My
neighbour Tony is one of life’s characters. A Greek Cypriot hairdresser who is
approaching retirement, he has a well-intentioned opinion on most things and
the ability to speak to anyone and engage them in conversation. He can be a
gardening expert (olive trees and flower boxes are his speciality,) a football
expert (so long as it is Arsenal,) an
expert on the local council (particularly wheelie bins and trees that grow on
pavements) and he usually ties it all in with a personal story. He is the sort
of guy who could occupy you for an afternoon down the pub, listening to him
spinning yarns. He tells his stories without bravado, boast or showing off. I
believe every word he says.
A couple
of days ago, I was walking home with a charity shop Isley Brothers album tucked
under my arm, when I bumped into Tony. He asked me in his fantastic Greek
accent what record I had with me and when I showed him the cover, he asked me
when it was released. I had a look and told him 1973, which was his cue. He
began, “In 1973 I was working in Soho Steve, where I cut lots of famous people’s
hair.” This of course beckoned an enquiry into which famous people had had the
pleasure. His brow furrowed as he fished around in his memory, before reeling
off a list. “Well, there were The Faces and The New Seekers.” Then digging a
little deeper, he asked, “Have you heard of Fiddler On The Roof?” I assured him
I had indeed heard of Fiddler On The Roof. “I used to cut Topol’s hair,” he
continued. “Can you remember Starsky and Hutch?” was his next line of
questioning. “Of course I can,” I emphatically answered, adding, “I can picture
them now, sliding across the bonnet of that big red motor.” “That’s right
Steve,” confirmed Tony, “David Soul was another one of my customers,” before he
clarified “but that is more recently in Queen’s Park. He is fat now, with a
walking stick.” How the mighty have fallen!! Then, with another memory flash, Tony
revealed, “and I used to cut Errol Brown’s hair.” This sounded a bit suspect
and I reminded him that Errol Brown (R.I.P) was completely bald. “Yes, that’s right
Steve, he was after he came to see me.” Apparently, Errol came to see Tony at
the shop where he worked in Soho, wearing his then sizeable afro, bemoaning his
lack of success. He felt his best chance of pop stardom was to change his image
but was unsure of what to do. The obvious answer, according to Tony, was to
shave it all off!! So, off it all came and the rest is history. Without my
neighbour Tony, there would have been no Sexy
Thing or any Hot Chocolate...
