The Cutting Edge: The Story of the Beatles’ Hairdresser Who Defined an Era
By Leslie Cavendish
ISBN: 9781846884313
288 pages
About the book
My book, The Cutting Edge: The Story of the Beatles’ Hairdresser Who Defined an Era, was published in August 2017.
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. During 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.
How to order
The Softback Edition costs £14.50 Order Here
The Softback Edition in Spanish (for UK purchasers) costs £17.50 Order Here
My book is also available in Spanish in Softback in Spain from edicionesurano.es
You can also email Leslie direct to purchase at: books@beatleshairdresser.com
Visitors based in the USA and Canada can purchase the book from Barnes & Noble from their website here: www.barnesandnoble.com
All books will be signed
El peluquero de los Beatles
By Leslie Cavendish
Detalles del producto
Tapa blanda: 304 páginas
Editor: Indicios (3 de septiembre de 2018)
Colección: Indicios no ficción
Idioma: Español
ISBN-10: 841573235X
ISBN-13: 978-8415732358
Descripción del producto
Leslie Cavendish era un joven aprendiz de peluquero que trabajaba para Vidal Sassoon en la década del sesenta, cuando un día le tocó suplantar a otro peluquero y le cortó el cabello a la actriz Jane Asher que por entonces era la novia de Paul McCartney. Al poco tiempo, ella lo llamó para preguntarle si podía hacerle el favor de ir a la casa de Paul a cortarle el cabello a su novio. Así por casualidad la vida de Leslie cambió por completo. Al poco tiempo no solo le cortaba el cabello a los cuatro integrantes del grupo, sino también a otros músicos invitados y empleados de Apple records.
Participó en proyectos como el ?Magical Mistery Tour? que relata desde dentro, y cuenta muchas otras curiosidades de los Beatles jamás contadas. Un libro ameno y fácil de leer que muestra no solo una nueva faceta del genial grupo musical, sino que también es un retrato de la sociedad inglesa de fines de los años sesenta.
Reviews
A fascinating view of what it was like working for the Beatles at the end of the Sixties.
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?
As Paul McCartney’s hairdresser in the Sixties, Leslie Cavendish was privy to a lot more than split ends. His memoir is a charming gossipy tale of Beatles, barnets and cultural earthquakes.
What a fantastic read! … The stories Leslie has to tell had me laughing out loud.
I just finished The Cutting Edge and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved reading your story and all the behind the scenes stories of your life in London in the 1960s, amazing.
The best Beatles book for some time.
5* Reviews on Amazon
This is my favourite book this year. I learned stuff about Vidal Sassoon I never knew and there is so much to it rather than just a book about a hairdresser. I was captivated all the way through, even at the start, I usually want to rush through childhood stories in biographies as I just want to get to the pre fame bit, but his life is so interesting. Nearly everything from the 60s I have been obsessed with and thought cool, Leslie was either there or had a connection to it. It is a professionally written book as well and I found myself routing for the working-class bloke all the way through and wanting him to succeed. I will be telling stories from this book and recommending it to friends for many years now.
This is a fabulous account of the world of the Beatles, Apple Corp., and London at the height of the swinging sixties, as told from the humble perspective of their hairstylist Leslie Cavendish. His accounts of how disguising Paul in a Penny Lane haircut inspired Sergeant Peppers and how he narrowly missed the Manson Family killings are not to be missed. This is the kind of book you cannot put down.
I always enjoy reading about different people’s perspectives on my favourite subject, The Beatles. Everyone else in the Fab’s orbit has written a book, why not their hairdresser? Leslie was witness to some pivotal Beatle history and takes us on an interesting ride through the 60’s, giving us a fair and balanced account of his experiences. Overall, a very enjoyable read without all the factual errors you can easily spot in other people’s books. I mostly think it’s best to read the books of those that actually knew the guys. Leslie Cavendish comes off as a decent and respectful person. He sounds like someone you would really like in real life and was a good and loyal friend.
What a fabulous insight into life behind the scenes in the Beatles era. It was fascinating to read about the author’s life and his experiences with a variety of celebrities, especially Paul McCartney, without resorting to sensationalism. I greatly admired his discretion and honesty. A highly enjoyable read.
I’m not sure where I first heard or saw The Cutting Edge: The Story of the Beatles’ Hairdresser Who Defined an Era by Leslie Cavendish, but the very thought of the Beatles hairdresser writing a book pretty much made me roll my eyes and snort. Not knowing anything about the author my first thoughts were of a tiny little Beatlemaniac who worked somewhere in Liverpool in the early sixties and managed to cut the Fab Four’s greased back locks long before they ever hit the big time. I could image this girl collecting and selling off these locks to all her screaming little friends who also spent their lunch hours at the cavern club swooning over John, Paul, George and Pete!
Well folks…I couldn’t have been more wrong in my first impression of this book. You see, Leslie Cavendish is a man! In fact, he’s a man who loves women so much that after accompanying his mother to her hair salon as a teen, he decided that being a hairdresser would be the ultimate job for a guy who wants to be around glamorous, sexy women all the time. Conveniently, his best childhood friend Lawrence had the same idea and recommended that Leslie try to get an apprenticeship at the hottest salon in London…Vidal Sassoon! After two years as an apprentice, and as luck would have it one day, Jane Asher came into the salon to find that her regular stylist was behind schedule and being in a hurry, she remarkably ended up in the chair of junior stylist Leslie Cavendish. If he thought he was nervous working on Jane Asher’s hair, imagine his surprise when she asked if he would come over to her house later that day to cut her boyfriend’s hair. Leslie knew exactly who that was…Paul McCartney. And so the story goes
This is actually an incredibly fascinating book with little snippets in between of other famous rock stars and artists sitting in Leslie’s chair. Yes, there is sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, but he does keep it clean, funny and oh so interesting in this very well written and quick read. And for that reason I rate this book, 4 out of 4 Beetles!
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