Brummy rockers Black Sabbath have topped the vintage printed t-shirt charts. The band consists of guitarists Tonny Iommi and Geezer Butler, Drummer Bill Ward and The Prince of Darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne. Sales of the US Tour Shirt from 1978 have also been helped thanks to Avengers Assemble star Robert Downey Jr wearing the garment in his latest blockbuster film.

Vintage rock shirts have to be one of the most enduring clothing items. They are often worn by teenagers who were born long before many of the bands split. They are also often worn by models and young popular music acts. Retailer HMV compiled a list of the best-selling classic rock t-shirts and Sabbath finished in Number One position at the end of 2012. Led Zeppelin were just behind; taking second and third spots. Surprisingly The Beatles only made it to number nine in the list with a printed t-shirt featuring their Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album over. Incidentally this is my favourite album cover ever (see previous blog).

HMV's top 10 best-selling classic rock T-shirts for 2012:

1. Black Sabbath - US Tour 78

2. Led Zeppelin - USA 77

3. Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

4. David Bowie - Smoking

5. Bruce Springsteen - Sand Tour

5. Foo Fighters - Gold logo

6. AC/DC - Angus And Brian

7. Metallica - Skull Explosion

8. Rolling Stones - Union Jack Tongue

9. Beatles - Sgt Pepper

10. Guns N'Roses - Appetite For Destruction

At GF we have decades of experience printing custom garments.

You can place an order on our eshop, ring 029020 755 733 or send an email to info@goldenfinishes.co.uk

You will have all seen these icon album covers before. You may have grown up listening to one of these bands and I’m sure some of these albums are more like the soundtrack of your youth. I found these bands later on in life but I can assure you I love them as much as you. This is the rundown of my top 5 favourite album images of all time and a few cheeky facts thrown in as well.

No. 5- The Clash – London Calling

One of the most iconic images in rock n roll history

The image depicts lead singer Joe Strummer smashing up a bass guitar at New York’s Palladium in 1979

The picture taken by Pennie Smith who tried to convince Joe it was too blurry to be an album cover, but she was overruled!

No. 4- The Beatles- Abbey Road

Famously over analysed as Paul McCartney’s funeral procession

Taken outside the world famous Abbey Road Studios in London on the 8^th of August 1969

Photographer Iain Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take the photo whilst he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up the traffic

No. 3- Nirvana- Nevermind

The album cover shows a baby boy, alone underwater with a US dollar bill on a fishhook just out of his reach. According to Cobain, he conceived the idea while watching a television program on water births with Dave Grohl

The naked baby on the cover of the album is Spencer Elden who has been offered large sum of money to re-create the famous image

David Geffen was worried that the baby’s genitalia would offend people, but Kurt Cobain made it clear his only compromise would be to place a sticker over the baby’s genitalia saying "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet paedophile"

No. 2- Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

Designed by British design company Hipgnosis, who had worked on the previous 2 Floyd albums

The light band on the album cover has six colours, missing indigo compared to the traditional division of the spectrum into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet

Some stoner, teenage fans are convinced that the rainbow is a hint that the album is synced to the Wizard of Oz

No. 1- The Beatles- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Grammy Award-winning album packaging was famously designed by Peter Blake

The collage depicted around 60 famous people, including writers, musicians, film stars, and a number of Indian gurus as requested by George Harrison

Adolf Hitler and Jesus were also requested by John Lennon, but ruled out on common sense grounds and the fact Lennon once said that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus

Those were my top 5 favourite albums with a few weird and wonderful facts about each one. These pieces of artwork look great when transferred on to t-shirts. At GF we’ve been printing custom garments for years, from local bands to famous album covers. We do it all! You can place an order on our eshop, ring 029020 755 733 or send an email to info@goldenfinishes.co.uk

Well well well, I can’t believe it’s almost here again! A year passes by so quickly! I don’t want you to panic but it’s only 38 days til Christmas. Don’t worry you’ve still got plenty of time to get organised and buy all those presents for your loved ones. So chill out, maybe treat yourself to an early mince pie and a glass of mulled wine. I think this is acceptable as the run up for Christmas seems to start earlier every year.

The lights were switched on in Cardiff last night and the winter fair is already open. As everyone knows the biggest indication that the Christmas period has begun is seeing the Coca Cola advert;  the famous Coke truck with Santa Claus dressed in red and white; much like that of a Coke Can. I saw that ad earlier in the week so I’m getting all festive nice and early. The Christmas period for me is all about spending time with family and friends whether it is in a nice warm house or in front of an open fire in a cosy local pub.

Both of these places although nice, present a problem for us avid Christmas jumper wearers. Although some would say I look both incredibly handsome and festive, I always tend to overheat. But I have learnt from my mistakes! It hit me one day in one glorious realisation moment. The only reason you associate people ‘wrapping up warm’ is because of the weather; the weather which is outside! This meant I could wear my standard printed t-shirts indoors.

But this felt wrong without some sort of Christmasy design. So I got a load of Christmas designs off the internet and had some printed t-shirts made; genius I know. I even started designing my own; giving them away as presents to family and friends. At GF Europe, we pride ourselves on turning your logos or designs into high quality printed t-shirts.

For a top class print transfer process contact GF Europe; we have over 30 years’ experience in the print and garment industry. Please call GF Europe today on 029 2075 5733 or email your print transfer or garment transfer questions to: info@goldenfinishes.com

The nights are drawing in and winter is just around the corner. As a motorist getting about isn’t too much of a hassle for me apart from the scandalous price of petrol and car maintenance! I can just put the heating on and adjust my lights accordingly. Cyclists however do not have these luxuries.

Recently I have noticed more and more cyclists on the road. I’m unsure of the reason behind this but I imagine it is a combination of the ever increasing prices of running a car and people wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle. I tip my cap to you cyclists; I could never use a bike instead of a car. This is due to two reasons; sheer laziness and pure cowardice. All those cars whizzing past my ears at 60 miles an hour plus, no!

However for you hard-core cyclist lot there still is a real danger on the roads particularly in the dark. This is why I propose you speak to your employers about getting a high visibility jacket or vest. This way they will ensure that their valuable staff will make it to work every morning. Also by using our state of the art techniques we can print the jackets with your company name and logo.This way you can advertise your company after hours and more importantly you will be a lot safer and far more visible when you are out cycling on these cold, dark winter evenings.

Alternatively you can attempt to overcome the fragility that cyclists feel once they are on the road by branding your own jacket. There have been some interesting and highly innovative solutions. The best one I’ve seen is the “POLITE” jacket as seen above. As you can tell the intention is clear, to make drivers think, at least at first glance that you are a police offer on a bike. People that wear these types of high visibility jackets say they feel like they have a force field around them.

Whichever option you choose; order you custom printed high visibility jackets and vests now from GF Europe. We have over 30 years’ experience in the print and embroidery industry and would like all cyclists to have as safer journey as possible. You can place your order now or make an enquiry today on 029 2075 5733 or email info@goldenfinishes.com

It’s being described as one of the greatest and most dramatic comebacks in sporting history. After the US took a commanding lead at the start of the competition the result of the event looked inevitable. But the European team captained by Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal had other ideas. The team captain was tactically brilliant.  By front-loading the strongest players for the Sunday singles matches, Olazabal helped Europe build the momentum that was desperately needed going into the last day. This momentum was almost lost in a dramatic turn of events as Rory McIlroy was nearly disqualified for missing his tee-off time. He had got his time wrong and was rushed to the course in an unmarked police car. McIlroy then went on to win a crucial point with his victory over American Keegan Bradley.

Before the event the European team weren’t given a chance by many. But with an extraordinary performance the team managed to overturn a 10-6 deficit to defeat the United States by 14½ points to 13½ points on a thrilling final day in Chicago. They had retained the cup they won in Wales two years ago. The victory was dedicated to the captain’s compatriot and close friend, the late Seve Ballesteros. The overzealous and over confident American golf fans who had once shouted ‘Get in the hole’ after every US tee shot had now been silenced. Instead they were left despondent and disappointed. The US players left the course with their heads in their hands.

But the victory was sweet for team Europe and their fans, including GF’s John Sheppard and Nigel Cames who had travelled over to Medinah Country Club to watch the event. The smug pair were kitted out in GF custom polo shirts and fleeces, embroidered with the European teams logo. The custom clothing helped them stand out from the star and stripe clad Americans. Accompanied with the beaming smiles post victory it was very clear who they were there to support.