Maiden 87

file under: back-in-the-day

original hard-to-find Iron Maiden World Tour tee
year: 1987
tag: Springford
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester 
condition: perfect vintage
value: $300
note: one of hardest to find designs from the 1987 "Somewhere On Tour" world tour. the back graphic is as wicked as the front making this one of my favorites. acquired from collector this year even though I actually saw Maiden on this tour. as usual all my money back in those days was spent on beer.

front print

back print

proof

More Primo!

Sweet picking at my local thrift store today

rare original Primo Beer Hawaiian shirt
year: mid-70's
tag: Hawaiian Holiday Sportswear
material: 100% cotton
condition: like new
value: $150
note: what a score! this has been on my "want" list for at least 2 years. was flipping through the endless rack of second-hand, worthless Gap and Old Navy garbage when the bright colors caught the corner of  my eye a few feet away. could hardly believe it. just hanging there like the day it was new over 30 years ago. stoked!

Candy-O

file under: ahead of their time

original super rare The Cars "On the Road" tour shirt
year: 1982
tag: action sportswear
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent
value: $300
note: one of the more "difficult to find" tees in my collection. there are a very few of this particular design that ever come up for sale and it's usually the same story...too small. this one is an XL in great condition which makes it all the more rare. the early Cars catalog stands up today as some of the best music to come out of the early 80's.

new wave from Boston

Harley Davidson

file under: killer vintage

original early 80's Harley Davidson tee
year: 1984
tag: long gone
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: perfect vintage
value: $150
note: as far as vintage t-shirts go, they don't get much better than this! the patina, size and overall condition are what collectors all over the world look for. scored for a few bucks.

SoCal Punk

file under: when were young

rare Circle Jerks bootleg t-shirt
year: ???
tag: hanes
material: 100% cotton
condition: nice vintage
value: $150
note: nice bootleg probably printed in someone's garage. seeing early southern california bands like the circle jerks, black flag, the chiefs, wasted youth, middle class and many more was life changing as a young teenager.

the Circle Jerks in action

Sunset Strip

file under: 80's Hollywood glam

rare original 80's Faster Pussycat tour t-shirt
year: 1987
tag: missing
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: perfect vintage
value: $300
note: this is one of the earliest t-shirts printed for the band during the release of their self-titled, major label debut on Elektra Records. 86-87 was a crazy time in Hollywood. The Cathouse was the place to be and Faster Pussycat was the house band. incredible that any of us survived the 80's!

the band in 1986

'86 flyer for The Whiskey

Zeppelin

file under: iconic

rare original early 80's Led Zeppelin tee
year: 1984
tag: screen stars
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage
value: $400
note: sits at the top of my collection as an all-time favorite

The Who

file under: kicking off the 80's

rare original North American Tour t-shirt
year: 1980
tag: worn off
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: thrashed
value: $300
note: acquired from the original owner living in a small town in Northern Colorado. back-in-the-day she traveled over 400 miles round-trip in April of 1980 to see the band perform in Denver. clearly she loved The Who and this t-shirt which represented a once in a lifetime memory. 31 years later and it's worn paper thin. a little thrashed in the front from all those years of rubbing against a belt buckle. now a part of my collection where it will remain until the day i pass it along to the next collector. thanks Tonia!

The Who perform live in 1980

original 1980 tour program

Emotional Rescue

file under: stones comeback

rare original rolling stones "emotional rescue" promo tee
year: 1980
tag: healthknit
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: excellent vintage
value: $400.00
note: Emotional Rescue was the first album release by the Stones after Keith Richards 1977 arrest for smack in Toronto which could have effectively ended the Rolling Stones career. thankfully it didn't. this rare record release promotional t-shirt was found at a local second-hand clothing store for $10. obviously the employees didn't realize what they had and assumed it was a recent reproduction. their loss...

Emotional Rescue album artwork by Peter Corriston

Richards performing in 1979 

(looking healthier than usual)

Motorhead

file under: bad ass

ultra-rare original Motorhead "Eat the Rich" tour t-shirt
year: 1987
tag: screen stars
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester
condition: excellent vintage
value: $500
note: original Motorhead tees are some of the most valuable and sought after among vintage t-shirt collectors. acquired this from the original owner in "no-man's land" Idaho for a fraction of it's value on buy-now option while searching eBay at midnight. score!

original "Rock-n-Roll" album artwork by Joe Petagno

Up the Irons

file under: rusty treasure

rare original iron maiden tour pins
year: (L) 1982 from "beast on the road" tour 
year: (R) 1984-85 from "world slavery" tour

condition: very good
value: $50.00 each

note: if you were like me all your extra cash went to beer at the big arena shows. a t-shirt was gonna' cost too much but you could at least pick up a pin for a couple bucks as proof you were there. these originals in my opinion are even harder to come by than the t-shirts since most have been lost over the course of almost 30 years. 

Somewhere in Time

file under: when we were young

hard to find maiden "somewhere in time" tour tee

year: 1987
tag: missing 
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: very good
value: $250.00

*note: saw them live in the late 80's at what used to be called Irvine Meadows. amazing time in my life. good friends. good times. when you could still party in the parking lot before the show. which was almost as fun as the concert itself.

1988 ticket from Irvine Meadows show

1987 Somewhere in Time album cover

God Save the Queen

file under: a small piece of rock history

rare original pinback from record release 

year: 1977
condition: very good
value: $100.00 (not for sale)

*note: purchased from a collector in sweden. 

signing record deal outside buckingham palace 1977

Malcolm McLaren, far right, watches as the Sex Pistols sign a record deal outside Buckingham Palace in 1977

Dynasty Tour 1979

file under: the final curtain

rare bootleg of the ill-fated Dynasty tour
year: 1979
tag: jockey 
material: 100% cotton
condition: good
value: $150.00

*note: by 1979 tensions in the band were at an all-time high. ace and peter's years of drinking and drugging had taken their toll. peter would leave the band at the end of the tour and kiss would never be the same again. signaling the end of an era and my childhood. teenage rebellion and punk rock were just around the corner.

1979 Dynasty promo poster