Grafton reunion announced as famous building embarks on a new chapter
The event will take place next door at the Liverpool Olympia
Nostalgic clubbers will be transported back to a night at The Grafton as a special reunion is set to mark a milestone birthday for the historic building before it embarks on a new chapter. Back in 1924, The Grafton first opened as a dance hall and through the decades saw thousands pass through its doors.
Located next door to the the Liverpool Olympia on West Derby Road, the venue was packed every night during WWII with war workers, soldiers on leave and American GIs. Years later, the likes of The Beatles and Duke Ellington performed there and from the 70s, the venue became known for its infamous "grab a granny" Thursday nights.
One of the city's most famous venues, in 2008 The Grafton was used as a comedy club before permanently closing. But last month, it was announced that major renovation plans for the venue have been approved by heritage experts and that the city council’s planning committee tentatively gave the go-ahead to recommend 90 apartments in a six storey development.
In the plans, The Grafton's façade will be retained. But now, the "reunion everyone has been waiting for" will mark the end of an era as the famous building embarks on a new chapter. The event - entitled Grafton 101 - will celebrate 101 years since the grand opening of the Grafton Ballroom and take place in the Liverpool Olympia next door on July 12.
Back in 1990, the late Panayiotis Zorba bought the famous Grafton and the Liverpool Olympia next door, with his son, Chris Zorba, moving to Liverpool around 1994 and joining the family businesses. Announcing the Grafton 101 reunion, Chris said his team are inviting past patrons of The Grafton to dance the night away and relive their memories inside the Liverpool Olympia.
Chris told the ECHO: "A lot of people might have read and heard that The Grafton is going to be demolished and turned into flats. People have got a lot of memories there and people have been asking me for years to do a Grafton reunion.
"Obviously we can't do it in The Grafton - but The Grafton is 101 years old this year. On Saturday, July 12, we’re going to do a big reunion next door in the Olympia which is bigger, so more people will be able to enjoy it.
"It’s called Grafton 101 and I'm reaching out to anyone who performed there, whether it was a DJs or bands. I can name a few from my time - Mike Craig, Bobby Dee, DJ Rock Steady Eddie, the band Scandal and even before the 90s.
"If there is anyone else who want to be part of the celebrations contact us. I've been getting badgered for years and years and years - when are you going to do a Grafton reunion? It will just be good to see so many old faces, staff and doormen."
Now, major renovation plans for the venue have been approved by heritage experts and the city council’s planning committee have tentatively given the go-ahead to recommend 90 apartments in a six storey development. While city councillors warmly welcomed proposals to redevelop the site, the plans were briefly put on hold after officials omitted any consultation with Historic England from their report.
The heritage body has now confirmed it will back the plans for the site, next to the Grade II listed Olympia. Officials acknowledged how the site has been vacant for more than 15 years and presents a health and safety hazard in its current state, described as “an eyesore."
Agent Brad Wiseman previously told the committee how regeneration of the location would provide “the investment that is desperately needed to transform the site, give it a new identity and deliver new affordable homes for city’s residents.” Mr Wiseman said the development would only be made possible by the receipt of grant funding from Homes England.
The ECHO previously reported how there are hopes initial work - subject to Historic England approval - could start quickly but major transformative options would not begin until Homes England cash had been received. One photo shows how The Grafton could look as flats.
Before the site starts a new chapter, the ECHO was recently given an exclusive, rare tour inside the building. Incredible photos, captured by Liverpool ECHO photographer Colin Lane, and footage, by ECHO videographer Alice Walker, offer a glimpse inside the building as it looks today.
Chris previously said: "We tried our best to keep it going, there's not many nightclubs left in the whole country. Maybe if covid hadn't have come and things like that - I had plans of reopening it in a different guise.
"I think what's going to happen with it now is a good thing. The memory of it will be kept because the façade is going to be kept and there's going to be social housing, affordable housing for people, so I think it kind of keeps with the vibe of what The Grafton was - it was a place of the people.
"It's sad for it to go but it’s better than it sitting here, derelict. It will be a new chapter, a new chapter for the area.
"If anyone has seen the plans, it looks unbelievable. It will just completely regenerate the whole area.
"Next door, the Olympia, I think it carries on the fact that it was an entertainment complex, when the two of them were side by side for all those years. It was a hub in Liverpool for entertainment - The Beatles played in both places - so there’s all kinds."
Tickets for Grafton 101 at Liverpool Olympia go on sale Good Friday, April 18 at 10am. Ground floor general admission tickets are £20 and lower balcony seated VIP tickets are £30.
The line-up is to be announced. To find out more, click here.