Due to popular demand, well Kathrin threatening to chop my arms and legs off if I don’t write a blog soon, our fantastically wonderful Mullet of the Week competiton has been run. We’ve changed the format this time a little bit though. From now on it’ll be known as Mullet of the Month.

This month we have received entries from all corners of the globe but have concentrated on the quality of mull in Birmingham and the Midlands.

This Month’s Champion

This month’s champion is Baldwin Barrett III, pictured left. He’s a born and bred Brummie and inherited his love of mull from his father’s side of the family. “I’ve never really thought about having another hairstyle” he says in his broad brum accent. 2 years ago he took over the family business when his father took ill. He renamed the salon “Mullets 4 U”. Since then he’s been spreading his love of this hairstyle and on Tuesdays he has special student prices. He has offered a 50% discount for all our guests as a result of us honouring his hard work and dedication raising awareness about “The Mull”.

A lifelong childhood pal of Ozzy Osbourne and a dedicated Metal fan this guy is a complete and absolute legend or leg end. Whichever, he’s my new hero.

He’s also offered all readers of the blog a handy little chart (below) for anyone interested in mastering the art of chip chopping the perfect mullet

We all know Birmingham is famous for being the Home of Metal. With the likes of Black Sabbath, Robert Plant and Judas Priest hailing from Birmingham and the West Midlands Region. St Pauls Gallery, just around the corner from the hostel, regularly features work from Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd). Check it out. . Anyway, here’s a little secret about Birmingham not as publicised as the Home Of Metal thing, Cadbury World, the Jewellery Quarter or the fact that J.R.R Tolkien grew up here … THE MULLET. Yes, that’s right. THE MULLET. Walking through the near deserted streets of Birmingham on Easter Sunday one thing was more noticable than anything else. It wasn’t the lack of people on the normally bustling streets or the more laid back than normal atmosphere of the city centre. It was the amount of Mullets about the place. It wasn’t just the quantity of Mullets but the pure ‘quality of mull’, or high mull-factor, about the place being worn with pride by these unsung Heroes of Birmingham. .

As a result, I feel obliged to pay homage to these legends with a new weekly feature on our blog, “Mullet of the Week” as well as a fantastic special offer. Any guest at Hatters Birmingham with a mullet that makes the grade and gets featured on “Mullet of the Week” will get  50% off their 2nd night. WOW!!!

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. . . .OUR VERY FIRST MULLET OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to Oscar Reinhardt (pictured below) from a village just outside Munich in Germany.  On accepting the coveted Mullet of the Week award he said,  “Das ist wunderbar“, ” I copied my style from one that Ozzy Osbourne sported in the 80s” in his strong German Accent

Many thanks to all the people that entered and didn’t quite cut the mustard this time. Why not submit your flowing locks in a month or 2? Oscar, our champ this week, uses this neat little rhyme to get that perfectly conditioned silky soft mullet:

Timotei, twice a week, Gets yer Mullet soft and sleek. . . . . . ..

Hatters Hostels Ltd. would like to re-assure everyone that no Mullets were harmed or abused in any way in the creating of this post.

You might or might not have known it, but there are a great many popular and influential bands of various musical genres hailing from Birmingham. More about all this soon, for now let’s turn the focus on the heavier side of the musical spectrum…

Birmingham is often regarded as the birthplace of heavy metal. It all started here! Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Napalm Death, Godflesh... Yes, all these music legends are from the Birmingham area! Some of the greatest names related to metal, bands that pioneered their respective genres and artists who continue to inspire musicians all over the world. Although Led Zeppelin draw their influences from a variety of musical styles, they are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands ever and they are still among the most popular bands in the world. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest firmly established the genre in the late 1960s and 70s, cementing their status as two of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time. Later, in the 1980s, Napalm Death and Godflesh were founded in Birmingham, pioneering and defining their respective genres grindcore and industrial metal and leaving an equally important legacy for generations to come. Only recently, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi,(the man credited with the invention of the heavy metal riff and inspiration to thousands of musicians) was honoured by his home town, being awarded his own star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. His band mate Ozzy Osbourne was the first person to be awarded one the year before. But of course these two legends are not the only famous metal Brummies… The Home of Metal project was started to finally acknowledge the area’s musical hertiage and remind the world of where heavy metal was born. As they state on their website: “For too long Birmingham and the Black Country have failed to celebrate what is rightfully theirs, to claim the city and the region as the birth place of “heavy metal”. Its time to start celebrating!!!“ Some of that celebration can be experienced this Saturday at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery where, after two successful ones in Walsall and Wolverhampton, the third event of its kind will take place. Home of Metal is free and open to everyone and encourages fans to bring along related memorabilia like photos, old tickets, autographs, shirts, fanzines, flyers… or just stories as long as they’re related to the bands above and the Metal revolution.  All items will be recorded and go on their website to build a digital archive. The event is hosted by Kerrang! Radio’s legendary DJ Johnny Doom. Expect special guests, film screenings, activities and an an exhibition of selected memorabilia. Tony Iommi, as a proud Brummie one of the project’s keen supporters, has even loaned his guitar – a Black Gibson SG Custom – which will also be on display.

Just come to the Museum between 11am and 4pm to see everything for yourself! More information here.