BIO
Goodness knows what he charges bands, let alone such demigods as Bryan Ferry (extra for making it flop just right ??) But Keith charges ordinary mortals like you and me a dozen notes for one of his cuts.
Keith, the guv'nor, is a different animal altogether; mid-30s and small with a large frontal gap in his skinhead crop and light patches either side, which aren't dyed, for sure. His post-modernist T-shirt has triangular patches of red quilted plastic glued onto it; nothing in his sprightly conversation reveals any weariness at the length of time he's been in hairdressing.
When I came to 15, I really had only two choices open to me: hairdressing or the building site. I wasn't interested in school and I hadn't learnt to play the guitar.
An agency placed him in a salon in Knightsbridge, behind Harrods, as an apprentice to the cutters of such feminine luminaries as Reggie Maudling´s missus.
Six years later, when he moved to Leonard's in Mayfair as a tinter and permer, Keith found himself slap bang in the middle of Swinging London. Raphael and Leonard was very much a part of the scene, reckoned hed had everything that walked. It was the early druggie days.
The absence of a tradition of men's fashion in hair was a big source of frustration. Keith's stopgap was to introduce elements of male styling into his cutting creating that feathered long hair look popularized by hunks like Scott Walker. Meantime, he'd just have to wait for Roxy Music to be formed.
Smile opened to a flurry of publicity attracted by its open design and unisex policy. Everybody gets their hair done; men and women and we wanted to do it in such a way that it wasn't rollers for one and not for the other. It's a natural thing to have done, we didn't want people to feel frightened, think they'd look ugly with their hair wet or whatever. We're not here to flatter people's egos in that way; we're here to give people something then can live with and enjoy. I was quite well known in both hair and fashion by then and Bryan Ferry had followed my career, so when he began Roxy, naturally he asked me to do their hair. That was really the beginning of music as a part of fashion, with glam-rock.
Gary Glitter and Bowie both took a lot from Roxy: Bowie knew what was going on. He's always been that kind of great entrepreneur, and he started off all that stuff with dyed hair, after they did. Andy Mackay's hair with the white stripe down the side is a classic that was the beginning of coloured hair, revolutionary.
In the classic style of all hairdressers, Keith has his own line in social theories. ´´I always think that culture and fashion go together with the changes that are going on in the work. People like me who are voyeurs and contributors to fashion, looks and music can look back and see that. I´ve worked with music in the background for about 12 years, so now I´m getting some credibility in that area too´´
According to Keith, Smile has become a sort of informat A&R clearing-house for the London rock biz, to the exptent that he´s even been offered studio time and support for any band which takes his fancy
THE FACE MAGAZINE - 1980