No Ifs or Buts

Filming on and off for 20 years, first-time director Sarah Lewis delivers a vital portrait of Soho barbershop Cuts – not just a place to get your hair trimmed, but a space for street fashion and pop innovators. Guided by freewheeling founders James Lebon and Steve Brooks, who met when one was a rockabilly and the other a New Romantic, the salon moved from early ’80s post-punk roots to become a hip-hop club and communal hub for DJs, photographers and style icons. Weaving colourful footage with interview snippets – familiar faces include Boy George, Neneh Cherry, junglist Goldie and regular customer Isaac Julien – No Ifs or Buts highlights the subcultural strands that once grew in the heart of our city.