The club, opened in 1990 by the late Tony Butler, has played host to a wide range some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Noel Gallagher, The Zutons, The 1975 and The Libertines.
The venue, which closed earlier this month, was also known for giving local musicians a platform to kickstart their careers in the music industry.
Paddy Turvey, a 20-year-old guitarist, is one of the many Liverpool artists who had the opportunity to play shows at the venue throughout the years.
He played at the final Zanzibar show with his latest band ‘Turvey’. He recalled his initial reaction to the closure announcement.
He said: “My reaction was obviously slight shock, disappointment, absolutely disappointment, but also one of determination – lets make it go out with as much of a bang as we can.
“At the time, I was fortunate enough to play there but didn’t know if I was going to get to play there again.”
He added: “I was in a band, and we did two years of frequent gigging in Liverpool City Centre, which included frequent gigs at the Zanzibar.
“That day was really extravagant, really bittersweet because obviously you know it’s the end of an era, you’re bearing witness to the final show at a venue that has been a main stake in the city and in grassroots music culture for 35 years.”
He added: “My band got to perform at the last ever show, that meant the world to me, and it meant the world to us.”
The final performance at Zanzibar was organised by the club’s sound engineer, Liam Dadswell (ZeldaAudio), with a line-up consisting of local acts, including Turvey, Ogun, Archaea, Pacifier, Lucy Ellen and many more.
Paddy compared the final show to the likes of a ‘mini festival’.
He said: “Liam was very supportive of me, very supportive of the people around me, because that was the culture of the place and that’s what the place was put there for.
“It’s supposed to be the halfway between starting with nothing and the bigger venues, it was there to provide the platform for those up-coming artists.”
He added: “He [Liam] was given next to no notice, that the venue was going to shut and he was going to be out of a job, but what he managed to do was pull that whole bill together.
“That was just an extravagant, all-encompassing bill of some of the most popular and some of the best bands of grassroots in Liverpool music.”
Performances from Zanzibar Club have now been moved to the basement of Heebie Jeebies, also on Seel Street.
Listen here to part of the interview with Paddy T:
