I worked side by side and shampooed for this tall, handsome East Ender we called Vidal. He had been trained in hairdressing by Professor Alfred Cohen in his salon in the East End of London.
Who knew at this time of my life, at the age of 17, that this softly spoken young man was going to turn out to be the man to change British and world hairdressing and be recognized around the globe. One just does not think that far ahead in one’s early life. When I think of it now, I was just a very lucky guy being in the right salon at the right time!
He was just another young man from the East End of London working at Romaine’s along with others—Edward, Richard, Gerard, Jean, Mossey—Leslie and Connie were an item at this time and the couple we all had to be so thankful to. They were the two people who became our gurus and trainers so early in life on aspects not only dealing with hair. We were all working in this amazing salon.
I was six years younger than Vidal and already working in Romaine's as one of six apprentices. My mum and dad paid my bosses Mr. Albert Simmons and Mr. Leonard Stein £50.00 ($75.00) for a three-year apprenticehip. It was a lot of money in those days when both parents were out working, tough times after the war years.
What a character Vidal was—I could write a book! Maybe one day I will, just on my first 10 years together as workmates. We had an incredible bond learning and playing together; we still do, such wonderful memories. He was a tall good-looker with charm. His clients loved him.
From Romaine, I followed him after a year to Dumas of Albemarle Street just off Bond Street. We spent about five more years together in this salon growing and training and enjoying ourselves as young men do.
This was prior to his breaking out on his own into his first salon on the top floor in New Bond Street. Soon after Vidal left Dumas, Gerard Saper left Romaine’s and went to work for Rene. Rene was the hairdresser for Princess Margaret (sister to Queen Elizabeth) and very famous at this time. (Michael Gordon of Bumble&bumble fame was Rene’s junior.)
Gerard and I teamed up to become partners and opened our first salon in Harrow on the Hill and Wembley, both in the suburb of Middlesex, which lasted some four years approximately. This was something that had never been done before, taking Mayfair hairdressing to the suburbs.
By the time I was 27, I had been married to Maxine for three years, broke my partnership with Gerard Saper, opened my second fantastic salon in Hampstead, and was a father—our first son, Philip. I was already writing for our local newspaper The Hampstead & Highgate Express and for Hair and Beauty, a trade journal.
My journalism took me to Paris now and then in 1967. On arrival in Paris, I would go to the fashion office in Fauburge Saint Honore to pick up our press passes, as without these you cannot get into any of the fashion houses.
It has only just sunk in that I was a young, small-time paparazzi hairdresser by today's standards(!), reporting on French Fashion around Europe. I had the press pass that had been organized by my PR Caroline Nevile back in London, so it was easy for me to get into the couture fashion shows with Vidal, who was already flying high on TV and in the national media.
With him cutting the hair of Mia Farrow and Mary Quant, the British press was already beating at his door and raving about the haircut that he gave Miss Farrow. His smooth, straight, full haircuts were a sensation at that time as we stopped teasing hair, and used blowdrying—there were no real products as there are now. New York came after the U.K. His salon on Madison Avenue changed the direction of hair.
At our first show of the week at Dior, we sat behind a lady wrapped up from top to toe in mink. It was only when the show finished that, as we stood up to leave, we discovered that this fabulous-looking woman turned out to be Sophia Loren, the actress. On another day, at Cardin, I was so busy photographing the models that I didn’t notice sitting next to us was Richard Avedon and Suzy Parker, the great red-headed model from NY. (We hung around with all the big knobs of the day!)
The fun never stopped. When we shut off after the shows and after a meal, we would go back to our hotel, The Hotel Minestere on Rue Du Surene. Duffy, the photographer, gave us the name of the hotel where all the beautiful English and American models plus great photographers Terry Donavan, Barry Lategan, author Len Deighton, and Duffy stayed. Together they all held court, telling their stories of what happened every day. Our mate Duffy, who had a great repertoire of jokes, kept us up till early morning. It was all so new to most of us then, such wild and growing times!
Age today is on paper. It’s all mind over matter and how you feel within yourself. I continue to do what I do on a daily basis, working for Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy by Coppola based in Boca Raton, with new ideas in photography, new marketing for new countries; and in the next breath I am writing for Atlantic Ave Magazine every month and Culture Magazine in Australia.
As long as one is well, in good health, and together in mind, that's all or most that matters.
Here are three books that will help you relive this period and help you understand hair and the icons from the period:
Vidal Sassoon’s Sorry I Kept You Waiting, Madam (Cassell-London, 1968)
Michael Gordon's Hair Heroes (Bumble&bumble, 2002)
Harold Leighton's Haircutting for Everyone (Arthur Barker-London, 1977)
Mr. Harold Leighton was in the midst of the English style scene when the Beatles were drawing all eyes toward Britain.
