# Bands/artists whose merchandise is more popular/well known than their music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 6, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700 "2023-11-06T17:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/41 "2023-11-08T23:55:02Z")
And if they are in your wardrobe I hope they still fit. All my old loose-fitting clothes seem to have shrunk. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/42 "2023-11-08T23:58:22Z")
KISS always pushed their merchandise. KISS is on practically any consumer item imaginable. Gene Simmons brags about it. The KISS Army is still going strong. The Show _Family Jewels_ was shot in Gene’s house. His office has a entire wall display of KISS merch. He keeps a example of all the stuff they licensed. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/43 "2023-11-09T00:17:47Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > And if they are in your wardrobe I hope they still fit. All my old loose-fitting clothes seem to have shrunk. That’s only because of the modern detergents 😉. They ruin everything. Well, actually I only have three kilos more than 30 years ago, but unfortunately I now have thin legs and a belly, so my tight-cut grandma leather jacket with lapels (which I bought at Pink Pop 1993 second hand for 40 guilders) won’t fit anymore. But I still have (once) tight black leather pants (Jim Morrison style) somewhere that should still fit… ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/44 "2023-11-09T00:45:51Z")
I dunno if they still sell in rough shape. Probably not. I have 2 Pearl Jam shirts my friend is currently working on fixing for me. One had a bleach stain and the other had latex paint on it. I didn’t want to bother listing before he tried re-dying for me. People do ask me about the condition. I think it matters. Regarding saving shirts - I took my 4 favorite shirts, the ones I wore most in high school, and framed them. They fit, without cutting, folded up in a record album frame. Just tape the excess on the back of the frame and they hang on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/45 "2023-11-09T02:52:36Z")
The clothing tags will have a code indicating when and where it was made. You can find out online what the various codes mean. We mainly have Hot Topic to thank for the t-shirt resurgences. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/46 "2023-11-09T02:53:52Z")
The labels are one way to tell if an item is vintage or retro. Those words do not mean the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/47 "2023-11-09T04:39:10Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I’ll nominate The Grateful Dead and The Ramones. Both pioneers of music, but I bet most t-shirt wearers don’t know the music I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I play in a rather popular Grateful Dead tribute band and we have fans of all ages, the majority of whom are wearing the band’s shirts. I see people all the time in their teens and twenties who seem to know every lyric to every song. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700/48 "2023-11-10T15:30:46Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > I’ll add Bob Marley. I saw a poster in a dorm room that was just a blank white rectangle with the broken link symbol in the corner, and the legend: _Bob Marley Poster_ Loading. Bob Marley merch was almost required among students in the 90’s, and still is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-whose-merchandise-is-more-popular-well-known-than-their-music/992700.md?page=2)