sidebottom was supposed to be The Freshies’ number 1 fan, but he gathered an unexpected fanbase, propelling him into the spotlight, onto 80s kids TV shows and even the Wembley Arena stage to warm up the crowd for Bros. With characters including punk poet John Cooper Clarke and members of post-punk band The Durutti Column, Sievey’s subversive high-jinx are remembered with warmth and humour – his prolific creativity, ambition and pranks.
Filled with Sievey’s wonderfully irreverent sense of humour and endlessly silly antics, Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story follows the growth of Sidebottom’s cult legend, and how the man beneath the mask gradually began to get out of his depth.