Peter Bellamy not only admired the the Kippers but was happy to appear on Crab Wars, their parody of his ballad opera The Transports. Other "people who like that sort of thing" and were ready to contribute to that epic were John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy, Cathy Lesurf, Tim Laycock and Ashley Hutchings.
As for finding Sid Kipper "loveable" - you're not supposed to. The brilliant stage persona is that of a jumped-up, wide boy. How sad that we may never see him perform again.