Cliff Burton’s Dawn Of The Dead t-shirt has finally returned to his family almost 35 years after his death. Reportedly a big fan of the original film, the former Metallica bassist often appeared wearing the shirt in photographs. This week, a photo of Faith No More drummer, Mike “Puffy” Bordin, appeared on the Instagram account controlled by Burton’s family, holding the vintage Dawn of The Dead t-shirt.
“A huge Thank You to Mike ‘Puffy’ Bordin for bringing Cliff’s original Dawn of the Dead shirt back home where it belongs. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions and we appreciate Mike and the person who kept it safe for us for 30 plus years. Our only regret is Ray [Burton, Cliff’s father] isn’t here to see it.”
Back in 2012, Kirk Hammett, claimed Dawn of The Dead to be one of his favourite zombie movies because it was Cliff’s “favourite movie.” The Metallica guitarist is, himself, an avid horror movie memorabilia collector.
After witnessing him perform with his group at the time, Trauma, Metallica requested Cliff to join their band. However, the bassist was unwilling to move to LA where the band was based, so the band decided to move to the San Francisco area so that he would join.
Cliff played on Metallica’s first three studio albums; Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. The bassist also co-wrote classic songs; Ride the Lightning, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, Creeping Death, and Master of Puppets.
Tragically dying on September 27th, 1986, Cliff was involved in a tour bus crash in Sweden at the age of 24. Initially replaced by Jason Newsted, Robert Trujillo became his official successor in 2003, who remains in the band to this day. In 2018, Alameda County supervisors proclaimed February 10th as “Cliff Burton Day”.
