You should never forget where you came from and looking at these iconic punk t-shirts reminded us that we’ve been printing band merch for a long time. Fifth Column printers started out in 1977, born from a music scene which gave us some incredible punk bands. In the intervening years, a lot has changed. We turned our passion for printing into how we make a living, made it thoroughly professional, moved to new premises and expanded our services.
Nowadays, we’re one of the UKs leading printing and embroidery companies but some things have stayed the same. We’re still here in London and we still love what we do. And we still make plenty of merchandise for bands.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane with some vintage t-shirts from our archives (random order, numbered for reference). We’ve been printing band merch since 1977, iconic punk t shirts.
1. Bankrobber
Back in 1980, the Clash gave us all a great slice of reggae influenced perfection and we printed a killer t-shirt to go with it. Hard not to love the song and we think the tee still looks pretty good too.
2. Johnny
No look back at anarchic beginnings would be complete without an appearance from Johnny. Arguably THE punk icon, Johnny Rotten had a face that was made for adorning t-shirts and so we printed lots of them!
3. Noddy in Tears
The awesome Ian Dury. New boots and panties appeared in ’77 and by 1984 Ian had new Music Students. Noddy may not have been feeling much love, but we were when we printed them – one of those t-shirts that made you whistle while you worked.
4. Killing Joke
KJ are cited as influential in a lot of the music which followed them. They may have been dancing to tunes of doom and gloom, but we had a spring in our step printing this one. The band kept doing what they do and so did we.
Need help finding the best t-shirts for printing or embroidery? Get in touch with our friendly team for some expert advice.
5. Tube Station Times
The song sounds good to this day and this t-shirt looks pretty fine too. Down in the Tube Station reached 15 in the 1978 Singles Chart. When we printed it, we didn’t realise how big The Jam would get …or that we’d still be printing tees 40 years later.
6. Generation Billy
Billy also went on to big things. You only need to see this t-shirt to know one of the reasons. The camera loved him and so did the cotton. A unique talent who was always going to be a favourite for folk like us who loved making custom clothing.
7. The Banshee Calls
Siouxsie Sioux and the boys. Inventive, creative, making music that broke boundaries and echoed into the future – poppy avant-garde and Gothic rock. Happy to say, Fifth Column were there at the start, printing great t-shirts.
8. The Logo
Get a load of this old logo. One more memory from the classic Fifth Column files. Moving on can be a challenge, embracing change and all that good stuff, but it’s easier when the past makes you smile.