Tales from the Dancefloor: Sacha Lord’s Sunday Times bestseller celebrates Manchester’s 30 year nightlife revolution

Sacha Lord has published a new book telling the inside story of how Manchester's nightlife culture has changed across three decades

“Don’t worry about it, it will all work out in the end,” were the words of advice Sacha Lord would give to his 16-year-old self.

It’s difficult to picture Sacha Lord, now a household name across Greater Manchester, not knowing what to do with his life, but that’s precisely where he found himself back then.

He needn’t have worried.

Tales From the Dance Floor by Sacha Lord

Now, 30 years on from his first event at the Hacienda, Sacha Lord has released a tell-all book, “Tales From The Dancefloor,” detailing all the gritty details from his extensive career.

Now a Sunday Times bestseller, Tales from the Dancefloor was released on 11 April after much anticipation and received rave reviews.

“Anyone who has partied in Manchester over the past 20 years can thank Sacha Lord,” said The Daily Telegraph. “Lord has put Manchester’s clubland on the map for a new generation.”

It was also given 5 stars by the Sun.

Hundreds turned up to the book and it was sold out at Waterstones within 24 hours.

Author Sacha Lord said he was “blown away and humbled” by the book launch and “very pleased with the response” the book has received in the short time it has been out.

The Hacienda glory days

With 30 years of stories there’s something for everyone, whether you remember the Hacienda glory days, spend your nights at the Warehouse Project or are an avid Parklife Festival lover.

Tales from the Dancefloor portrays all walks of Sacha Lord’s career, but what has been his toughest battle yet?

Across his career, Lord has overcome many hurdles but nothing compares to that of the gangsters in the nineties.

They feature regularly in the book, and Sacha has documented several run-ins with them.

“There was an incident that you will read in the book where I was shot at, and another incident where I was petrol bombed. It was all because I wouldn’t give the gangsters what they wanted.”

Night Time Economy Advisor

Lord, now the Night time economy advisor for Greater Manchester, battled those dark times to become a success story for Manchester.

Now that gangsters and gun crime in the city are almost ‘completely eradicated,’ he has had time to focus on growing his musical empire and now write his book.

He said: “I think people will laugh, there are some funny stories in there and I think people will be quite surprised at what Manchester was like in the 90s.

“it also shows that in the preceding three decades how well the city region has done.”

Manchester is the UK capital of Nightlife

He’s not wrong there. Manchester holds the crown as the UK capital of Nightlife, and our nighttime economy has bounced back better than anywhere in the city after the pandemic.

“It’s an exciting time there are so many good new promoters coming through.

“We’ve got so many small venues like the White Hotel, Hidden and Joshua Brooks it does feel like something special is happening again.”

While he’s spent months reflecting through the writing process, Lord is still clearly looking ahead.

On current music he’s enjoying, he said we should check out what’s going on in Wigan.

“I don’t know what’s in the water in Wigan but there’s a lot of great music coming from there,” he mused.

It’s clear Sacha feels an excitement brewing in Manchester’s nightlife once again.

Across his career, he has supported many up-and-coming artists and overseen them on their way to greatness.

He mentioned Bicep, whose song Glue was included in the promotion of his book.

The Irish dance act has been booked by Lord countless times.

“We had them when they were just starting off and now they’re headlining shows.”

Sacha’s dream bookings

In the spirit of looking back, we asked him who he regretted not booking.

As a relentless Bowie fan, he says he’s the musician he wished he could’ve book to play more than anyone else.

He suggested a possible lineup of “David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Prince”.

Not bad.

“It would be incredible, wouldn’t it? You can’t compare anyone to people like that.”

Photo credit: Greater Mancunians Project

Sacha isn’t involved with organising the lineup of Parklife, the festival he co-founded. He is however hugely impressed by this year’s lineup.

This year’s lineup comprises Doja Cat, Nia Archives, Shy FX and many more.

So why now for the book?

Sacha revealed that he had turned down several offers for book deals before, but this time, the timing felt just right.

“The stars were aligned. This year is 30 years since the first ever event I put on – which was at the Hacienda 4th of July 1994.”

Sacha Lord loves Manchester deeply.

He has dedicated an extremely successful career to the city and showcasing it to the world.

The new book Tales From The Dancefloor offers a surprise for every reader, whether you love music, or just love Manchester.

You can get a copy by clicking here

Proceeds will benefit the Sacha Lord Foundation, which helps young people who did not go through conventional education routes, to get them in to work in the events and hospitality sector.

This article was last updated 7 months ago.
It was first published on 3 May 2024 and is subject to be updated from time to time. Please refresh or return to see the latest version.

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