8 of the Most Iconic Band T-Shirts
Bands have been using t-shirts as merch since the late 1960s, when concert promoter Bill Graham took the opportunity to use them as “walking billboards”. Today, they’re a staple at shows of all sizes, both official and fan-made. Today they remain popular amongst fans, and fashion crowds alike. Here are eight of the most iconic shirts available:
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Asterisk
At first glance, the official RHCP logo (a doodle by frontman Anthony Kiedis) makes about as much sense as some of the band’s sillier lyrics (“get it on with alligator haters” being one example). That said, fans might suggest it doesn’t have to – especially since it resembles the “star of affinity”, author Michael Moorcock’s symbol for chaos.
2. Led Zeppelin USA Tour ‘77
The band’s tour of North America packed out some of the biggest venues on the continent, selling an astounding 1.3 million tickets. Designed in 1973 by graphic design duo Hipgnosis, the leaping outline of the Greek mythical figure Icarus was originally intended as album art, before becoming a classic example of t-shirt printing in rock, and ultimately, the band’s logo.
3. Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures
Designed by Peter Saville in 1979, the distinctive wavy pattern on one of music’s most popular designs was based on CP Pulsar 1919, the first recorded pulsating star or “pulsar” in 1967. For better or worse, today the design happens to be one of the few adopted by the fashion crowd for its aesthetic alone.
4. AC/DC’s Bolt From the Blue
In 1973, artist Gerard Huerta decided that what rock and roll’s “thunder from down under” needed was a lighting bolt to match, and so the distinctive AC/DC logo was born. According to a study from 2021, since then it’s become the number 1 most popular band tee-shirt .
5. The Ramones
As regulars of famous NYC club CBGBs (a venue with its own iconic tee- shirt), The Ramones have one of the most distinctive logos in rock, a play on the US presidential seal designed by the band’s creative director and “fifth Ramone”, Arturo Vega. The logo features an eagle toting a baseball bat, surrounded by the names of the four band members.
6. Sonic Youth: “Goo”
The comic-style drawing of a young couple on the run was actually inspired by a photograph taken of Maureen and David Smith attending the trial of Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Artist Raymond Pettibon (who originally took the image from the back of a true crime magazine), was not aware of its context at the time.
7. Nirvana’s Smiley Face
The original Nirvana smiley is thought to have originated as one of Kurt’s doodles (taking inspiration from the marquee of local Seattle strip club “The Lusty Lady”), who then passed it on to Nirvana’s art director, Robert Fisher. The logo was then used to promote the 1991 album “Nevermind”, and is still popular today.
8. Daniel Johnston’s Frog
A year later, Cobain was spotted wearing a shirt featuring a frog-like creature and a speech bubble reading: “Hi, How Are You?” The artist was folk musician Daniel Johnston, originally commissioned by Drag Records, Austin to paint the character as a mural for their storefront. The rest of the building has since been demolished, except for the wall with Johnston’s frog, greeting passers-by with a friendly wave.