Rock fans have learned over the years that not all farewell tours turn out to be final, though memorabilia from back then serves as a reminder of when we all thought we were seeing an act for the last time.

If you attended the Doobie Brothers50th anniversary tour, you could easily be seated behind a fan wearing a shirt from the band’s farewell dates, which took place back in 1982. Obviously, the band regrouped and continued performing.

The first farewell tour for Kiss began on March 11, 2000, and wrapped up on April 13, 2001, and that too was hardly the end of their career. They made a handful of appearances in 2002, then ventured out for 60 more dates on the World Domination Tour in 2003 featuring co-headlining dates with Aerosmith. There were at least five more treks through 2015, including shared 2012 shows with Motley Crue. Kiss subsequently announced yet another farewell, dubbed the End of the Road Tour.

Motley Crue is another band that threatened retirement in the past, making waves in 2014 by announcing a final tour and signing a well-crafted "Cessation of Touring Agreement." They stuck with that plan for five years but changed their minds in 2019, about six months after The Dirt was released on Netflix. The biographical comedy-drama film traced their rise to fame and helped the band gain post-retirement traction, eventually serving as the impetus to destroy the 2014 agreement. They ended up back on the road alongside Def Leppard, with Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts serving as opening acts.

They all sold plenty of merch along the way. Whether it's actually a farewell trip or simply another step in an artist's career, fans make a connection through the T-shirts, posters and stickers that accompany these jaunts. If you take good care of it, the stuff you buy at a farewell show might last until the band’s next reunion. In the gallery below, we highlight the signature items that accompanied each artist's farewell tour (or tours).

T-Shirts and Posters From 27 Farewell Tours

Ranking Every Kiss Album

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