Get Yer 'Air Cut The issue of male coiffure, pop and counterculture during the Swinging Sixties

by Clayson, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780857305909
• ISBN10: 0857305905
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-11-26
• Publisher: Oldcastle Books

Summary

My hair is a statement and always will be, even when I no longer have any.

The social revolution of the Swinging Sixties led to a renaissance of unchecked hair growth, and long hair, especially on men, was worn as a political or countercultural symbol of protest and as an expression of masculinity.

No-one who was affected by one of a turbulent decade's loudest controversies - or anyone who ever wondered what all the fuss was about - will fail to be interested in this personal account of when the 'us and them' divide between youth and elders was most profound.

An engaging, accessible mix of popular culture, social history and politics.

Author Biography

Alan Clayson is a composer, performance artist and author, born in Dover, Kent. He has written more than 30 books on various musicians and pop culture phenomena, including George Harrison, Keith Moon, The Little Box of Beatles, The Walrus Was Ringo, and The Yardbirds. His articles have been featured in such publications as the Guardian, Times, Independent, Mojo and Record Collector.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
PROLOGUE: 'Well, he had long hair, hadn't he?'
CHAPTER ONE: ‘Christ the Saviour wore long hair/And many more good men I do declare’
CHAPTER TWO: ‘Certainly the “quiff” or lock of hair which some lads wear on their forehead, is a sure sign of silliness’
CHAPTER THREE: ‘“Queer” was the insult of choice’
CHAPTER FOUR: ‘Man, that's what I want to do!’
CHAPTER FIVE: 'Hair today, gone tomorrow'
CHAPTER SIX: ‘Who are you lookin’ at, pal!?’
CHAPTER SEVEN: In person - direct from the nuthouse!!!
CHAPTER EIGHT: 'If you look at early pictures of us, we had nothing'
CHAPTER NINE: Would you let your sister go with a Rolling Stone?
CHAPTER TEN: 'The man-in-the-street couldn't imagine any of the Pretty Things even being married - except to each other’
CHAPTER ELEVEN: 'Peter's pride’
CHAPTER TWELVE: ‘The Chicago stockyards smell good and clean by comparison'
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ‘In his day, we would all have been sent to concentration camps’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ‘Long hair isn’t “with-it” anymore’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: 'Because you have reached exalted heights in your profession, it does not mean that you can behave in this manner’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ‘He looks more like a bleeding lavatory brush’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: 'It was the end of the innocence, the end of the fun'
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: 'Cop kill a creep! Pow! Pow! Pow!'
CHAPTER NINETEEN: 'Will any girl spare you a second glance when you're twenty-five, unemployed - and bald?’
CHAPTER TWENTY: ‘The same bastards are in control. The same people are running everything.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: 'Suffering from mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, dear.'
EPILOGUE: ‘My hair is a statement and always will be, even when I no longer have any.’
INDEX