Lost & Never Found Again: 1982 Rolling Stones Concert T-Shirt

When I turned 21, my friends threw me a big party. It was a slightly muggy Memorial Day weekend, but we all had a blast and a half spending the evening on the decorated carport. Lots of music, snacks, and of course, booze-to-the-max! My mom had dropped by earlier in the day to drop off lots of delicious snacks that she had made for the party. She also brought a special gift for me from my stepdad Garry.

It was a Rolling Stones T-shirt from 1982. Garry was a paramedic and often took jobs at arena concerts. One of the ongoing perks was a concert tee made just for the paramedics. He had kept them all. I’d had my eye on the Rolling Stones shirt ever since my mom had shown it to me years before. It was yellow, had the Rolling Stones tongue logo on the front, and the word MEDICAL in black across the shoulders on the back. I was so excited that he had given it to me and it was instantly my favorite shirt.

It was my favorite “going out” shirt, and having just turned 21, I was definitely going out quite a bit! I usually paired it with my Sporty Spice-esque red jacket and a short skirt. The only photos I ever seemed to take of myself wearing the shirt were photo-booth pictures from local bars: always with a friend, always with a beer in hand. I have a zillion snap shots in my mind of certain shows or particularly fun nights on the town and I was always wearing that shirt.

Eventually, the T-shirt found a part-time job as a world traveler! My friend and bandmate Jason took the shirt with him when his band The Studdogs toured the West Coast in May of 2002. Then a year later, my roommate Joe smuggled the tee to Italy for the summer when he was studying abroad.

Now, I don’t exactly recall whether the Rolling Stones paramedic shirt ever made it back from Joe’s Adventure Italiano. I don’t remember ever wearing it after he came home. I sure wish I still had it;it always made me feel super cool. There are a milllion great memories of a crazy and fun time in my life attached to that silly T-shirt. I should probably give Joe a call and see where the heck he left that darn shirt!
—Mandy Mullins