O2 Academy Oxford

O2 Academy Oxford occupies a red-brick Edwardian building at 190 Cowley Road, designed by Harry Wilkinson Moore and built in 1907 for the Oxford Co-operative Society. Its large hall sat above three shop units and served as a party hall for dances, political meetings and live music. After the hall was sold in 1990, it became The Oxford Venue, later known as The Venue. In November 1995, it reopened as the Zodiac following investment from local bands Radiohead, Supergrass and Ride.

Radiohead had performed at The Venue, and footage from the show was used in the video for their debut single, Creep. The Zodiac held its final night on 17 May 2007, after which Academy Music Group refurbished the building. The company launched Academy Oxford in September that year with performances by New Young Pony Club, The Magic Numbers and Young Knives. The venue adopted the O2 Academy Oxford name on 1 January 2009 and is operated by Academy Music Group.

The downstairs main auditorium accommodates up to 1,020 people, while the upstairs O2 Academy 2 room has capacity for 436. The main room’s installed sound system includes Coda Audio LA12 speakers and SC8 subwoofers. Alongside live music, the venue holds club nights, including the Wednesday-night Fishies event. Promoters that have run events there include PullUp Recordings, Live Nation and Soundcrash.