The History of Band T-Shirts

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Most of us have at least one band T-shirt stuffed in a drawer or hanging in a closet. Maybe it's a concert souvenir, a vintage find, or a shirt you've worn so often it's barely holding together. But where did band T-shirts come from, and how did some of them become worth thousands of dollars? I think it's time to dig into the surprisingly fascinating history of band merch, tracing its roots from the early days of Elvis and The Beatles through the explosion of rock, punk, metal, and grunge culture. Now to get the full story, I talk with vintage band T-shirt expert James Applegarth of Toronto's Defunkd Vintage about rare finds, iconic designs, and why collectors are willing to pay a fortune…