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Jack White has opened the store venue ‘Blue Basement’ in style, performing for fans-only and followed by a balcony performance to the whole of Soho. 

White appeared with blue dyed hair to presumably mark the bar name – ‘The Blue Room’. He performed a set with Dominic‌ ‌Davis‌ ‌on‌ ‌bass‌ ‌and‌ ‌an ‌amazing Daru‌ ‌Jones‌ ‌on‌ ‌drums‌. They started with The White Stripes classics “Hello Operator” and finished with “Icky Thump”. The performance showed how complex of a musician White is with “his‌ ‌sweet‌ ‌and‌ ‌salty‌ ‌style‌ ‌creating‌ ‌an irresistible‌ ‌tangle‌ ‌of‌ ‌sweet‌ ‌melodies‌ ‌and‌ ‌heavy‌ ‌payoffs“. 

White finished the show by heading to the artist Damien Hirst next-door balcony and performing once more to gathered outside fans. London’s Carnaby Street turned into a rock’n’roll show. 

The new Third Man Records store has three physical spaces that combine two-level retail spaces, an intimate music venue and a European headquarter. “Its been personally designed by Jack White, who recently launched Jack White Arts & Design page showing off two decades of his creative work“.

You can find it in the heart of Soho, on 1 Marshall Street (W1f 9BA) and pop in between 11 am – 6 pm Monday to Sunday.  

Speaking about the new store, Jack White spoke to The Times last weekend and admitted that he feels “scare and confused” without any struggle in his life. “It is this disease I have and I don’t know what started it, but if there is no struggle involved in my life I get scared and confused” -he commented. “If art is not being made in some way, I start worrying. I wish I could pinpoint why this is necessary for me. I can’t get away from it“.

In the meantime, White’s and Alicia Key’s collaboration from the 2008 “Another Way To Die” from Bond movie, has been called “the strangest ever 007 themes“. Independent calls it “the bonkers and baffling “Another Way to Die” – or, as it really should be called, “Seven Nation Barmy”.

We’re excited to announce the opening of our first-ever #ThirdManRecords store outside the USA. Situated on Marshall Street in the heart of London’s historic Soho, the London store will complete a trio of Third Man physical spaces. Info: https://t.co/c8XjCAimCJ#thirdmanlondon pic.twitter.com/4ES3EEj5ZT

— Third Man Records (@thirdmanrecords) August 10, 2021

The store has been personally designed by Jack White, who recently launched Jack White Arts & Design page showing off two decades of his creative work. “The store was conceptualised and created throughout 2020 and 2021 during the Covid pandemic, with the aim of creating a physical space to help keep record sales and live performances alive after such a tough period for everyone“.
The London branch will be a multi-functional space with a two-level retail room, a small music venue “The Blue Basement” and a European headquarter.
“It will feature a host of the kind of quirks, details and idiosyncrasies Third Man have become renowned around the world for“. These include a token-operated recording booth where anyone can record their own music on vinyl and a token-operated lucky dip book machine designed by US-based artist Craig Small. It’s called “Literarium” and it’s only a second of its kind in the world.
The big opening will see some of UK favourite artists: Paul Weller, David Ruffin, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Gina Birch of The Raincoats, Cornershop and Manchester’s group The Magic Roundabout that in celebration of the opening will record music for the Third Man. The exclusive releases will be available to purchase on vinyl on 25th September from The Third Man website, all three Third Man stores and all independent record shops. Special edition yellow vinyl will be available to buy in the London branch only.

White is due to conclude his current UK stint with three dates at London’s famous Hammersmith Apollo in late June, but will be returning as soon as mid-October with five nationwide dates, as part of a greater European tour. You can see the full list of new, and previously established dates, below.

In addition to the release of a much-anticipated LP, White has also made headlines this year for banning mobile phones across all of his concerts. White described his decision as ‘an art experiment’, claiming that it would have been ‘funny’, if his audience had ‘got mad and demanded their money back’ upon hearing about the rule.

“I really react to the crowd, just like a stand-up comedian would,” White elaborated. “If I finish a song and go, ‘Ta-da!’, and it’s crickets, I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know what to do now.’ Am I supposed to play a heavier song, a faster song? Do you want me to play acoustic? Do you want me to leave? I’ll leave!”

26/06/2018 – Eventim Apollo
27/06– Eventim Apollo
28/06– Eventim Apollo
16/10– Centre- Brighton
17/10– O2 Academy- Birmingham
18/10 – Hull Venue- Hull
20/10 – Space by Echo Arena- Liverpool
21/10– Usher Hall- Edinburgh