‘It’s not right that somebody can move in next to a venue, make a complaint and it shuts’ – A blueprint for saving nightlife

From Parklife to The Warehouse Project, Sacha Lord has defined Manchester’s club scene

Sacha Lord is Night-Time Economy Adviser for Manchester. Photo: Getty

Stephen Wynne-Jones

Think of Manchester in the mid 1990s, and it conjures up images of Oasis, Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Red Devils, and the decadent throes of ‘Cool ­Britannia’. But for Sacha Lord, festival organiser and the city’s designated Night-Time Economy Adviser, Manchester has changed beyond all recognition in the years since he first cut his teeth as a club promoter in his early 20s.

“If I had said to my mum, ‘Look, I don’t want you to panic, but I was working last night and I was shot at’, there would have probably been a big conversation,” he says of one eventful evening. “So I thought it best not to let her know.”