The Zodiac (club)

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The Zodiac is a club on the Cowley Road in Oxford, UK. It is famed for performances by underrated and up and coming bands and has been Oxford's main music venue since its reopening in 1995. It has two separate rooms; the downstairs room has a capacity of 350, the upstairs room a capacity of 450 (with a maximum of 750 at any one point)

Prior to being The Zodiac it was called the CO-OP Dining Hall and then The Venue.

The Zodiac was until recently owned by Nick Moorbath, a local keyboardist who has played with Ride and Hurricane #1; in 2006 he sold the venue to the Academy Music Group.

Although the band have rarely played there, the club has had a long history and association with local band Radiohead. The 1995 refit was funded by Radiohead’s management group Courtyard Management and the video for their early song "Creep" was shot there. More recently Nick Moorbath was partly responsible for organising Radiohead’s homecoming performance in South Park, Oxford.

The atmosphere is probably best described through an extract from Nightshift Magazine:

"Where it all happens apparently. Unless you're a Uni student straight out of public school in which case it's where all the scary drug pushers, muggers and lefty bohemians hang out. A myth we're more than happy to perpetuate to keep bastards out."

The Zodiac has also been host to many different club nights, including Source (a drum and bass night), Slide (a house night), Transformation (an indie rock night) and also several student nights including Fuzzy Ducks and Pop Ya Cherry.

Saturday nights are very popular with the local students and features various genres of music depending on the month. The month of March features Cheese downstairs and Indian upstairs.

In late 2006, Carling bought the club. Carling buys Zodiac

The Zodiac has welcomed some huge bands to its stages: >Trivium >REM >Arctic Monkeys >Rage Against The Machine >Radiohead

Academy Music Group Venues