Britain’s longest serving barber says he has no plans to hang up his scissors yet – after nearly 65 YEARS of cutting hair.
Melvin Eley, 76, is at the barber shop he joined in 1961 and still charges old-fashioned prices more than six decades later.
He started working at the shop on Richmond Road in Stetchford, Birmingham, as a Saturday boy aged 13 and has remained there ever since.
The great-grandad-of-six works 20 hours a week and says he’ll keep going for as long as he physically can – despite pleas from his children to retire.
Melvin started as a teenager under the leadership of the shop’s previous owner Tony East before buying out the business in 1982.
He has gone on to trim hundreds of thousands of fringes at Melvin’s Gentleman’s Hairdresser, including those of footballers, politicians and musicians.
Melvin prides himself on keeping things traditional – as well as a timewarp interior he’s kept his prices at just £8 per trim and only offers haircuts, no beard work or shaves.
And the dad-of-four says he’s had no formal training and learnt all he knew from his old boss.
Melvin said: “I started part-time at 13. I went to another local hairdresser first and he told me that he had too many in the shop.
“I went to another barbers run by a chap named Tony as I knew him through my brothers and he asked me if I wanted a job.
“Tony owned it for 24 years and I’ve owned it for 43 years now. We’re the last shop standing on the road.
“It is the same shop it has always been. I put a bit of emulsion on it now and then.
“I just picked up hairdressing off Tony when he took me in. He’d only had the shop about 12 months when he took me on.
“I was cutting hair when I was about 14, customers would say ‘come on, have a go’, so I did.
“I had no interest in hair before he took me on. I was just happy that I had a job doing something I enjoyed when I left school.
“I’ve always been one of those chaps who was happy enough stopping where I was. I’ve never had another job, this is my only job.”
The ‘old school’ barber has become somewhat of a local legend and many of his clients have been regulars for the last 30 to 50 years.
His longest serving customer, John, has been visiting the shop from his home in Shirley, West Mids., for a staggering 66 years.
Melvin said: “All my customers are now regulars. There’s two chaps who have been coming for around 50 years.
“I’ve been cutting most of my customer hair between 30 and 50 years.
“I don’t do beards, I just keep it traditional. All I do is haircuts, I don’t do shaves. It’s just traditional, and that’s the way I like it. I’m happy, it gets me out of the house.
“I only charge £8 per customer. I’ve had to up the senior citizen price to £7.
“I do 9am to 1pm now, five days a week, Monday to Saturday with Tuesday off.
“I’ve had John, a customer, for 66 years. He was coming there before I had the shop. He still comes in from Shirley. which is a good half hour away.”
Some of Melvin’s famous customers include musician Ranking Roger, from The Beat, and a string of former Wolves players.
Melvin’s partner Eileen passed away in 2023 and he recently recovered from prostate cancer, but he says he has no plans to slow down.
Melvin added: “The thing is with what’s happened to me, I’m just waiting for my body to get well, I’ve had prostate cancer and a new hip.
“I’ll carry on until my body allows me to. I’ll be alright to carry on for a few more years I reckon.
“A couple of my family want me to pack up and slow down, but what am I going to do with myself?
“I still enjoy my job so I will keep going for as long as I can.”
