The Electric Pitchfork

Going. Going . . . Bald! Why men are obsessed with their hair Prince William has finally been sheared — a shining example to other men clinging on to wispy hair From left: Jason Statham, Stanley Tucci and Prince William Prince William has taken the plunge. On Thursday he revealed his new buzz-cut, a shorter, closer cropped look believed to have been sheared by one of the team who look after the Duchess of Cambridge’s hair. The odds are (bookmakers are taking bets) that he will keep the new skinny Wills for Harry’s wedding. And why wouldn’t he? Now that it’s gone gone, as opposed to sort of wispily hanging in there around the back and sides, you wonder why he didn’t shave the whole lot off years ago. Of course it’s not that simple. Second only to accidents downstairs, men fear the retreat of their hair more than anything. Last year Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones refused chemotherapy on the grounds that were  he to lose his shock of hair life would not be...

OBITUARY Mark E Smith Irascible, mischievous and contrarian front man of the Fall dubbed ‘the grumpiest man in pop’ Mark E Smith with former wife and lead guitarist of the Fall Brix Smith Among the ranks of recalcitrant, irascible pop stars, Mark E Smith was in a contrarian class of his own. Never a man to look on the bright side, he was dubbed “the grumpiest man in pop” and the songs he wrote for the Fall, the band he sustained for more than 40 years, were abrasive and bleak, leavened only by a cynical and sometimes vicious sense of humour as he railed bitterly at the hypocrisies of life and the injustice of the world. He didn’t so much sing his vitriolic lyrics as rant, bark and snarl them, and off stage he was as caustic and as confrontational as his music. Famously uncooperative, he was every interviewer’s worst nightmare, turning the simplest question into a gladiatorial  battle. Inspired to form a band after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Manchester i...

SOUTHEAST ASIA Where to find the unspoilt Thailand of The Beach You can still enjoy an old school Thai holiday: head to sleepy Ko Phayam and Ko Chang Paradise found: Ko Phayam, near the Burmese border There’s a problem at Thailand’s most brilliant beach hangout, Hippy Bar. The G string has broken on the acoustic guitar, making it tricky for the owner, Jim, to play his favourite Thai pop songs. He sits cross-legged in a bamboo chair opposite me, gamely plucking the five remaining strings. Whatever I’d hoped for from Ko Phayam, an island 20 miles shy of the Burmese border — quiet stretches of sand, the bath-warm Andaman Sea, tracks winding through glossy jungle — a driftwood bar cobbled together by a Thai Hendrix lookalike hadn’t featured. The bar, which stands behind Ao Khao Kwai Beach, incorporates a makeshift collection of scrappy treehouses and a homemade galleon. It’s part Robinson Crusoe, part Pirates of the Caribbean. Jim gives up on the two songs he knows and swigs a ...

THE BIG TRIP The  Ultimate Guide to Iceland It has ancient glaciers, explosive geysers, hot springs and, with a bit of luck, the northern lights. We plot the perfect action-packed week Sarah Marshall December 10 2017, 12:01am,  The Sunday Times Awesome aurora: the northern lights shine over Vatnajokull National Park GETTY Share Save Iceland is where nature lets loose and has a party. Glaciers spill down from icecaps, lava fields belch sulphuric spirals of steam, volcanoes growl deep beneath the earth’s crust and the northern lights dance over the mayhem. The human population has had to be just as rugged: this is a land of heroic Viking sagas and mischievous trolls. And — handily for travellers — you can experience the best of the country in just a week. The kooky capital, Reykjavik, is a great base for exploring the main sights in the southwest, such as the geological wonders of the Golden Circle, ice caves and hot springs. But ...