Mullet (haircut)

Ancient mullets

In the sixth century, Byzantine scholar Procopius wrote that some factions of young males wore their hair long at the back and cut it short over the forehead. This non-Roman style was termed the 'Hunnic' look.^[3][4]

1970s

Mullets were worn by rock stars Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, and Paul McCartney as far back as the early 1970s.^[5][6]

1980s

The 1980s was the high point of the mullet's popularity in continental Europe.

In the United States of the 1980s, the mullet became popular within lesbian culture, where it came to be used as a way of identifying oneself as a member of that culture in public.^{[7][8][9][10]}

1990s

In the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania, United States, the mullet was glamorized by several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins, including Jaromír Jágr. The mullet remains popular to this day, even mocked to much acclaim by WDVE radio hosts in particular.

After the much-publicized 1992 DC Comics storyline in which Superman apparently died, the character returned in the 1993 follow-up storyline "Reign of the Supermen", in which he was depicted with a mullet.^[11] He remained with that hairstyle until 1997,^[12] and this look was depicted in an action figure released by Mattel in 2009. The cancelled Superman film, Superman Lives, depicted Superman with a mullet.^[13]

Punk rock band the Vandals sang of the mullets worn by country music singers and guests of The Jerry Springer Show and listed regional names for the style in the 1998 song "I've Got an Ape Drape".^[14]

Country music singers Billy Ray Cyrus, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, Joe Diffie, Toby Keith, Tracy Lawrence, Aaron Tippin and Blake Shelton were also known for their mullets.

Vocalist Wesley Willis wrote and released the track "Cut the Mullet" in 1998 and frequently performed it at live shows.^[15]

2000s

The mullet and its associated lifestyle have been central themes in movies such as Joe Dirt "business in the front, party in the back" (2001) and the television show The Mullets (2003–2004). Christian ska band Five Iron Frenzy sang about the mullet in "The Phantom Mullet", a song off of their 2000 album All the Hype That Money Can Buy, referencing Billy Ray Cyrus and REO Speedwagon in the lyrics. The 2001 film American Mullet documents the phenomenon of the mullet hairstyle and the people who wear it.^[16]

In 2003, Legacy Recordings released Mullets Rock!, a 2 CD collection full of mullet-wearing classic rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s.

Indie rock duo Tegan and Sara sported mullets during their The Con album era. Tom O'Neill, famed hair stylist and underwriting thief, was also known to sport the mullet hairstyle in the early 2010s.

Between 2009 and 2012, the mullet was in fashion among individuals of Lebanese descent in Australia. The style had already been popular with the bogan subculture.^[17][18] The fashion trend quickly waned by late 2009. This was the type of a mullet that had a crew cut at the front, top, and sides and long hair at the back.

2010s

The mullet has lost popularity over recent years but was recently brought back into the spotlight in 2015 by K-pop idol G-Dragon during his band BIGBANG's Made World Tour.^[19] Byun Baekhyun of EXO also sported one in promotion for the group's 2017 song Ko Ko Bop. Other K-pop artists who have worn mullets include Block B's Zico, Song Min-ho, Nam Joo-hyuk, DEAN, Stray Kids' Chan and Han, VIXX's N,^[20] B.A.P.'s Himchan,^[21] Seventeen's Woozi and The8, BTS's V, ^[22] GOT7's JB and SF9’s Youngbin.

The mullet has also experienced a revival within American sports. After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, Phil Kessel was spotted in Pittsburgh Penguins training camp in September 2017 bringing the mullet back to its native roots of Pittsburgh Hockey. Similarly, Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy wore a mullet starting in early 2017; the popularity of his mullet supposedly earned Oklahoma State millions of dollars in marketing revenue. In addition, from 2010 to 2015, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks popularized the "playoff mullet," an alternative to the traditional NHL playoff beard.^[23]