I just saw a trailer for a weird movie. It's about a band where the lead singer never, ever, EVER takes off a paper-maché head, which starts to become a problem once the band becomes REALLY popular:




The weirdest thing is that while the story is fictional, the character of "Frank" is loosely based on a real person who created an alter ego named "Frank Sidebottom". He died in 2010, but the following video is from the 80's:



So...am I the only one who knows about this?

Frank Sidebottom, with the papier mache head and everything, was a comic persona created by Chris Sievey, who had previously led an indie band called The Freshies:



I never really got Frank, but I did have all of The Freshies' singles back in the day. Sievey was a multitalented man, for sure.

I tried watching the movie but just couldn't get into it.

Younger Magneto is the one under the mask.

Most ICErs (particulary those familiar with British music) probably know this, but I didn't. The "Panic On The Streets Of Timperley!" song is a cover with parody lyrics of The Smiths' "Panic!" song:



Once you know this, you realize Frank Soundbottom isn't singing "I'm the DJ! I'm the DJ!" but "Anne the DJ! Anne the DJ!" since that rhymes with "Hang the DJ! Hang the DJ!". Anne Nightingale was a real disc jockey for BBC Radio One in the late 80's, and if (like me) you STILL don't get the joke, Frank mentions her explicitly by name: "Anne Nightingale, what's your blinking game?/ I waited for your roadshow, but your roadshow never came!"

After Chris Sievey died, his fans not only raised enough money to ensure that Chris receive a proper burial, but also to erect his statue so that future generations of Timperley would remember Frank Sidebottom:

I've not seen the movie, but Frank Sidebottom was on TV here years ago. He's not widely remembered outside of the UK, but he was really funny.

I've seen the movie, and while it's interesting---I think people expecting to see something of Chris Sievey or the character he created will be very, VERY disappointed. What little I know of Frank Sidebottom, he certainly wasn't somebody who was afraid of people or being in the limelight. That being said, Michael Fassbender gives a great performance underneath a giant head and even when the head finally comes off, he's such a completely different character from what he normally plays that it's impossible to recognize him.

I saw Frank and greatly enjoyed it. It is dark, odd, loved the music and loved Fassbinder.

I did not know about Sidebottom. I feel enriched and will have to research further.