A TRIBUTE TO KENNETH MICHAEL (KEN) McCLURE By James Wallace-McCarton “I have lost my first mentor Kenneth Michael. Here we are now, it is the week of the final goodbye to one of the biggest influences of my life and honestly it really doesn’t feel real yet, I honestly don’t think it has hit me fully but here I am trying to make some sense of it all with words. Ken was a titan in the hair industry teaching and mentoring so many students in Rosemary street and in the Kenneth Michael Salon that so many of us creative souls called home. Having been to 3 world championships (including the silver medal winning performance in Milan) and several other international competitions as his model I got to see a side of Ken beyond being one of his Junior Assistants, travelling the world with Ken along with his husband and soul mate Steven. They introduced me to a world that unless you have lived it, it is difficult to understand, it was passionate, colourful, fast paced and in all honesty an explosion of creativity. Being part of the Northern Ireland team in my early years gave me some of the best memories of my entire life and took me around the world to countries I could never even imagine visiting. Thinking back in all honestly, I don’t know how Ken and Steven put up with me back then from 16 to 21 you couldn’t tell me anything I knew it all but they always supported me with love and patience and a little exasperation. My 8 years working in Kens were the most amazing start to a career that any 16 year old could have, it was full of so many highs, and Ken was instrumental in the formation of who I am today. Ken was always a fountain of knowledge and advice, and he always made time to talk to any one of us. Ken and Steven always fondly called us all family and nicknamed us their children. One of the biggest testaments that I can give is even when staff moved on they regularly popped in to plonk themselves on the legendary black chair in the staff room, cup of tea in hand to have a chin wag and catch up with Ken or Steven in between clients (and occasionally were put to work shampooing or folding towels) and that to me that sums up the family that they created within the salon. The fact that I became a hairdresser is testament to Kens patience because in all honesty I was a bloody nightmare, talented but a bloody nightmare non-the-less. Ken didn’t say much, he was the most gentle soul but when he did say something you listened. He gave me so many nuggets of advice that even if you didn’t think was relevant at the time I often find myself remembering even now. Ken helped me through so many milestones in my adult life being a shoulder to cry on during the divorce of my parents, helping me navigate my coming out and a supportive boss when I had the conversation telling him I was leaving the salon to move to London. Ken was a wise man, he reminded me of an owl, it was almost like he knew the outcome of the situation before it even happened. On so many occasions when I was in my teens and early twenties 38
Ken McClure of Kenneth Michael Salon, passed away peaceful on 17th August 2021. his fatherly advice got me out of so many situations. I will never forget the years when Ken and Steven would host the Christmas dinners at their home on the evenings of the x factor finals so Danielle Weir and I wouldn’t miss watching our darling icon Cheryl, their home was your home! His little pause when most Wednesdays you used to ask for a sub to go out to slosh with Ryan James Ebbitt and him never saying no, but knowing fine well I would be hanging like a bat the next day and do even less work (if that was possible!). Some of my favourite memories was watching him talk with Jamie Lee about ballroom dancing and then watching him at the Hair ball spin her around, his face filled with so much joy, just listening to the music and drifting around the dance floor. In those moments I think he was filled with an almost childish joy. And watching him be so passionate every day in work and having a clientele that were as much like family to him as we were, was the inspiration to the type of hairdresser I aspired to be. I was honoured to be present when Ken and Steven got married in Manchester and honestly anyone that knew them saw two soul-mates each others ‘ying and yang’ and watching the love of the two men that I class as family on that special day was an privilege. And then a year later having them witness me get married, and seeing how far I have come was a blessing. Because of Ken and Steven I am the man I am today and although I will be saying goodbye I will never forget the man, the father figure and the friend that I had in Ken. So goodbye for now until we meet again. I hope you are sitting up there drinking a Cointreau and Coke thinking God James really does rattle on!, but I hope you knew how much you meant to me and so many others. May he rest now in peace.
