appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Agence France-Presse

“Business at the front, party at the back” was the mantra for the crowd of Australians sporting a mullet haircut at an inaugural festival celebrating the vintage style on Saturday.
More than 150 people showcasing the hairstyle popular in the 1970s and 80s flocked to a small town north of Sydney for the event, swishing their locks and parading their chops to cheering fans.

The mullet has remained a staple hairstyle in Kurri Kurri, some 150km (90 miles) from Sydney, according to Laura Johnson, a local publican who organised the festival.

“There’s a school of thought from our locals at our table of knowledge here at the Chelly (Chelmsford) Hotel that they have had the mullets for the longest,” she said in Kurri Kurri on Saturday.

“We’ve got folks here that have been sporting their mullet haircut for over 60 years.”
For Lloyd Martin, a flamboyant mullet-contest participant passionate about the style, the cut is timeless and also intrinsically Australian.

“It’s … one of the most Australian cultural haircuts you can have. You’ve got to grow a mullet at least once in your lifetime. It’s not a hairstyle, it’s a lifestyle,” he insisted.

The winner of the junior division, 12-year-old Alex Keavy, said he was not fazed by the style’s old-fashioned reputation.
“It’s out of its time but I still like it and all my friends keep telling me that they want one but I don’t think a lot of people can wear it properly,” he said.

“I just love it because I like its style and I like long hair.”
Laurie Manurele, who drove 12 hours from the neighbouring state of Victoria to take part in the contest, has tended his mullet for 46 years.

He said he was impressed at the competition he faced.
“The quality of mullets here today is absolutely unbelievable,” he said.
“It’s amazing what’s out there and Australia is the capital of the world for mullets.”


Oscar goes missing after director forced to check it on flight: ‘could be used as weapon’

Raising children, robbing shops, ‘Don Tzu’: cartoonist Harry Harrison’s wry takes on April

New Banksy statue of man blinded by flag draws crowds in London

Vietnamese hiker survives 37-hour ordeal thanks to an unlikely Lunar New Year snack

Offbeat

Hair to stay: Australians celebrate the resilience of the mullet

People show off their mullet haircuts at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150km north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Photo: AFP

Men wait to be judged on their mullet hairstyles at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

A man shows off his mullet haircut at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

A child sports a mullet haircut at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

Men wait to be judged on their mullet styles at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

Thirty-one-year-old Australian Shane Hanrahan (C) celebrates after winning the "best mullet" award at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

A family shows off their mullet haircuts at Mulletfest 2018 in the town of Kurri Kurri, 150 kms north of Sydney on February 24, 2018. Mulletfest is a celebration of the iconic haircut called the mullet which began in the 1970s and popular in the 1980s, and making a comeback in Australia. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

News

Asia

Australasia

Australia