Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A hairdresser who invented the wedge haircut and pioneered scrunch drying, a four-time British Hairdresser of the Year.
On the island
Eight records
Johnny Duncan and his Bluegrass Boys
I lived in Scotland for 11 years in Paisley, which is just outside of Glasgow, and every month my mum would take me to Glasgow and we'd always go to this one cafe and it was a dupe box in those days. And I used to always want this particular track. I loved it. I mean, it's a rubbish record, but at the time I really liked it. And I remember my mum used to buy me a Vimpto. That's a sort of a blackcurrant soft drink. So that's a very early memory of my youth.
Grace Jones has what I would call a very, very strong image. And I heard that she was going to come to have her haircut by me. And I was so nervous,'cause I thought she's going to eat me alive, you know,'cause she looks so aggressive. You know something? She was one of the nicest celebrities. And the next day, she was on the Russell Harty show a long time ago. And that's when she slapped Russell Harty around the face. ... I like all of her music, but this one in particular, because I can visualize her when she's singing this.
I used to live in Harlow in Essex and my best friend lived in Bethnal Green and every Saturday night I used to drive to Bethnal Green and this guy, his name was Sean. He always wanted me to blow dry his hair and now it was almost like afro hair but he wanted it poker straight and then I'd do that. It took me about an hour to do it and then we'd go clubbing and I tell you I used to wear this big cardigan, massive cardigan, roll neck sweater, jeans tucked into my boots and we used to dance forever and by the time the morning came Sean's hair was back to an afro and I was dripping because I wouldn't take this jumper off because I thought I looked so cool and this record was my favourites at the time.
I was asked to go on the Queen Elizabeth, the ship, to do some demonstrations, makeovers in front of the public. And I met this girl who worked on the ship and I got really, really pally with this young lady. And I used to go down to the belly of the ship where all the crew are and I had a great time down there. But this particular track, I used to dance my heart on it too.
My Sweet LordFavourite
I used to cut George Harrison's hair. He'd send a car for me and it was more like a medieval mansion than a house. And afterwards we used to sit on the doorstep outside the kitchen and just chat. Lovely, lovely man. And I would like to dedicate this to my wife, this record. It's her all-time favourite and it's one of mine now, but it's for her.
My wife, present wife, before we were married, she had emigrated to Cape Verde off the coast of Africa and I was in London and we decided to meet halfway in Lisbon and we met up and at the time Duffy was singing Mercy and I loved that song and every time I hear it it reminds me of our first date in Lisbon.
I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)
I was sent out to Japan for six weeks. This company out there had an academy, and every week he would send one of his salons to this hotel, and I would train them. The trouble was, it was in a place called Ube City. It was a little town near Hiroshima. And they said, Mr. Subi, you have to stay in the hotel. I said, Why? They said, Well, some people here have never seen a white person, a Caucasian person. And every street sign is in Japanese. So if you leave this building, you could get lost. So for six weeks, I was stuck in this hotel. And the only thing I had that made me feel any better was playing the Elton John tracks. And Elton John got me through those six weeks, put it that way.
It's a George Michael record, and I love the record on its own. But the reason I've chosen this particular one, I feel it's my responsibility to lead by example. I still sweep the floor and I'll still shampoo people's hair, help them on with their coats, make them coffee, I do all of that stuff. And I've always seen myself as like a parent to my staff and a father figure, hence the record.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:44What makes a great stylist?
Well firstly you have to be a good communicator. I think you have to enjoy people and you have to be very sensitive because you're dealing with somebody's hair, a very important part of their overall image. And my dad taught me one thing. He said if you're taught well you become good and I was always taught well and I became good.
Presenter asks
5:46What was life like for you growing up in Paisley in the 1950s?
Well, we lived in what is called a tenement building, basically a block of flats, and we had to share the outside toilet with all the occupants above. Every Friday my dad got a big tin bath out and me and my brother used to bath in it. Um it was very very modest, put it that way. But you know, that's all my mum and dad could afford. And I didn't know any different anyway, so to me it was the norm.
Presenter asks
8:45How did you come to get your start as a hairdresser?
Well, basically I wanted to leave school because I was getting bullied. So my dad said, What are you going to do? I said, Well, I don't know, I'll get a job in a factory like my mates. And he said, Well, come in the barber shop and see how you get on. So I did. And I was washing hair most of the time. But after about three months, I was actually physically cutting hair. I found hairdressing easy. I shouldn't really say that because a lot of people find it difficult, but I found it really quite easy. I used hair as my medium instead of paint. I think that's how it really came about.
The keepsakes
The book
Jeremy Clarkson
I'd like to take Jeremy Clark's books. I think his humour is fantastic and uh it's easy reading. You can pick it up anywhere, any time, and just get into it.
The luxury
Presenter asks
21:36How did that kind of scrutiny [the kiss and tell press stories] affect you?
Well, put me in hospital for a month. I remember I was living on my own at a time. I was separated from my wife. And she phoned me up and she said, have you read the newspaper? And I said, no, not yet. She said, well, have a look. So I had a look and there's this double page spread, TV crimper cheats on wife. Well, I actually went to the medicine cabinet and I was going to top myself. Next thing I know, cars are pulling up outside. My daughter, my business partner, my PR. Next thing I know, I'm in hospital. And I actually started to sort of think a bit more clearly by that time. What am I doing here? So I decided to leave. So I got my bag and I went to the lift and there was three guys standing there. I said, excuse me, guys. They say, where are you going? I said, well, I'm going home. I said, no, you're not. I said, I am. It's not a prison. It says, it is for you. You're sectioned. And I just hit the ground hard. … They really upset me.
Presenter asks
26:18Tell me about that experience [with the bride in the hospice].
Yes. I used to do some work in the hospice in Esha. And one day a nurse came up behind me and said, Trevor, could you cut a wig for a lady downstairs? She's getting married. She said, but it may not happen. So I said, why? She said, well, she may not live till three o'clock. And I took my breath away. I thought, I don't know if I can deal with this. So I went downstairs, knocked on the door, and there she was lying in the bed with her wedding dress on. There were streamers, balloons, cards around. … You know something, I was in there for about 25 minutes and those 25 minutes were some of the best twenty five minutes in my whole career. We were laughing, we were joking, we were enjoying it. I wasn't in a room with a woman dying, I was in a room with a woman getting married. And uh I never forget that. Anyway, she did get married that day, but next day she passed away.
Presenter asks
29:57What are your hopes for yourself? What about your own future?
I will stop hairdressing in one year from now. But what I'm going to continue to do is the wigs for cancer patients in my house in Gosport. I'll do that as long as I can stand up because that gives me enormous pleasure. And you know, I suffer or have suffered from depression and anxiety. And I read this article a couple of years ago and they said that anyone suffering with anxiety or depression, the best medicine is a dog. So I went and got a dog. And you know what? It's right. It is so good for me, that little boy. I have to go out for an hour walking and I absolutely adore this little boy. So that's my future, really, just cutting wigs and take my dog for a walk.
“I used hair as my medium instead of paint.”
“I've always believed if you're not good at something, get somebody that is good.”
“I just hated being recognized. That's not who I am. It's not the reason I was a hairdresser. I did it because of the art.”
“I wasn't in a room with a woman dying, I was in a room with a woman getting married.”
“I call it psychological medicine, because if a woman looks and feels good, that's partly going to help her on the road to recovery.”