See a Blue-Haired Jack White Celebrate Third Man’s London Opening With Balcony Gig
Jack White celebrated the opening of the London outpost of his Third Man Records with a surprise set from both the store’s basement venue and a neighboring balcony.
The rocker first “baptized” the basement “Blue Basement” — fittingly with a new blue-haired look to mark the occasion — with a six-song set of White Stripes tracks and solo cuts.
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White then moved the festivities outdoors, loading his band onto a neighboring balcony — owned by the artist Damian Hurst — for an additional five songs, including “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Seven Nation Army” and “Lazaretto.”
Third Man Records’ London branch — the Nashville-based label’s first outpost outside the U.S. — boasts a record store, the White-designed small venue, a book vending machine and more.
“London feels really personal to me and to Jack,” Third Man co-founder and co-owner Ben Swank told Rolling Stone at Saturday’s opening. “It’s where the White Stripes really first were appreciated in a wider way. They broke over here first. I lived here for a little while and we just love this city… It’s always been kind of understood that if we did a third location, this would make the most sense. It’s just felt very personal to [Jack] and I think he wanted to do something to show that respect to the city.”
