Tour merch is the merchandise sold at concerts and online around a tour: T-shirts with the dates printed on the back, hoodies, posters, tote bags. For fans it is proof of attendance, for artists a serious source of income, and for vintage dealers a future investment.
One of rock’s most recognisable logos began as a student commission. In 1970 John Pasche, then studying at the Royal College of Art in London, designed the Rolling Stones’ tongue and lips, drawing on Pop Art and the band’s rebellious image, and was paid £50. It appeared on the Sticky Fingers album in 1971, and in 1972 the band added a £200 bonus. In 2008 the Victoria and Albert Museum bought the original artwork for 92,500 dollars, with the Art Fund covering half. Few T-shirt graphics end up in a national museum, although plenty of treasured tour T-shirts are kept as if they had.