I travel first class, but just for the bed, not the other bits

Nicky Clarke is on his third passport. The first he got when he was 15 and it carries a photograph of him with a regulation short, back and sides and identifies him as a school pupil. After starting his career in hairdressing in 1974 Nicky began to travel the world on glamorous modelling assignments with the photographer David Bailey, but continued to carry the same passport. They would give him funny looks at passport control, as by this time he's lost his angelic looks and sensible haircut and was sporting a beard and an impressive hairdo which came half way down his back. Between 1984 and 1987, Nicky's passport shows that he spent a lot of time working in Milan at the fashion collections for Italian Vogue. Bailey would be taking pictures of the latest clothes and Nicky would be on hand to do the models' hair. Nicky's passports are also plastered with American stamps. Between 1988 and 1990 he commuted to New York where he and his then partner John Frieda were setting up a salon. At passport control Nicky kept noticing that a look of horror would register on the face of every official who entered his details into the central computer. Then the official would relax and Nicky would be allowed through.

After months of strange looks, Nicky asked what was going on. It turned out that there was a rapist on the loose with the same name and date of birth as Nicky. What saved Nicky from hours of interrogation was that the criminal was black.

In 1991 Nicky opened his own salon in London which the rich and famous flocked to. He found himself in demand by the Duchess of York and devised a new shorter, sleeker haircut for her. When she went to the States for official visits or fund-raising junkets in 1992, Nicky went too, to keep her hair in check. Since then Nicky's wife, Lesley, has joined him in the business. The couple travel a lot, but never on the same plane unless their two children are with them. "It sounds a bit royal, but we've always done it for safety reasons," says Nicky. He almost always travels first class and if he can, with Virgin. He explains, "I need to sleep. I don't travel first class for all the other bits and pieces, just for that bed!"

ROSANNA GREENSTREET