Bob Bryar – the former drummer for newly reunited emo titans My Chemical Romance – has decided to sell his original ‘Black Parade’ uniform.
According to Bryar’s eBay listing, the costume was handmade by four-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood, and was never officially replicated. Bryar wore it in a slew of promotional photos, music videos and live shows on the back of My Chemical Romance’s 2007 album, ‘The Black Parade’.
“I have no clue how much it’s worth,” Bryar wrote in the listing’s description, noting that “it’s just sitting in a box doing nothing and people need help with money right now”.
At the time of writing, the highest bid for the suit sits at $12,422 (£11,009), with the auction due to end this Saturday (October 29). Also in the listing, Bryar wrote that the money earned from the sale will be used to help “abandoned and sheltered animals in areas of Florida and South Carolina that are affected by Hurricane Ian”.
Bryar has long been involved with dog rescue efforts. Last June, he sold a drum kit – used during some of My Chemical Romance’s most formative moments – to raise funds for the Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center in Tennessee.
He also joked that there “a few surprise dog hairs” on the ‘Black Parade’ costume because he “let [his] dog Fred wear it for a minute”. A photo of Fred wearing the suit can be seen in the listing.
Bryar left My Chemical Romance in 2010 after suffering a persisting problem with his wrists. When he sold his drum kit last year, the ex-member declared he was “permanently closing the book on [his] drumming days”, with his ongoing wrist problems cited among the reasons why.
Meanwhile, My Chemical Romance are currently on the road with on their long-delayed reunion tour, having just performed at the inaugural When We Were Young festival (where they performed in prosthetics to appear elderly). They’ll finish the North American leg with a slot at the Corona Capital festival in Mexico, before taking the tour to Australia and New Zealand next March.
Other shows on the tour – which also rolled through Europe and the UK earlier this year – have seen the band perform deep cuts like ‘Demolition Lovers’, ‘Bury Me In Black’ and ‘Sister To Sleep’, as well as the live debuts of songs like ‘Make Room!!!!’, ‘Tomorrow’s Money’ and ‘Burn Bright’. Last month, at the band’s first post-reunion show in their home state of New Jersey, Thursday joined them to ‘Jet Black New Year’ as something of a supergroup.