Kinky Afro by Happy Mondays

Contrary to popular belief, the Happy Monday's 1990 Madchester classic, Kinky Afro, was a cry for help on behalf of the UK Chartered Institute of Barbers and Hairdressers.(CIBH)

Britain in the 1980's was a tough place to practice barbering. The British public felt that British barbers had lost touch with the reality of British hair. Barbers and hairdressers had eggs and tulips thrown at them in the street, they were served only salmon roe when they ordered caviar in restaurants and worst of all, their price lists(known as "hair-menus" in the trade) were frequently defaced. Gangs of disaffected youths known as "Secret Santas" would roam the streets at lunch time, changing "Short Back and Sides" to "Kinky Afro" on any hair-menu they could find. In September of 1990 tensions reached their peak. Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays knew something had to be done; he held a secret meeting with Bez in one of those red-and-white striped tents that British Telecom used to use, and it was decided that they would record a song.

The resulting track, known colloquially as Uncle Herman's Chocolate Surprise, was aimed at initiating a dialogue between the CIBH and the Secret Santas. The result, as we all know, was that differences were set aside, hairstyles were changed and hairdressing in the UK entered a resurgence.