Queen experiential store to open on Carnaby Street
A new Queen experiential pop-up shop is to open on London’s Carnaby Street this month.
The move is part of a celebration of five decades of music by the band.
Due to launch on 28 September, the ‘Queen The Greatest’ shop will remain open until January 2022 and will sell a range of limited edition music releases as well as fashion items and lifestyle products. It will also hold a series of monthly events under the theme of “Music, Art, Design and Magic”. The shop has been created in partnership with Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise and brand management company.
Spanning two floors, the pop-up will aim to take visitors on a journey from a 1970s thrift store, where Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor had a stall in Kensington Market, to 1980s iconic live performances and tours, a 1990s record store, a DVD homage in the 2000s, and 2010s tech concepts.
The fashion collection will include collaborations from brands such as Champion, Wrangler and Johnny Hoxton. Proceeds from an exclusive Freddie Mercury T-shirt will go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the charity founded by Taylor, Brian May and Jim Beach that raises funds and awareness for HIV/Aids.
The band’s continuing album and single releases will feature strongly within the store. Limited edition music will be available to buy throughout the shop’s music month when drops will take place every week. These will include an exclusive limited edition of a Greatest Hits vinyl, as well as current and new solo releases from Taylor and May.
In addition, the store will feature screens showing archive Queen performances and “Instagrammable moments”. A selection of items, including the vinyls, will also be available online.
Queen said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Bravado on this project, which will be an exciting experience for everyone to come to London and enjoy. Carnaby Street was the perfect spot for the store to celebrate five decades.”
David Boyne, managing director of Bravado, added: “We are delighted to announce this innovative partnership with Queen. The project will add another cultural moment to their rich legacy and will be a destination for fans to immerse themselves in the music, style and spirit of one of the world’s most iconic and beloved bands.”
