Freak Show

Freak Show is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was recorded during May–November 1996 and released on 4 February 1997 by record labels Murmur and Epic. It was nominated for the 1997 ARIA Music Award for Best Group, but lost to Savage Garden. Recording and production Silverchair began recording their second studio album, Freak Show, in May 1996 while experiencing the success of their debut album, 1995's Frogstomp, in Australia and the US. Freak Show was produced by Nick Launay (The Birthday Party, Models, Midnight Oil). Content Frontman Daniel Johns described the album's title in 1997 by comparing the on-the-road life of Silverchair to that of a traveling carnival. The album's front cover image is an illustration of Grady Stiles, Jr., a sideshow performer afflicted with ectrodactyly, who used the stage name "Lobster Boy". The image is courtesy of Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin.