Cliff Burton’s “Dawn of the Dead” t-shirt returned to family

Late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was a well-known horror fan. His Misfits tattoo is just one shred of evidence towards this claim, but more iconically we just cannot ignore his Dawn of the Dead shirt he wore and tore onstage during the months leading up to his passing away. Now, 30 year later, the t-shirt has finally returned to the Burton family by the hands of Mike Bordin, drummer of Faith No More.

The shirt’s design sports a black and white edition of the 1978 horror flick poster, directed by George A. Romero. It is regarded as one of the best zombie films of all time, no wonder it was the late Burton’s favorite.

The Burton family shared the return on Instagram, writing:

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

Cliff Burton’s family via Instagram

Sources say that Bordin was actually not in possession of the shirt for the past 30 years, but rather traced it to its then current owner before returning it to the Burton family.

“Our only regret is Ray [Cliff Burton’s father, passed away in 2020] isn’t here to see it,” the post concluded.

Ray attended a handful of shows on Metallica‘s “WorldWired” tour and posed for photos with the metal icons, before his death in January 15.

Papa Burton also promoted community goodwill in Cliff’s honor, donating the Metallica royalties the family still earns to a scholarship program at Castro Valley High School, which was where Cliff attended school and formed the band EZ Street with Bordin on drums, which is where they first met.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ray H Burton (@cliffburtonfamily)

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