This is a warm hearted affectionate tribute to the man behind Frank Sidebottom. I always wondered if Frank was a one joke creation stretched too far and too thin but it is hard not to feel a warm glow watching him perform in a lot of previously unseen archive footage. This is clearly a labour of love for director Steve Sullivan, and Chris is remembered fondly by friends, fans and ex-band members.
Pleasingly, a fair amount of the running time is given over to The Freshies, a band that with more luck could have been a lot more successful. There was clearly a darker side to Sievey, and he did become to feel that his creation had taken over him to some extent. Both of those things are touched on, but maybe could have been explored more. But this an otherwise in depth and fascinating look at the life of a talented artist. I must dig out my 7 inch single of “I’m In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Check-out Desk”!
Rating: 7.5 out of 10