Lennon's Locks Tumble for role in New Movie
By Gerry Phillips
Go Magazine
September 23, 1966
Beatle fans all over the world were stunned when they learned that John Lennon was to have his hair cut for a movie role. The trimming was in Germany a few days ago, and Gerry Phillips, Go's London bureau chief, flew there for this eyewitness report.
I flew from London to Luneberg Heath, West Germany, to witness a sight as important to today's teenagers as the signing of the surrender of the German army was to their parents in 1945. The location was the same, and it was another surrender.
John Lennon surrendered his famous hair to start a solo acting career in movies. I must admit, I felt a surge of nostalgia as I watched movie director Dick Lester playfully snip away at the famous Lennon locks, for although I predicted the Lennon move several weeks ago, it just didn't seem right for a Beatle to have his hair cut.
A young film company secretary standing beside me winced with each snip of the scissors. I thought I detected a tear. John smiled as photographers joked about his baldness. "That's show business," he said. "I'm much more interested in my role in How I Won the War than having long hair."
Outside the film lot, ardent German fans kept a silent vigil, hoping to get a glimpse of the new John Lennon. Blonde, blue-eyed Heidi Hinrick, who had been waiting patiently since 6am that morning, asked me, "How does he look? Is he still as handsome?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her that John's role doesn't call for the handsome hero type, and that the last time I had seen him, he was wearing glasses and had his hair parted in the middle. The other girls noticed my hesitation and squealed, "There's something wrong! They've hurt John!"
I quickly backed through the gates to safety. By the time I arrived back in London, the agency photographs had been printed in the newspapers, and Beatles fans were hopping mad.
James Sanderson of Richmond Park, Surrey, said, "This has ruined the Beatles' image. Everyone thinks of the Beatles as a group and not as individuals, and the hairstyle was part of the magic. Now John has broken the spell."
Pretty Sandy Styles of Lewisom told me, "I cried when I saw John with his new hairstyle. It broke my heart to see him looking like that. "
Not everyone condemned John, however, Mary Todd of Clapham Commons said, "I think John was perfectly right to break with Beatle tradition for the sake of a film career. His future is much more important than a haircut. I will always love John, no matter how he looks. "
And Tom Jerome of Harrow, Middlesex, agreed, "I like John because he doesn't care what people think of him. He does what he wants and not what the public dictates. That's why the Beatles have always been so popular."
What do you feel about John's new hairstyle? Do you love him or hate him for having his Beatle mop shorn? Write your feelings on a postcard and send them to "Haircut", care of Go Magazine.
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