Rough Trade have unveiled their huge 50th anniversary plans for 2026 – including Life Without Buildings‘ first show in nearly 25 years.
The seminal record store and label will celebrate its Golden Jubilee this year since opening its first store in West London in 1976.
To commemorate this milestone, Rough Trade will be partnering up with promoters Bird On The Wire for a series of special concerts. Glaswegian art-rockers Life Without Buildings will play an exclusive reunion show at KOKO on November 20 – buy your tickets here from January 16, 10am.
The show follows singer Sue Tompkins teaming up with Sleaford Mods for their recent single ‘No Touch’ last December, which will appear on their upcoming album ‘The Demise of Planet X‘ this Friday (January 16) via Rough Trade.
Experimental icon Jim O’Rourke will also make a rare live appearance with Eiko Ishibashi for a show at Union Chapel on April 13. Tickets for this show will also go live on January 16, 10am – you can get your tickets here. More events will be revealed soon.
Rough Trade has also announced a series of exclusive vinyl editions for 50 essential albums from 1976 to 2025. Curated by the Rough Trade team, Patti Smith, Aphex Twin, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Björk, The xx, Rina Sawayama and Pulp will be among the artists to receive their own editions. From February onwards, Rough Trade will release five drops of ten titles, each representing a decade, with each vinyl able to be purchased individually or as part of Rough Trade’s brand new vinyl subscription.
Rough Trade’s new subscription is called ‘Rough Trade Club: Essential’, and will last for a year to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The subscription will include 12 exclusive vinyls from their curated essentials list, along with a hand-picked album every month for members.
The vinyls will also feature exclusive inserts with liner notes from artists or key figures who produced these essential records. Subscribers will also receive benefits such as free online shipping, in-store discounts, priority access to events, and exclusive anniversary merchandise.
The Rough Trade Club will only be available to 500 subscribers, and will cost £395 – sign up for pre-sale here.
Johnny Marr at Rough Trade (Credit: Jade Vowles)
Rough Trade’s anniversary celebrations follows their limited edition 7” singles box set, which was released last June and commemorated the store’s formative years.
The ‘Rough Trade 45s: Volume 1’ collection features tracks from the influential indie label’s early releases between 1978 and 1980, including songs by the likes of Augustus Pablo, The Raincoats, Cabaret Voltaire and Swell Maps.
Along with an “exclusive, revelatory in-depth interview” with co-MDs Jeannette Lee and Geoff Travis in the sleeve notes, the box set also boasts archive photography and new quotes from the artists themselves and notable fans.
Elsewhere, Rough Trade have opened new stores at New York’s Rockerfeller Centre, London’s Denmark Street, along with their biggest UK store in Liverpool.
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