White Stripes star Jack White is auctioning off memorabilia to raise funds for Suffolk’s John Peel Centre.
The frontman for the White Stripes, famous for their anthemic song Seven Nation Army, is holding an online garage sale of items from throughout his career with some of the proceeds going towards the Stowmarket venue.
The auction coincides with a weekend of events organised by the centre to mark what would have been the much-loved BBC DJ’s 81st birthday.
It is hosting ‘Challenge 81’ - a series of activities and challenges taking place throughout Sunday August 30 which will culminate with 81 Minutes of Music, a one-off online event on YouTube to viewers all over the globe and which is being supported by stars including Billy Bragg and Badly Drawn Boy.
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The Jack White auction has 104 lots for sale including a pink Daisy Rock guitar given by rockabilly star Wanda Jackson, a drum kit used in the music video for The White Stripes song Hardest Button, and one of the star’s favourite guitars from the 2006 Raconteurs tour.
The John Peel centre is one of three good causes being supported by the online auction being organised in America through the star’s record label Third Man and auction house Online Nashville Auctions starting on August 26.
Patsy Cane, general manager of the John Peel Centre said the news had come out the blue.
She said: “We weren’t made aware of this directly, we found out about this on social media.
“We’re really just humbled and grateful. There is a strong link for Jack there, so we’re not surprised – but we weren’t expecting it.
“It’s amazing news, especially now when we were working hard on crowdfunding just to make sure we’re here to open the doors to everybody at some point again.”
Jack White’s history with John Peel goes back to the early days of the White Stripes.
In 2001 they recorded a Peel Session after he had been one of the first major DJs to play their records.
The Detroit-born rockstar said John Peel was “the most important DJ who has ever lived” in a 2014 interview with MOJO magazine.
“It was mind-boggling to us, because we thought the only people who liked us were a few hundred people in America,” he said. “When he started playing our songs we were, like: ‘That’s unbelievable!’”
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The Detroit-born rockstar said John Peel was “the most important DJ who has ever lived” in a 2014 interview with MOJO magazine.
“It was mind-boggling to us, because we thought the only people who liked us were a few hundred people in America,” he said. “When he started playing our songs we were, like ‘That’s unbelievable!’”
The star was amongst the mourners at the DJ’s funeral service at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds after his death from a heart attack in 2004.
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