No parting of the ways yet for master barber
FOR generations there’s been one constant for men living in a Swansea community. It doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old, if you’re living in the Brynhyfryd or Manselton area, the chances are you’ve had your hair cut by one particular man on at least one occasion in your life.
Peter Hill has now been cutting hair for 50 years through his business Pete’s Gentlemen’s Hairdresser. Well known for his excellent barber skills and friendly nature, he is perhaps even more renowned for his sense of humour and his choice of jokes.
So much so that his online reviews reference his banter just as much as his haircuts. A selection read as follows: “Great barber, nice guy, terrible comic”, “Pete is always ready with scissors and old jokes to keep the punters happy when waiting for a trim” and “Tells some really terrible jokes but a right laugh. Will give a good quality haircut.”
It all started for Pete when he was 19. He “fell into” being a hairdresser for a living at Attilio’s in Swansea city centre, travelling in at the time from Llanedi near Pontarddulais where he once lived.
Then an opportunity came up in Llangyfelach Road, Brynhyfryd, in April 1972, and he’s remained there ever since. His dad opened up a paper shop slightly further down the road.
“It came up and I thought I would give it a go – if you last, you last, if you don’t, you go and get a job in a factory,” Pete said, looking back at the time he first decided to set up shop by himself.
“It was closed for six months before I took over, so it was about starting afresh really.”
A lot of things have changed from that first day onwards. Men used to be able to get their haircut for just 25p, with boys’ prices set at 20p and 16p for pensioners.
Nowadays it’s £9.50 for men, £9 for boys and £7.50 for OAPS. And the hairstyles have changed, too.
“It rolls on – old fashion always comes in style in a cycle,” Pete said. “It’s the same with clothes. If you went home and looked in your granddad’s photo album, you will see the same haircuts that are around today.
“Now there’s a bit of gel, wax, moose, clay, but it’s generally the same. The good thing is these days you can get your phone out and show what you want and say you want something like that. Before it would be a photograph.
“It was all one-man bands back then, you’d have one shop – two shops max. If you come to me, you’d come because you want me to cut your hair. These days, elsewhere, you can have a favourite stylist and they may not be in.
“I have a bit of banter with the customers, I’m a bit of a wind-up merchant and I like to crack a joke, talk football or whatever. It’s the same as when you chat in the bar or chat in the pub with the landlord, it’s the same sort of thing. What someone tells you in the chair stays in the chair.
“To me, a barber’s chair is a bit like a doctor’s chair. Some people just want to talk and want someone to listen to them.”
The 69-year-old’s wife and children recently held a celebration to mark his 50th year in business, and there’s now a photograph in the window which shows how the business looked all those years ago when he first opened.
“People look at that photo and say ‘I have been coming here for 47 years’ because they recognise it how it used to look. It helps them remember how long they’ve been coming here,” he said.
“I’ve been told it is a good achievement doing it for 50 years, but for me it just feels like another day.
“You can look ahead a long time, but you look back and it feels like it’s gone in a blip. You’ve got to take the good with the bad.
“I’ve got no plans to retire. I still enjoy it – I would be gone otherwise. It’s a social life as well. It’s good social interaction, and as long as my health keeps up, I will carry on.”