Michael Douglas is a well known celebrity hairdresser with a long list of exclusive clients, he is also known for his great 'Street Barber' sections on BBC's 'The One Show'. I first met Michael at Somerset House last summer for the private viewing of The Jam exhibition 'About The Young Idea', and we got on great instantly! We then bumped into each other at the documentary premiere in August and discussed over a Bar Italia coffee our tastes in the finer things in life: clothing, music and modernism. I've always wanted to be able to feature Michael on the blog so without further a do here's our chat we had recently, enjoy...
DP: What
was your first memory of the Mod Scene?
MD: I guess it was
about 1984 I was 11, just started high school. I was big into breakdancing and
it was I first time I noticed different scenes, different groups of kids that
were into different things. I had noticed a group that all wore green parkas
with badges on them and had flat haircuts with fringes (flat tops and spikey
hair was pretty big at the time) So these guys and girls really stood out, but
it looked far to grown up and almost slightly elitist for me - it didn’t seem
to look much fun - it looked to serious.
DP: How did you first get into the scene?
MD:
As I grew up and out of the whole breakdancing scene I really got into music -
mainly rock and some pop/soul stuff. I guess it’s about 85-86 now and I’m
hooked on U2 Live at red rocks and Prince but my step mum has got Cafe Bleu on
vinyl and I put it on and loved it, all of it. I also loved the album cover and
the pics on the sleeve. I loved the shoes, socks and rolled up jean combo, the
mac, the haircuts, the lot. I’m about 12-13 years old and for the first time
the words of songs meant more to me than the sound of them.
DP: What bands were you into when you first got
into the scene and has the music you listen to changed over time?
MD:
I was desperate to see the Style Council in 89. I’d become hooked on The
Singular Adventures of the Style Council and was desperate to see them perform
the songs live but sadly they split up. But I guess that set me on a long
journey of Pauls Jam back catalogue.
I was in a bad around this time as a singer - we
were mainly playing rock - U2 INXS etc ( we had no keyboard player) which made
it hard to play something more soulful and the whole Mod RnB scene was really
hard to play live (unless you were really good, and we weren’t) I got
tickets to see Paul at the launch of wild wood - I’m guessing it’s 93 and were
at King Georges Hall in Blackburn. OCS are the warm up ( they were brilliant)
and Paul’s set list was fucking ace. It was probably at this gig that I
converted to a fully fledged mod. It was a scene I really wanted to be a part
of. I now understood what it was all about. And if I was going to be in a band
then I wanted to play stuff like this! From here I went a big trip back in time
to find the roots of the movement. I listened to load of stuff from the Who,
Small Faces, The Action, early Rod with the Jeff Beck group and then the whole
Northern soul stuff. Not all of it is good of course but it was a great
education for my ears.
DP: You're a great stylist, so what makes a good
Modernist haircut?
MD:
If you’d asked me 10 years ago I would say it’s all about a sharp out line and
a bit of height on the crown. But now it’s become such a hybrid of stuff - you
can be a Mod with a quiff you can be a mod with a side sweep, longer hair,
messy hair etc etc. The way to be recognised as a mod (in my opinion) is all
about shoes and trousers (for blokes) any committed mod get these
things right. Trousers are never to long! Always nice to see a bit of sock.
trousers fit nice round the thigh. get these things right, at the mo, most hair
cuts will work a treat!
DP: Clothes are important to you so what would you
say are your favourite pieces and brands at the moment?
MD: Levis
522 are my faves at the mo, Merino wool jumpers from Uniqlo, check shirts for
anywhere really, GAP, Uniqlo, Top man - I’m not a massive spender on clothes.
If it fits well then I’ll have it. They way if fit’s is more important than the
colour to me.
I did buy a few things from Pretty Green recently -
very nicely designed stuff in there. I also have a penguin bomber jacket that I
love. I’ve not bought anything from Real Stars Are Rare yet but I’ve had a look
and I love the jumpers.
DP: Who inspires your dress sense?
MD:
This gets much harder as you get older. When I was younger there seemed to be
loads of folk about to inspire my dress sense and I was a devoted Mod back in
the day so there was a kind of code about what you would and wouldn’t wear.
But now I really struggle, you can look a bit daft
at my age if you’re trying too hard to look MOD.
I love the way a young Bruce Springsteen looked
1973-76, PW is a good place to look. Always like how Brandon Flowers
looks in recent years (not the gold lame suit days!)
But I still stick to the shoes and trouser
rule!
DP: Have you ever thought about being into a
different scene/style?
MD: Yes
and I often drift around with more rock music, like I mentioned previous, my
current fave album at the mo is Bruce Springsteen live in 75 at the Hammersmith
Odeon - it’s amazing great songs, brilliant voice, super tight soulful/jazzy
band, brilliant piano playing on every song. I still sing in a band now
(covers) so I’m always looking for music that I can sing and we could play.
This forces me to listen to loads of stuff . - Love the arctic monkeys! I think
ultimately what I like is a strong male vocal with good lyrics and a great
band. I will give anyone a listen, from David Gray to Dean Parrish.
Re a different style - Not really, as I’m
small, 5’6, wearing well fitted clothes keep you looking as tall as you can, so
the mod look is one that I won’t let go of, even just for that reason!
DP: Name your top three tracks you're listening to
at the moment
MD:
Very Difficult this but let’s go for -
E Street shuffle (live 75 Hammersmith Odeon version)
These City Streets - PW
Conrad - Ben Howard ( my dancing days are over)
DP: Would you say the Mod Sub-culture is in a good
place at the moment?
MD:
Not really. Once again 10 years ago it was great to be a Mod you felt different
and individual but then it seemed to get bastardised slightly and it seemed to lose
it Mojo. I remember there was a parody of an old mod in John Lewis Ad a few
years ago and it really pissed me off. Because it kind of signal to me that
this once respected scene was now something you could poke fun off, it made me
become more subtle about my style and my culture and in some way made me loose
a bit of that all important ‘FAITH’ that we are supposed to keep. It’s
such classic style though I don’t think it’ll ever die and there always the
next generation to pick it up and run with it…
DP: And finally if you could cut any mods hair who
would it be?
MD:
Naturally Weller but at a push give me Rod Stewart any day. Having said that I’m
buddies with Martin Freeman.. but he’s yet to ask me to cut his hair.
