'I still get nervous' says Download's heavy metal hairdresser
The self-styled "Heavy Metal Hairdresser" spent the weekend clipping the locks of rock royalty at Donington Park's Download festival.Simon Tuckwell, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, has built up a reputation as a demon barber with his alternative and metal-themed salon in Nottingham.He has looked after the locks of the likes of Slipknot singer Corey Taylor and last year's Download headliners Avenged Sevenfold, been invited to join bands on tour, and even sells his own merch.For 2025, the festival invited him along for the whole weekend - and Simon said "honestly I still can't quite believe it".
"I do get quite nervous because I'm a massive metal fan," he told the BBC."I look up to these bands and I've listened to them since I was a kid some of them, so I feel that immense pressure to look after them."They're going to be seen in front of 100,000 people and however many at home on these giant screens so I have to make sure their hair looks absolutely killer."
Over the weekend Simon and his Access All Haireas set-up hosted the likes of Sikth, Shinedown and headliners Korn.He said: "I've been a huge Korn fan since I was about 14, they were the first CD that I bought with my own money that I'd made, I've got Korn tattoos - but I have to play it really cool when I go and do the hair."We've had some incredible bands but again it's when they come and sit in the chair, you know these huge rock stars, they're just people aren't they."I talk to them about their families, their tour schedule, what they're looking forward to when they get home because some of them have been on tour for months."
Fringe festival
He continued: "With music in general but especially in the rock and metal scene, hair is synonymous with the look. It's big, it's grungy, they want to look really cool."We do a lot of beard trims while we're here at Download and we make sure that the hair looks incredible, - some of them have been on the road for months so they just want someone to look after them."Watching all of these really quaffed metal heads going out on stage has been a highlight of the weekend."
After the Castle Donington festival gig, it's back to the day job now for Simon.Luckily that often involves being invited on tour or backstage to arena shows.He said: "We now have bands that request for us to go out on tour with them, which is the closest I will ever get to being a rock star, and we do a lot of the arena shows, especially if they come through Nottingham."I've really carved out this incredible metal and alt community. I have people come to my salon in Nottingham and they literally travel sometimes from all over the world to come and get a haircut"We've been able to really help people find their identity, we've helped people build their confidence, change their look and honestly I would never get bored of it because it's incredible to watch somebody grow and see them change in the chair."It's been a dream come true."
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