Terry calvert hosts a walk down memory lane

Top industry names enjoyed a trip down memory lane at Terry Calvert's retrospective Powernight, held at the L'Oréal Professionnel International Academy.

The Fellowship for British Hairdressing's new president took the celebrity-packed audience on a journey through the decades, from starting his own business in the 70s to becoming today's face of the Fellowship.

Past president Sean Dawson, from HOB Salons, was compère, inviting questions from the audience, which included Joshua and Daniel Galvin, Richard and Hellen Ward, Mark Hayes, and Andrew and Liz Collinge.

"Hairdressing is a serious business, but you can still have fun," said Terry, something he has definitely been doing for the past 30 years.

He had the audience in fits of laughter with tales of his pranks and exploits at the start of his career.

Terry went to work in Germany with just £100 in his pocket, before returning to the UK to open his own business.

Where did the name for his salon chain Clipso come from? "In the 70s, décors were bamboo, palm trees and yucca plants, so I called my business Clipso - a play on Calypso," he said. "I opened my first salon in 1978 for just £15,000."

Delving into his archives, he revealed his favourite looks from that decade - bright texture, vibrant make-up and clashing colours - before presenting two models in stunning dresses and with Bowie-inspired hair.

Moving to the 80s, Terry talked about venturing into the session world and his love of creating beautiful images. "Being successful is a balancing act," he said.

"It's no use having a great business with lots of money if you aren't creative. But you can't be creative without a good business, so you need to balance and work at them both."

Winning at HJ's British Hairdressing Awards was a turning point for Terry, who first entered in 1985 and won Southern Hairdresser of the Year two years running. "I loved creating images and making models look beautiful, sexy and feminine," he said.

But not everything went his way. He opened a salon in London's Covent Garden in the 80s, and it turned into a disaster. "The rent went from £25,000 to £75,000 a year," he said. "It was the boom times and prices just rocketed. I had no choice but to close it. That was the first time something hadn't worked for me and it was hard."

Terry's work throughout this decade was Vivienne Westwood-inspired, with structured clothes and New Romantic curls.

Andrew Collinge reminisced about the time he and Terry spent in New York, and the humour that Terry brought to the trip.

As president, he is looking forward to taking the Fellowship in a new direction. "We are here to share our knowledge and push forward the reputation of the industry and its creativity," he said. "I want to make hairdressing exciting, and I have lots of things planned."