Linda Brogan: Twelve words, three women and the Reno Club

Between 1976 and 1981, Linda Brogan, a multi-award winning playwright, attended The Reno nightclub in Moss Side. On the corner of Princess Road, this famous venue hosted the likes of Bob Marley, Muhammad Ali, and Tony Wilson. With live music and drinks, it became a hub for the West Indian community in Manchester.

The club closed in 1986 and the building was demolished. Then, over thirty years later in 2017, Linda played a key role in excavating the site.

This is the story of how Linda met the three women with whom she created the new book, Twelve Words.

Twelve Words were the secret ingredients that unlocked truths, secrets, confessions and released trauma.

Without any formal expressive writing experience, three women born in Moss-side and inner-city Manchester, embarked on an excavation of their lives, sculpted by Linda Brogan, that together fused into a book of self-discovery and pride. It is rippled with pain, anger, violence and compensated with fun, laughter and Manc humour.

Host or Publisher Manchester Library and Information Service