The Beatle haircut, also known as the mop-top (or moptop) due its resemblance to a mop, is a mid-length hairstyle named for and popularised by the British rock and roll group The Beatles. It is a straight cut, relatively short in the back and sides, with long, straight fringe (bangs). It is often claimed that the style had been suggested to the band whilst they were in Hamburg by artist Astrid Kirchherr, who adapted it from the Caesar hairstyle which had become stylish amongst bohemians in continental Europe in the early 1960s.

However, Paul McCartney is quoted in his biography “Many Years From Now” by Barry Miles as follows: “The haircut came not from Astrid but from Jürgen.” He was referring to Jürgen Vollmer, who was a student of photography when he met The Beatles in Hamburg in 1960. As a schoolboy in the mid-50s, Vollmer had left his hair hanging over his front one day after he had gone swimming and kept it that way. This hairstyle was unusual in Hamburg in those days, and among the young artists, who later befriended The Beatles, Vollmer was the first with this self-styled haircut.

John Lennon is quoted in the “Beatles Anthology” as follows: “Jürgen had a flattened-down hairstyle with a fringe in the back, which we rather took to…” Vollmer photographed The Beatles in the spring of 1961. John Lennon used one of those photos 1975 as the cover of his solo album “Rock’n’Roll”. In the fall of 1961 Vollmer moved to Paris. Paul McCartney said in a radio interview in 1979: “…To get back to the haircut. I should know. We saw a guy in Hamburg, whose hair we liked. John and I were hitchhiking to Paris. We asked him to cut our hair like he did his. He was living in Paris. He was sort of an artsy guy, a photographer friend of Astrid's. His name was Jürgen…”

McCartney also wrote in a letter to Vollmer in 1989: '' “…George explained in a 60s interview that it was John and I having our hair cut in Paris which prompted him to do the same…We were the first to take the plunge.” '' (All of Paul McCartney’s and John Lennon’s quotes are documented.) John Lennon wrote in 1975 in his foreword to Vollmer’s photo book “Rock’n’Roll Times”: '' “Jürgen Vollmer was the first geographer to capture the beauty and spirit of the Beatles…We tried very hard to find someone with his touch…Nobody could…” ''

Paul McCartney wrote in 1997 in his foreword to Vollmer’s photo book “From Hamburg to Hollywood”: “…His sense of style and excellent photographic skills were to have a profound effect throughout our careers…”

The creation of the Beatle haircut is also described in the text of Vollmer’s photo book: “The Beatles in Hamburg” (Schirmer/Mosel, 2004).

Vollmer is quoted directly, in The Beatles Off The Record by noted Beatles expert Keith Badman, stating: "I was combing my hair forward as an act against the bourgeois horrors in Hamburg. The barbers here always cut it too short, so I cut my own hair, but I never did anyone else's. So when John and Paul came to Paris, I gave them this haircut. It was their idea to have it the same as mine".

Due to the immense popularity of The Beatles, the haircut was widely imitated worldwide between 1964 and 1966, until the band themselves began to grow their hair longer. Some UK schools banned students from wearing the style, believing it to be a badge of social rebellion.

In The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night, George Harrison, sporting a moptop, is asked by a reporter what he calls his hair style. His reply, "Arthur", has been used by fans of the film as yet another name for the haircut.

1960s fashion | Hairstyles | The Beatles

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