Last week, a nightmarish paparazzi photo from the set of Sam Mendes’ forthcoming Beatles biopics appeared online. It was the clearest look yet at Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, and Barry Keoghan playing the foursome. It also raised one pressing question: What’s wrong with their hair? A quick scroll through social media revealed I was not alone in my wig-related distress and confusion. On X, one commenter wondered, “What the fuck?” Another protested, “I’m not watching a movie about the Bee Gees.” Many a Walk Hard screenshot made the rounds.

Like a Paul Revere for bad wig work, the Beatles’ longtime hairdresser, Leslie Cavendish, says he saw all of this coming. (Cavendish met Paul McCartney in 1966 through Macca’s then-girlfriend Jane Asher, while he was still a 19-year-old assistant at Vidal Sassoon’s famed salon.) As he told us in a recent phone call, he tried his best to share his expertise with the Mendes camp before the glue on the fake mustaches dried. They allegedly never responded, but we were lucky enough to get him to break down the good, the bad, and the “naff-looking” of the fake Beatles’ full beat.

Let’s get right into it: How does each actor look in this on-set photo compared to the hairstyle you perfected for the four?

Well, let’s start with Paul McCartney. Uh, that’s not Paul McCartney’s hairstyle. This is supposed to be for Abbey Road, I take it?

Yes, this is from a scene recreating the Abbey Road cover. It’s one of the first on-set images we’ve seen from the film.

So, for Paul, where his part is, his hair never fell like that. It’s more swept back, more textured. You feathered it. I wouldn’t do his hair like that. It should never have been that much forehead. Now someone younger than me, they’re not gonna think, Oh, Paul never had his hair like that. They’re gonna think, That’s Paul.

George’s hair looks like a wig. It’s not a very good wig. But it’s got the look. Ringo…that is a terrible wig. [Laughs] That is so naff-looking. Look, I’m not taking credit for Ringo’s hair, because his wife, Maureen, was a hairdresser. But if Maureen was alive and you asked her the same question, I think she’d be insulted.

It kind of looks like they just dropped it on his head from above and left it there.

At Vidal Sassoon we used to have wigs you’d practice on before you were with the client. I’d go in the box for a wig, pull it out like a cat, and drop it on the wig stand. It looks like someone’s done that here.

So from your perspective, it’s less the wigs themselves than the way they’ve been deployed.

They needed to be told what type of wig to use. It should be softer. I understand a wig is heavy, but you can maneuver it to make it look natural. Lennon’s? That also looks like it’s just plopped onto his head.

How are we feeling about the beards?

Ringo’s beard is pretty good. George’s is too neat. He was never that neat.

Did Mendes or his team ever reach out to you about consulting for the film?

I did a talk about four months ago in London, and one of the guys at the talk asked me out to lunch and told me, “I’ve got a note from the lady that is doing the hair for the new Sam Mendes film.” I said, “Oh, great, what does she want to know?” I left her a voice message. I haven’t heard from her.

Then, two months ago, I wrote to Sam Mendes’ lovely agent’s assistant: “I doubt this email will get anywhere, but I just thought I’d tell you that I’ve seen all these pictures…” She came back the following day and said, “The production team will see if they need any help, but I think because it’s so far into the production it may be too late.” She said she’d given them my email. Haven’t heard from them since. If someone had asked me what they look like? Let me tell you: they look like a tribute band.

Do you have any hope at all for these movies? Will you still go see them?

Am I gonna sit there and criticize it? No, because at the end of the day, they’re gonna play Beatles music. You’re gonna see the genius of McCartney, Lennon, George, and Ringo….I’m sure somewhere along the line I’ll again think “Oh, his hair’s not good there.” But I know I’m going to enjoy it.

You’ve styled for other famous artists, including Dusty Springfield and Keith Moon. Is there anyone else out there whose hair you’re dying to fix?

The only one I want to help would be my hero, Neil Young. Neil, please let me do your hair. I don’t want to do much. I just want to play around with it.