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 70's Hawaiian Tourist T-Shirt

file under: the 70's my favorite era

rare and hard to find original "Hawaii" tourist t-shirt
year: 1974
tag: "Crazy Shirts"
material: 100% cotton
condition: somewhat thrashed but nice distress
value: $150
*notes: just like if you were to take a typical "tourist" vacation in Hawaii today where you'd find an over abundance of "Tourist" souvenirs...back in the 70's the t-shirt seemed to be the souvenir of choice. Oddly enough it is actually quite difficult to find one that dates this far back that is in what I call "wearable" condition. This one happens to be an XL so despite it's hundreds of runs through the washer and dryer over the last 40 years it remains wearable. As I've mentioned in many previous posts the 100% cotton t-shirts shrank like crazy over the course of 4 decades rendering them mostly show pieces or one for the ladies. The screen printing job is really excellent which seems to be par for the course back then especially with "Crazy Shirts" who were responsible for printing a significant portion of these t-shirts back in the 70's. I love this era! It's probably my favorite because I was a surfer/skater kid growing up reading Surfer and Skateboarder magazine back in 1974. It's a nice  addition to my collection and I was able to pick it up from my favorite dealer a month or so back for only a few bucks which makes the find all the more sweet!

Beautiful 70's screen printing by Crazy Shirts

Not too many 40 year old cool vintage t-shirts floating around these days

Nice, colorful almost psychedelic artwork by Maier in 1974

Gerry Lopez at Pipeline in the 70's. An iconic image synonymous with this era

One fin was enough back in the day

The chosen mode of transportation in the 70's. Still looks good today!

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

Original Punk Rock Vinyl Records (1st Pressing) 7"

file under: when punk was really punk

*click on image to enlarge

A small sampling of ultra rare all original 1st pressing 7" vinyl records of the earliest days of punk rock from my personal collection.

Top row: 
999 - "Homicide" 1978 United Artists Records Ltd.
Black Flag - "Six Pack 1981 SST Records
Go-Go's - Go-Go's 1980 Stiff Records *(not even listed on Wikipedia)

Middle row:
The Clash - "Complete Control" 1977 CBS Records
Sex Pistols - "God Save the Queen" 1977 Virgin Records
X - "White Girl" 1980 Slash Records

Bottom row:
Dead Kennedys - "Holiday in Cambodia" 1980 IRS Records
Sex Pistols - "Anarchy in the U.K." 1977 Gutterbest Limited *(unauthorized pressing)
The Damned - "The Damned" (Date unknown) Scatter Brain Child Records *(Bootleg)

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