Interview - Matt Everitt, BBC 6 Music

Back in 2007, BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq launched a new initiative on his show: Wear Your Old Band T-Shirt To Work Day. Designed as an exercise in nostalgia, for one episode per year Lammo encourages his listeners to participate with tales of the gigs at which they bought the T-shirts, who they were with and any further conversations about the band or artist. As any listener to Lamacq’s show can testify, it was one of several features that resonated with his audience. 

15 years on, the initiative has gone from strength to strength. Accordingly, this year’s event on Friday 4th November has a celebratory feel, with a wealth of treats including: a live set from indie darling Sports Team at Maida Vale; a panel of specially invited judges including Roisin Murphy, Orlando Weeks and all-round goddess Jo Whiley taking part in The Polyester Prize, where they will choose the best design from a shortlist of iconic T-Shirts, as well as the usual special guests and listener interactions. 

While other features have come and gone, T-Shirt Day is now a huge tentpole in 6 Music’s calendar. But why is that? ‘I think Lammo really touched a nerve when he first did it,’ music news reporter Matt Everitt tells me when we speak. ‘It’s obviously a pretty potent thing, but it’s not just about T-shirts, is it? Like all the best ideas, it’s not just about the surface level of, ‘aren’t band t-shirts brilliant?’ It’s about what they represent and what they mean. Not just the relationship you’ve got with the band, but that moment in your life when you bought them, be that years ago or something really recent that’s quite visceral.’

https://gigwise.com/features/3427561/matt-everitt-on-6music-s-t-shirt-day--sustainability---merch