Metallica bassist Cliff Burton will be honored by his California hometown this weekend after fans started a Change.org petition to recognize the late rocker, who died in a tragic tour bus accident in Sweden during the group’s 1986 tour in support of their third album, “Master Of Puppets.”
“It’s official! February 10th, 2018 is now Cliff Burton Day in Castro Valley!,” posted Burton’s family. “Thank you to Roberto Souza for starting this petition and following it through to the end. Thank you to all of the fans from the Bay Area and around the world who voted. We are honored.”
“The Board of Supervisors from Alameda County has just proclaimed February 10, 2018, which would have been Cliff’s 56th birthday, ‘Cliff Burton Day.’" shared Metallica on their social media sites. “As many of you know, Cliff was born and raised in Castro Valley and was the reason we high-tailed it to the Bay Area back in ’83.
“Thanks to all of the fans who got behind this initiative and we’d like to send our appreciation and respect to all of you who continue to honor Cliff in your own personal ways. We love that he remains so revered.”
Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist James Hetfield, the pair pursued Burton after seeing him in performance with his band Trauma at the Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip in late 1982; they famously relocated Metallica’s home base to the San Francisco Bay Area the following year on Burton’s request as a condition of him joining the lineup.
Burton was featured on Metallica’s first three albums; the group paid tribute to their fallen bandmate with the 1987 release of the “Cliff ‘Em All” video package.
The band’s major label debut, “Master Of Puppets”, became thrash metal's first platinum album on its way to US sales of more than 6 million copies; an expanded 30th anniversary edition was released last year.
Metallica are currently playing dates across Europe in support of their latest album, “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.”
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