Vintage 1988 Monsters of Rock T-Shirt

file under: back-in-the-day

rare, hard to find original Van Halen / Monsters of Rock t-shirt

year: 1988

tag: Screen Stars ⬅(click on the link to learn more about Screen Stars 

material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend

size: large

condition: excellent

value: $250

note: this is one of the rarest and most difficult to find of all the different Monsters of Rock t-shirt designs that were printed. Acquired a few years back from the original owner who had the t-shirt neatly folded and tucked away from the light of day at the bottom of her dresser since 1988. Because the condition is so absolutely perfect, my guess is she bought the t-shirt after the lights came up and the show was over and once she got it home, maybe wore it around the house a few times before storing it away for the last 27+ years. The black Screen Stars garment is only lightly faded overall, the Van Halen graphic both front and back are still as vibrant as they were over 2 1/2 decades ago. There's no holes, rips or stains. Good luck trying to find this design for sale. Not sure why so few of this one were printed, especially since it' the best design of all the Monster tees in my opinion.

Front close-up

Back with dates and locations

Back close-up

Gnarly crowd

Kirk of Metallica in front of massive Monster's crowd!

Vintage 1983 Pyromania World Tour T-Shirt

file under: the best

rare & original Def Leppard tour t-shirt
year: 1983
tag: too worn to read
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: perfect vintage
value: $400
*acquired a few years back. to find this three quarter sleeve raglan tour t-shirt in this condition with no nasty stains, rips, etc...and in a wearable size is virtually impossible these days. Although there were thousands printed for what would be one of Def Leppard's biggest tours, the ones that have survived in this condition 30+ years later are already in the hands of collectors like myself. it's been reproduced countless times right up to 2014 due to it's popularity. even people who weren't there in '83 or didn't listen to Def Leppard's music can be seen wearing a reproduction because of it's iconic imagery. Mostly it will be referred to as the "Pyromania" World Tour t-shirt when it's actually the "Rock Til We Drop" tour shirt. It sits at the top of my pile of favorites and worn on a regular basis. They were amazing live back in the day! The first three albums are still in regular rotation on my turntable.

Front close-up

Back close-up

Polygram Promo Photo

"Photograph" video still

Iconic "Pyromania" cover art

Vintage 1979 The Cars "Candy-O" Drive America Tour T-Shirt

file under: holy grail of vintage rock tees

beyond rare original The Cars tour t-shirt
year: 1979
tag: Hanes
material: 100% cotton
condition: perfect natural distress from 34 years of wear
value: $750

Notes: This is another from my private collection that is so incredibly rare I've yet to see another for sale. The Cars were truly one of my favorite bands back in the day. I'll never forget that day in the summer of '79 when I walked into my local record store, Sound Spectrum in Laguna Beach and saw the now famous cover for Candy-O album cover painted by Alberto Vargas. As a young teenager in Southern California just getting turned onto "punk" and "new wave" in 1979 The Cars were "It"! The Candy-O album from start to finish was and is to this day a masterpiece of recorded vinyl. They were the whole package much like The Ramones. The look, the songs, the riffs and the hooks. 

This t-shirt design is the very first version used for the "Drive America" tour in support of the Candy-O album release. This version was also printed just prior to the band becoming a multi-platinum selling group. So in comparison to their 1982 tour shirt (which I also have in my collection) which was printed in the thousands, this earlier version was likely only printed in a run of 500 and after nearly 35 years, of those original 500 I'm sure more than 75% simply no longer exist (ripped to shreds, thrown out, used as rags, etc.) leaving only like maybe a little over 100 of these in existence, if even that. I feel very lucky to have this piece in my collection not only for it's rarity but even more so for the personal affinity I have for the band, that album and the summer of 1979. 

The Candy-O album cover with now iconic Vargas artwork

Great shot of the band in 1979 without Elektra's commercial polish

The 1979 Cars Publicity still from Elektra

The Cars taped live at Bremen Radio Studios in Germany 1979

Vintage 1970's Superior Beer Promo T-Shirt

file under: iconic 70's

super rare original 1970's Superior Beer promotional t-shirt
year: circa 1974-75
tag: too faded to read
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage
value: $300
notes: Another favorite from my collection. I grabbed it this year at the "Inspiration" show, an annual International Vintage Expo held in Long Beach, California. I'm always searching for items from this time period in the mid 70's when skateboarding was exploding, Gerry Lopez was the Pipe Master in Hawaii and Led Zeppelin ruled the world. A time when getting stoned and having long hair was the norm, especially in California. This Superior Beer t-shirt is such an awesome example of that era. The colors and graphics are just amazing. Hard to imagine there was actually a time when almost every kid I knew had a least one beer t-shirt and wearing it to school was no big deal and I'm talking elementary school. It was a different time that's for sure. Enjoy!

Dog Town Z-Boy

The mighty Zeppelin

Mr. Pipeline - Gerry Lopez

Vintage 1986 The Cult - Love Tour T-Shirt

file under: crowning jewel of my collection

ultra ultra rare original The Cult - Love Tour t-shirt
year: 1986
tag: screen stars
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: perfect vintage
value: $1,500.00
note: this t-shirt is so incredibly rare that when I discovered it earlier this year i almost felt like I had completed my collection (if that's even possible). for me the HOLY GRAIL of vintage rock t-shirts. *the back story: by 1985 punk was already a thing of the past for me having been a part of it's earliest days in Southern California as a teenager. there was a musical void for a couple years with nothing really generating the same kind of excitement i experienced in 1980 hearing bands like Black Flag, The Ramones or the Dead Kennedys for the first time. when seemingly out of nowhere this weird, new band from England arrived on the California airwaves. they looked and sounded so completely different than anything else going on at the time. i was immediately drawn in by the mysterious and dark vibe. their first american release "LOVE" didn't disappoint as i quickly became fanatical about the band. so imagine my excitement as a young man of 21 learning my new, strange and favorite band was coming to america. to this day that very first Hollywood Palladium show on April 26 1986 stands as one of the best live shows i've ever seen (and i've seen hundreds of bands over the years). for me this isn't just another vintage t-shirt in my collection but rather a real tangible representation of my youth and all the excitement that came with being young, in love and out of control. of course The Cult went on to huge success in the late 80's with big arena rock but it was those earliest rather naive days that will remain forever fixed in my memory as some of the best days of my life. CFFC!

The Cult promo photo 1985

An even early shot...possibly 1984

"She Sells Sanctuary"

Vintage 1977 Ski Colorado T-Shirt

file under: iconic

rare original Ski Colorado t-shirt
year: 1977
tag: unreadable
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester
condition: excellent vintage
value: $200
note: this one has been in my collection for at the last five years. i don't even remember where i got it. in excellent condition. no holes or stains. for a 35 year old t-shirt that's pretty hard to come by these days. this image and ones similar to it have been reproduced many times over but this is the original. i haven't seen another like it so it's fair to say "rare" is an appropriate term to tag it with. Enjoy!

Brigitte Bardot 70's

the popular "Daffy" freestyle move 

original 70's Vail travel agency poster

Vintage 1978 Rolling Stones Tour T-Shirt

file under: classic

super rare and original Rolling Stones "Some Girls" tour t-shirt
year: 1978
tag: unreadable
material: 100% cotton
condition: well loved
value: $500
note: acquired earlier this summer from the original owner who attended the July 6, 1978 "Some Girls" concert at the Masonic Hall in Detroit, MI. looks just like a beat up Rolling Stones vintage t-shirt from 1978 should look. worn hard with a few holes here and there but still much loved . nice, iconic addition to my collection.

on stage 1978

bootleg cover of the Detroit concert

Mick and Keith - Day On The Green Oakland Coliseum CA 1978

Vintage 1978 Foreigner World Tour T-Shirt

file under: classic rock

rare and original Foreigner World Tour t-shirt
year: 1978
tag: screen stars
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage
value: $200
note: acquired earlier this year from the original owner. condition is excellent. more than likely sat in a dresser drawer for over 30 years. as popular as Foreigner was back in the day for some reason this tee is really hard to find. size is XL so it can be worn which is always a criteria for my collection. i've spent too much money over the years buying vintage tees that don't fit and they just end up sitting on the shelf.

the band in the late 70's

one of their best "Dirty White Boy

Vintage 1983 Def Leppard Rock Till You Drop Tour T-Shirt

file under: classic NWOBHM

hard to find original Def Leppard - Rock Till You Drop tour t-shirt
year: 1983
tag: screen stars
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage 
value: $250
note: a really nice addition to my collection acquired this year from the original owner. for some reason I've only seen this particular tee in the 100% cotton version. my guess is they were less expensive to print on when the order for the tour shirts was made by Def Leppard's management. I definitely prefer the Screen Stars 50/50's as they've aged much better than the 100% cotton tees but if you can find an XL like this one that hasn't been worn or washed too many times, which is very rare, it will still fit today. Def Leppard's concerts were some of the best I attended back in the day and their first 3 albums still get heavy rotation on my turntable!

the band live in 1983

New Wave Of British Heavy Metal

Vintage 80's Generation-X Bootleg T-Shirt

file under: early british punk

rare Generation-X bootleg t-shirt
year: 80's
tag: long gone
material: 100% cotton
condition: pretty thrashed
value: $175
*note: no provenance for this tee. acquired last year at a second-hand clothing store in Los Angeles. definitely a bootleg printed in a garage years ago. Gen-X were one of the coolest early British punk bands. Billy Idol and Tony James wrote some of the catchiest punk anthems of the late 70's. The Sex Pistols sang about "no future" but Gen-X sang about having fun and getting laid. Their albums were always in heavy rotation in my car stereo and all those great songs have stood the test of time.

rare live 1977 footage shows the full energy of the band

Vintage 1984 Scorpions - Love At First Sting Tour T-Shirt

file under: when metal ruled

rare original Scorpions - Love At First Sting Tour t-shirt
year: 1984
tag: too faded to read
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: excellent vintage
value: $300
*note: the Scorpions were one of the hottest tickets around back in the day. we never missed a show when they came to town. this tee is from one of their longest world tours, lasting almost 2 years from 1984-1986 in support of their biggest selling album in the U.S. to date "Love at First Sting" which went triple platinum in 1984. of course in those days i spent all my extra cash on beer instead of t-shirts (plus it wasn't really cool back then to buy the tour t-shirts, only dorks did that). so in my obsessive pursuit to collect all the t-shirts I should have bought i acquired this last year for a fair price. condition is excellent for being almost 30 years old. no stains, holes or rips. original size was XL so even after god knows how many times through the hot washer and dryer by it's original owner the fit is still perfect today! a favorite in my collection.

the good ol' days!