ROCK music has always had a reputation for being rebellious and a negative influence on the youth, especially by the authorities.
With the genre gaining immense popularity in Malaysia during the 1980s, rock music was linked to disruptive behaviour and drug use, among other less desirable traits.
The government back then decided to curb the rise of rock by issuing a ban on long-haired rockers.
Spurred by the late Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat, who was Information Minister at the time, rock artistes who sported longer-than-shoulder-length locks would not be permitted to appear on Radio Televisyen Malaysia's (RTM) television channels and their songs would not be played on RTM's radio stations.
This was a time before the Internet (no social media, online streaming or YouTube) and the country only had RTM TV channels and TV3.
The ban came into effect in 1990 and most artistes had complied with it, except for the two biggest rock acts at the time: Search and Wings.
A long mane was synonymous with the image of a full-blooded rocker and the boys of those bands were not giving in an inch.
Both rock outfits were at the height of their prime as multi-platinum artistes who could sell about 200,000 units for each album release.
But the ban came to an end in 1992 when the two groups, who released an album together titled Double Trouble that same year, threw in the towel.
By that time, the ban, which included denying permits to hold concerts to those who did not comply, had begun to eat into the livelihoods of those involved.
This led to the historic moment on Nov 1, 1992, where the members of Search and Wings agreed to attend a symbolic event held at the main auditorium in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur.
The unforgettable occasion saw Search frontman Suhaimi Abdul Rahman or Amy and Wings lead singer Datuk Ahmad Azhar Othman or Awie getting their hair trimmed by Mohamed, who was fondly known as Tok Mat.
The whole affair was captured on the popular talk show programme, Selamat Pagi Malaysia, which was broadcast live on RTM's TV1.
Apparently, it was reported that the two frontmen had shed some tears after having their long-kept locks snipped off by Tok Mat.
Both Amy, who was 34 at the time, and Awie, 24, went on to establish their solo careers a short while later.
Awie would also go on to make a name for himself as one of the biggest actors of the time by starring in a string of hit feature films that included Sembilu and Tragedi Oktober.
By this time, the rock genre had begun to lose its fiery lustre as other music styles started to gain the attention of the youth such as hip hop and ballads.
But Search and Wings continue to be remembered as the nation's legendary rock groups to this day with a loyal following of fans.