NEW YORK, March 6 -- "Business in front, party in the back": a hairstyle considered so obnoxious that for years it verged on being an arrestable offence, the mullet has made the unlikeliest comeback of the century.

From pop stars like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus to a surprisingly high proportion of the England rugby team, the short-front-long-back style has reinvaded the world's TV screens and high streets.

"My idols have always been David Bowie and Princess Diana, so the initial idea was to look like their lovechild," said Sharon Daniels, 26, an Australian living in Brighton, England.

"Shaz" was well ahead of the game, and when she first arrived in Brighton two years ago, only one other person around town was sporting her do. She knew bec...