Michael Bolton decided to take up karate when he was younger in a bid to stop himself from being bullied for having long hair.
Bolton grew his locks after taking inspiration from his musical idols The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when he was a youngster but he was forced to learn the martial art, along with his brother and two friends, when he started getting harassed for his choice of hair style.
During an appearance on Irish TV programme 'The Late Late Show', he revealed: "I took up Karate because I was being mocked for my long hair. My brother grew his hair first and then two of my friends and we were the only kids left in junior high school who our parents supported having long hair and they would have to come to school and talk to the principle and make them leave us alone.
"But we walked down the street with long hair - this was quite a while a go by the way - and people would just roll their windows down and yell stuff at you and you'd get threatened."
The 'To Love Somebody' hitmaker eventually cut his hair short after it became a problem at school, a decision he didn't regret.
Michael grew his hair long again when he found success as a singer, before shearing it again when he grew bored of the style.
He explained: "First of all I had long hair because of The Beatles and the British invasion happened and The Beatles and The Stones had long hair so my brother and I had long hair.
"We were kicked out of school and I finally decided it was time for a change ... but the day after I cut it I knew I'd made the right decision."
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