Venom - U.S.A. Invasion 1983 shirt

To most people -especially the mothers of this world- this shirt will look like something which only has a future as a rag to wear when you paint the house, or replace the oil of your car.

And for most shirts in this condition that should be the case. But not this one. It's time for a history lesson.

In the early 80's a young band called Venom shocked the hard rock and heavy metal circles with their satanic noise and brutal image. One of the record stores in the US who catered to the rowdy kind of people who were into this music was Rock 'n roll heaven in New Jersey, run by Jon Zazula and his wife.
They had the idea to have Venom fly-in for their first shows on American soil in 1983. As support band, they asked a bunch of kids with only a demotape to show for, but also with a fast growing reputation: Metallica.
And thus Venom played two shows in New York, on the 22th and 24th of April 1983 in the Paramount theatre, with opening band Metallica. To commemorate these shows some shirts were printed, and that's what you're looking at right here. The slogan on the back refers to the Rock 'n roll heaven store, of course.

A month later Metallica would record their debut album, and Jon Zazula founded Megaforce records because no established label was interested to release Kill 'em all. Later he would discover bands like Anthrax and Testament. One year later Venom would invite Metallica to Europe where they embarked on the legendary Seven dates of hell tour.

So yes, it's a rag. But a rag connected to an important event in the early days of our beloved genre. And a rag which you will not see often, if ever.