Faith No More’s Mike Bordin Reunites Burton Family With Cliff’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’ T-Shirt After 30 Years
Late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was a known fan of horror, both in music and in film, as evidenced by his Misfits tattoo and iconic Dawn of the Dead shirt he wore onstage just months before his tragic death. Now, after 30 years, the T-shirt has been returned to the Burton family by Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin.
The shirt's design is a replica of the legendary 1978 horror flick by director George A. Romero and is one of the most highly regarded zombie films of all time — and a favorite of the late Burton.
The Burton family shared the news of the shirt's homecoming on Instagram and wrote, "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.
It appears that Bordin was perhaps not in possession of the missing garment for the last three decades, but may have been connected to the source who was and then secured it before returning it to the family.
"Our only regret is Ray isn’t here to see it," the post concluded.
Ray Burton, Cliff's father, died on Jan. 15, 2020 at the age of 94. Over the decades, he and the Burton family remained close with the members of Metallica and Ray attended a handful of shows on the "WorldWired" tour and posed for photos with the metal icons.
The Burton family patriarch also promoted community goodwill in Cliff's honor and donated the Metallica royalties the family still earns to a scholarship program at Castro Valley High School, where Cliff attended school and formed the band EZ Street with Bordin on drums.