Teen Nostalgia w/ Zavvi

ad // Earlier this year I wrote a post all about 90’s nostalgia, which featured things all us 90’s kids remember, like Furbies and dial-up internet. Today I’m going forward a few years to hone in on teen nostalgia. My teens were without a doubt the best days of my life – which a lot of people wouldn’t agree with. But for me, they were THE BEST.

Let me paint a little picture of what my life was like in my teens.

My friends and I were little grungers. Dressed in black, with thick eyeliner, heading to Camden every weekend. We loved music; music was our lives. We also spent far too much time getting drunk on Strongbow over the park. Were we FAR too young to be drinking (especially drinking out on our own, often until late into the night)? DEFINITELY.

At one point, for around 2 years, we would hang around in our local town center with around 100 other people. All goths, grungers, skateboarders and anyone else who wanted to come and hang out, who understood our music and lifestyle. We took up residence in a car park of an abandoned Decathalon shop and claimed it our own.

Every weekend, we would head down there, knowing that when we got there, there would be others there we knew. Our social lives were endless. The drama was constant. Our hearts were so full.

Where did music fit in?

Music was one of the main things that pulled us all together.

I’ve loved music all my life and whilst I’m very much into a whole range of genres, my teens were very much filled with rock music. I also played the drums for a period and absolutely loved.

We would be attending concerts and gigs at LEAST once a month. Some of the bands I’ve seen off the top of my head are Green Day, Foo Fighters, Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, 30 Seconds To Mars, Paramore, You Me At Six, Avenged Sevenfold, Funeral For a Friend and many, many more than I can’t even remember.

One thing I ALWAYS did at every gig was buy a t-shirt. Could I afford them? Nope. But my parents would give me enough money to pick one up on the way out of a gig because they knew how much my band t-shirt collection meant to me.

Sadly I don’t have those old t-shirts anymore. They wouldn’t fit me and I have no where to put them but I have fond memories of all the gigs I went to (plus I’ve kept all my tickets – they take up much less room).

Bringing band tees back into my life with Zavvi

Although fashion has moved on and changed dramatically since then, you still can’t beat an old school band t-shirt.

Paired with a variety of different outfits, they can look seriously cool. They also bring back those precious memories of being a teen and all consumed by music by your favourite artists.

I was kindly offered some band tees from Zavvi to feature on my blog, so here are the ones I chose:

Green Day were my first choice because Green Day were my favourite band for most of my life. They’re pretty much the band that introduced me to rock and made me love drumming. I also went to see them in Milton Keynes in 2006. It was my first “proper” gig and it was outstanding.

Guns’n’Roses had to be a pick because the band logo is SO iconic and it looks really f***ing cool with ripped jeans and black boots. Plus you just can’t help but sing along to their songs.

Queen was my next choice. Queen are EVERYTHING. And whilst I listen to them more now than I did when I was a teen, their music still screams nostalgia.

And finally I chose Bowie. I’ll be honest, Bowie wasn’t a feature in my teenage years (I was into far more heavier music than that) but nowadays, Bowie is a firm fixture in my playlist.

I love these band tees because they’re so comfy as well as being able to show off some of my favourite music. I don’t know about you but I ALWAYS notice it when someone in wearing a band tee and it instantly makes me like them if it’s a band I also love! I would highly recommend checking out Zavvi for your band tees!

Over to you! Tell me something about your teenage years! Which bands did you love?