A fascinating documentary about Mancunian Chris Sievey who spent so much time as his stage persona that it ceased to be clear which one was more real
ON the face of it, having an alter ego sounds like fun – you get to be a more exciting version of yourself, such as Ali G, Scary Spice or the Maybot.
But having watched Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, the idea now seems pretty exhausting.
This fascinating documentary is about Mancunian Sievey who performed under the huge papier-mache head of comic character Frank Sidebottom.
The former pop singer spent so much time as his stage persona that it ceased to be clear which one was more real.
He’d answer the phone as the nasal Frank, and refused to be photographed without the mask on, but only responded to the name Frank when wearing it.
Slowly, Chris’s dreams of being a star in his own right were overtaken by the success of Sidebottom – who once had his own telly programme and helped give Caroline Aherne her first break.
Occasionally, director Steve Sullivan delves perhaps a bit too deeply into Sievey’s obsessions at the expense of looking at more interesting aspects of his life.
But there’s no doubt it is worth taking a look at the man behind the mask.
