How Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Lost His Porsche
The idea that a Metallica album could sell 10 million copies once seemed so absurd that Kirk Hammett bet his Porsche against it.
As the story goes, longtime tour manager Tony Smith promised Metallica lead guitarist that the band’s self-titled 1991 set, aka the black scrapbook, would one day sell 10 million copies. Hammett replied half-jokingly that if that happened, “I’ll give you my Porsche.”
the black scrapbook of course became the biggest album of the Nielsen Soundscan era and 30 years later still hasn’t left the Billboard 200. In 2012, the RIAA certified the album 16x platinum for sales of over 16 million in the United States alone.
Shortly after the black scrapbook passed the 10 million sales mark, Hammett surprised Smith with an envelope containing the keys to his 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 4.
“I told our tour manager the black scrapbook, ‘If it sells more than 10 million copies, I will give you my Porsche.’ He called me when he sold 10 million and one,” Hammett later explained.
In a recent episode of my Metallica-themed podcast, Speak and destroy, Whitechapel guitarist Ben Savage recalled his astonishment when he learned that the Metallica fan club was located in his hometown. None of us knew why the Met Club (since moved to the Bay Area) was once stationed in Knoxville, Tennessee, until a listener enlightened us.
Tony Smith is a British-born tour manager who worked for Metallica from around 1987 until his retirement from the road in 1999. In 1994 he founded the Metallica Club and wrote much of the magazine’s early content fan club official, So what! In a June 1996 online Q&A session with fans, Smith said he was one of only two full-time employees at Metallica.
“His wife was also on staff, and I believe she was from the Knoxville area,” speak and destroy auditor Jake Bartels explained in an email. “In those days we often received hand-delivered mail from Knoxville, calls from staff, and there was even a Knoxville number you could call weekly to hear an answering machine recording band news.”
Bartels first learned of the band’s full track listing in 1996 Load album of this telephone line. “We also received these postcards to lodge complaints, before the era of e-mails. These complaints were often answered by telephone or by mail by Tony. One night while I was in high school, my dad answered a call from the Met Club.
In 2003, Smith put some of his memorabilia on an online auction site, including an autographed rolling stone magazine, promotional photos, guitar picks and t-shirts.
The Porsche itself found its way onto eBay a few years later.
The listing explained the circumstances surrounding the car’s ownership, noting, “It was a very special moment for everyone involved who knew the significance of the gesture.
Hammett agreed to the auction. “He had health issues. He called. ‘Is it okay if I sell it?’ I said, ‘Hey bro, I gave it to you. You can do whatever you want with it.
Speak N’ Destroy is the first podcast featuring Metallica interviews. Across 100+ episodes, previous guest stars include M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold), Robb Flynn (Machine Head), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Rex Brown (Pantera), Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge), Dino Cazares (Fear Factory), Gary Holt (Exodus), Billy Duffy (The Cult), Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer) and Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth).