Jack White’s Third Man Records is expanding into London, in the UK, marking the launch of the first ever Third Man Records Store outside the US.
Situated on Marshall Street in the city’s Soho district, the store will become the company’s third physical space, alongside buildings in Nashville, Tennessee and Detroit, Michigan.
Third Man Records London will serve as a retail space, a live music venue named The Blue Basement, and a European headquarters for Third Man Records.
The store, which officially opens on Saturday September 25, has been personally designed by Third Man founder Jack White.
Third Man Records’ London opening follows the launch of Jack White Arts & Design, via a multimedia website cataloguing two decades of White’s award-winning creative work.
The store was conceptualised and created throughout 2020 and 2021 during the Covid pandemic and will feature “a host of the kind of quirks, details and idiosyncrasies Third Man have become renowned around the world for,” according to a media release.
Some of these include a Third Man Records token-operated lucky dip book machine designed by the Toronto-based artist Craig Small.
Titled the “Literarium,” it is only the second of its kind in the world.
The store will also feature a Third Man Records token-operated recording booth where artists and the public can record their own material straight to vinyl.
The official announcement follows much speculation and guesswork from Third Man fans, who noticed the painting of eight fake, rotating store fronts at the 1 Marshall Street address.
These fronts included Swank’s Muscle Tee Emporium, Jack Sharp’s Upholstery Tacks and Harry Lime’s Penicillin, all of which claimed to be under the umbrella of the fantastical Absurd Scam Family of Businesses.
Last week, all UK subscribers to Third Man Records’ The Vault subscription service received a physical invitation for September 25 to the opening of one of these scam companies.
Furthermore, in celebration of the opening, Third Man Records approached “some of their favourite ever UK artists”, including Paul Weller, David Ruffin, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Cornershop, Gina Birch of The Raincoats and Manchester group The Magic Roundabout – to record music for Third Man.
These exclusive releases will be available to buy on black vinyl on September 25 from the Third Man Webstore (soon to be expanding to the UK/EU), at all three Third Man Records stores, and independent record shops everywhere, and on very limited edition yellow vinyl in the Third Man London store only.Music Business Worldwide