Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has recalled the last conversation between him and Cliff Burton, just hours before the Metallica man died in a tour bus crash.
The bands were touring Europe together in September 1986 and the bass players had developed a light-hearted ritual at the end of each day – which took on an emotional meaning following the tragedy in Sweden.
Bello tells Loudwire: “After our show and Metallica’s show we’d go to catering and get something to eat for the bus. We’d all sit down, have coffee and talk about the show. Cliff and I would do that, and the last thing we’d say to each other jokingly was, ‘Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow,’ ‘Maybe I will.’
“I started it the last night Cliff was alive. I said, ‘Hey, Cliff – maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.’ And as he’s leaving the room the last thing he says is, ‘Maybe I will.’”
Admitting the memory is always close, Bello says of his late friend: “God rest his soul. He was awesome in every way.”
