LEGEND has it that 27 years ago, the venue at 190 Cowley Road, Oxford, reopened under the ownership of local musicians Nick Moorbath and Adrian Hicks as The Zodiac.

The role of general manager was given to a bloke called Shanks – a great gentle giant of a fellow, who Nick had appointed after seeing him break up a fight at a rave. The place was run-down, held together with cable-ties and gaffer tape, but financial investment from Radiohead and Supergrass, and the goodwill of the local community made The Zodiac a very special place indeed.

Christmas Eve that year fell on a Sunday. A last minute decision was made to open the doors and local roots and dub outfits Mackating and Dubwiser booked to play.

Reggae Christmas was born.

Fast-forward to 2022 and Cowley Road’s bass-bin-shaking Yuletide tradition has gone from strength to strength.

There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the country. A wild, late, live reggae night every Christmas Eve. For 27 years!

Many of the class of ‘95 still attend, but now they come with their grown-up kids – along with an entire new generation of music lovers who like to kick-off their festivities on the off-beat.

Oxford Mail: Aleighcia

Aleighcia

And word has spread far beyond The Plain and the ring road.

Genuine Jamaican superstars like Susan Cadogan and Macka B have swept into town like Old Saint Nick himself to grace the stage. We even managed to sneak The Ragga Twins into Tap Social for a seated, socially-distanced affair on the eve of tier-4 restrictions in 2020, although sadly the omnishambles variant did for us in 2021.

This year we’re able to do it again, and do it properly – back on the Cowley Road, with the selectors who have built the night for a quarter of a century and the crowd who never fail to mash the place down.

And it’s such a thrill to be welcoming one of the hottest emerging talents in UK reggae, rocksteady and lovers rock to The Bullingdon this Christmas Eve for the very first time.

Aleighcia Scott has worked with Amy Winehouse and Fugees producer Salaam Remi and reggae royalty like Rory Stonelove and Chris Peckings, but she can’t wait to spend Christmas with her band in OX4.

Oxford Mail:

“I’m so excited to be a part of Reggae Xmas this year,” she told us.

“It’s an honour to be able to be a part of such a big tradition doing what we love while bringing people together.

“Let’s get reggae!”

  • Reggae Christmas 2022, features Aleighcia Scott live, Count Skylarkin, DestaNation DJs, Constant Jammin, Dasher & Wazzy and more
  • At The Bullingdon, Cowley Road, Oxford
  • Tonight - Christmas Eve - from 9pm
  • Tickets are £8 in advance from wegottickets.com