Frank Sidebottom was the alter ego of Chris Sievey, late leader of English 1970's-'80's punk band the Freshies. With his papier mache--later, fiberglass-- mask eclipsing his head, Sidebotom's shtick was to be be just egotistical enough to believe himself to be a far better musician--and all-around entertainer--than he really was. The persona also included a nasally-pinched voice and the idea that he lived with his mother in Timperley, a suburban area of the Machester borough of Trafford, for which he was an avid spokesman. To my knowledge, no Sidebottom records were released in the U.S. (nor Canada?), but were you previously familiar with Sievey's comically delusional alias?

According to the the 2018 documentary, Being Frank: The Chris Pievey Story, Sidebnottom's orgin comes Sievey's apparel for a costume party to which he and his wife were invited. The character was then escalated to a means by which Sievey could become professional successful in ways the Freshies had not been. Though none of Sidebottom's singles bothered the top 60 of the UK chart, he had much more media coverage than that kid of performance might indicate, in children's, family, and apparently, some more adult entertainment. Were you to see Sidebottom for the first time with no prior knowledge of him, who do you think the character's primary audience would be?

If the aforementioned documentary's assertion is true, playing Sidebottom was, at best, a mixed blessing for Sievey. The professional and artistic pressure of having to remain in a character that brought him success that his music with the Freshies and as a solo artist led not only led to what seems like at least a temporary bout of schizophrenia. Sievey's inner struggle also led to drug abuse and adultery committed against his wife and motherof their three children. It also may have contributed to his money troubles that eventually led to Sievey giving Sidebottom a temporary respite from Sidebottom to use other talents of his on stop-motion animation shows including Bob The Builder and Pingu. He also contributed to the English comic magazine OiNK!. Do you think you could live with your life being subsumed by a character you created?

Sievey eventually gave his alias one last go, devising a five-year plan to become famous... again? Sidenottom's creator died of cancer at 54 in 2010 before the duration of that half-decade could be completed. Though Sievey died in such a financial state that he required an online financing campaign to provide a proper funeral, Sidebottom was beloved enough in Timperly to be the subject of a public statue there. Have you ever traveled to see a specific piece of visual art? (the clip included with this question is a portion of Sidebottom's last concert wherein he performs the song he wrote for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament)

Early on in the being Frank doc, perhaps tellingly, and disturbingly to me, a friend of Sievet's details both taking blotter paper LSD and having their minds blown. i'd like to think such creativity as creating so memorable a character as Frank Sidebottom, a trove of memorable music, working on kiddie animattion, creating a video game, and other pursuits need not be abetted by psycho chemical stimulation (and I'm not necessarily saying a ll of Sievey's artistry derives from his experience). Do you think any differently of people's creative pursuits once you learn they may come from their involvement with drugs?