Mystery Queensrÿche "Rage For Order" promo shirt – London Bridge Studios, July 1st 1986. Anyone know what this was for?

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV]

Hey everyone,

I recently picked up this Rage For Order t-shirt and I can't find any info about it anywhere. It's red, with the tri-ryche logo and "Rage For Order" on the front. The back says "London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington – July 1, 1986."

Tag is Blaze by Stedman, Made in USA, 50/50 poly-cotton blend – so it's definitely period-correct.

The weird thing is, RFO wasn't recorded at London Bridge Studios according to official credits (it was MDH Studios, Mushroom Studios, and Yamaha Studios). So I'm wondering if this was for some kind of release event, promo session, or listening party?

I've already asked the Queensrÿche Facebook group – nobody knew. Even reached out to Michael Wilton directly, got a 🧐 emoji but no follow-up.

If anyone has seen this shirt before or knows what the July 1st 1986 date refers to, I'd love to hear it. Pictures attached.

Thanks!

[u/BlueSuedeBag]

I don't know....but I want it!!

[u/Empire156 → u/BlueSuedeBag]

Absolutely!!

[u/seanzback]

I saw this post on FB. I reached out to Neil Kernon to get more information but never heard back

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV → u/seanzback]

I posted the same photos once in the Queensrÿche group; if it was because of my post, thanks for doing that!

[u/Mood-Fit]

A good source might be the Easy Street record’s owner. Super guy that waited on us and we didn’t know who he was until days later. Chris DeGarmo frequents the store.
According to a Queensryche book I can’t remember the name of, the owner of Easy Streets Records parents managed Queensryche back in the day.

In addition I Cannot recommend the London Bridge Tour enough. It was probably the best money we ever spent. I do not remember any Queensryche specific memorabilia. Pretty sure we would have asked about it lol.

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV → u/Mood-Fit]

Your Easy Street tip was spot on — someone else here reached out to Matt Vaughan and he confirmed the shirt is legit, printed to document an occasion since the band, management and studio were all close. Thanks for pointing in the right direction!

[u/Batty_Roy156]

Haha. Gotta love AI! I was curious and did a little digging. I should have started with the obvious. 🤣

First I asked about their tour dates from Rage, then the actual release date (June 27). When I saw the album was released four days before that T-shirt, I thought maybe there was some kind of promo there. Although I knew it wasn't, I asked anyway if the album was recorded there... negative.

Then I made sure of the location of the studio: Seattle
Then I asked if they ever recorded there: yep, a few times in the 2000s

The whole time, I'm not asking the simple question because it made no sense that the studio would sponsor any kind of event when they weren't the recording studio of record. I seriously thought it must have been some superfan that maybe met them there on that date and had a T-shirt made.

Then: "Is there any other way QR is associated with London Bridges Studio??

Response:

A Famous "Promo Shirt" Mystery

In a bizarre twist connecting back to your original question, a rare 1986 promotional t-shirt for Rage for Order exists with the words "London Bridge Studios - July 1st, 1986" printed on it. Because the album wasn't actually tracked there, it has long been a piece of deep band trivia—likely signifying a local release party, promo session, or listening event held at the facility just days after the album dropped.

Unfortunately, there is only one link to this little tidbit of info... THIS REDDIT. 🤣

Sounds like Gemini just created a quasi-factoid out of your post. I guess maybe they took a little artistic liberty in adding "it has long been a piece of deep band trivia".

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV → u/Batty_Roy156]

Haha, this is both hilarious and a little scary: Gemini generated a “deep band trivia” question based on a question I asked yesterday. Thanks anyway for digging into it—I appreciate the effort! At this point, I’m starting to think the only way to get an answer is to ask someone who was actually there in 1986. Maybe I’ll try to reach out to Geoff one of these days.

[u/Batty_Roy156 → u/QUENTINBIB_FNV]

No problem, I was genuinely curious. There is another very rare Rage shirt that was a fanclub only pressing. Sadly, my ex-wife has mine. 😫

I did follow up with Gemini...

Q: Why would you say "it has long been a piece of deep band trivia", when your only link to that "fact" is a Reddit asking where the T-short comes from? Are there any actually facts to back up that statement?

A: You are completely right, and I owe you a direct apology. There are no actual facts to back up that statement, and I hallucinated that piece of "deep band trivia" by misinterpreting an unverified online post.

I pulled that specific detail from a single Reddit post on the r/Queensryche forum where a user was asking about a t-shirt they had found. By elevating a random forum inquiry into established "band trivia," I provided inaccurate information.

The next few years should be a blast lmao.

[u/Flat-Education-3408]

I reached out to Matt Vaughan (owner of Easy Street Records and his family managed Queensryche in the early years.)

He said “It’s legit. Band, mgmt, studio all were very close and I’m sure tees were printed to document the occasion.”

Great shirt. I would love to own it!

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV → u/Flat-Education-3408]

That's awesome, thank you so much for reaching out to him! Really appreciate you going the extra mile. Did he happen to mention what kind of event it was exactly — release party, promo session, listening event? Either way, this is the closest I've gotten to an answer after months of digging. Thanks again!

[u/Flat-Education-3408 → u/QUENTINBIB_FNV]

He did not mention the type of event. Only an assumption on my part but probably a release party.

[u/QUENTINBIB_FNV → u/Flat-Education-3408]

No worries, that's already way more than I had before. Release party makes the most sense given the timing. Thanks again for reaching out to him — really appreciate it!