The Cutting Edge: The Story of the Beatles' Hairdresser Who Defined an Era

by Leslie Cavendish

Overview

The Beatles' hair changed the world. As their increasingly wild, untamed manes grew, to the horror of parents everywhere, they set off a cultural revolution as the most tangible symbol of the Sixties' psychedelic dream of peace, love and playful rebellion. In the midst of this epochal change was Leslie Cavendish, hairdresser to the Beatles and some of the greatest stars of the music and entertainment industry.

But just how did a fifteen-year-old Jewish school dropout from an undistinguished North London suburb, with no particular artistic talent or showbusiness connections, end up literally at the cutting edge of Sixties' fashion in just four years? His story – honest, always entertaining and inspiring – parallels the meteoric rise of the Beatles themselves, and is no less astounding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846884313
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/27/2018
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.71(w) x 8.56(h) x 1.07(d)

About the Author

Leslie Cavendish was born in East London and grew up in a large Jewish family in Burnt Oak, North London. He was apprenticed to Vidal Sassoon in 1962, becoming a stylist in his own right three years later. He became Paul McCartney's private hairdresser in 1966, and soon began to work on the image of all four Beatles, at the Apple offices and in their recording studios, and was even invited along as a friend and participant on the Magical Mystery Tour. In 1967, he opened his own salon, backed by Apple and the Beatles, at 161 King's Road, Chelsea.

After the official breakup of the Beatles, Leslie closed his salon and ran a clothing boutique in South London, while remaining a freelance hairdresser. In 1978, he entered the family footwear business and remained there until 1998 before moving to Spain. He now works for a major charity but also conducts occasional “VIP Beatles Tours” of London, lectures on the Beatles and Sixties culture, and consults with the Beatles Fan Club. Leslie has two sons and divides his time between Britain and Spain. This is his first book.

Table of Contents

1 The Cutting Edge 11

2 No Sex Please, We're Stylists 31

3 Almost the Pete Best of the Hairdressing World 53

4 How I Changed Roc-'N'-Roll History with a Single Haircut 83

5 The Ups and Downs of Dating a Movie Star 101

6 Official Hairdresser to the Beatles 117

7 Summer of Love, Summer of War 141

8 The Magical Mystery Tour 157

9 The Real Yellow Submarine 181

10 In Business with the Beatles 205

11 Paul is Not Dead 219

12 How Fame Nearly Got Me Killed 245

13 When we Get Older, Losing Our Hair 263

Acknowledgements 285

Editorial Reviews

He'll be for ever known as The Beatles' hairdresser and would make one heck of a dinner party guest.” —Sadie Nicholas, The Daily Express

“What a fantastic read! … The stories Leslie has to tell had me laughing out loud.” —Angie Rhodes, Nudge Books

“A fascinating view of what it was like working for the Beatles at the end of the Sixties.” —Ray Connolly

“Leslie Cavendish wasn't just the Beatles' hairdresser, he was one of the few Londoners/Cockneys at the core of the Apple empire. How many people can say they had a seat on the Magical Mystery Tour bus, were inside the Apple building while the Fab Four played on the roof, and drove Paul McCartney across London in a Mini Cooper?” —Claudia Elliott

“The best Beatles book for some time” —British Beatles Fan Club Magazine

“As Paul McCartney's hairdresser in the Sixties, Leslie Cavendish was privy to a lot more than split ends. His memoir, deftly written with Neil McNaughton, is a charming, gossipy tale of Beatles, barnets and cultural earthquakes.” —Ed Potton

From the Publisher