Gangster BBC Radio 5 live

Gangster is the extraordinary story of Paul Massey - labelled Salford's Mr Big. It charts his rise and inevitable fall from a young tearaway on the streets of Salford to the head of an organised crime group controlling drugs, security and nightclub doors in Manchester.

It’s a story told not only by some of those close to him – but uniquely by Massey himself – though excerpts from an interview most of which has never been broadcast before.

Presenter Livvy Haydock enters the secretive underworld to speak to hardened criminals who reveal how Massey climbed his way to the top through violence and extortion.

But Massey was unlike many other gangland bosses. He wasn’t just in it for the money, he also saw himself as a community leader. To many in his neighbourhood, he was seen as a Robin Hood figure – looking after their interests, promising to keep hard drugs off the streets and enforcing his own style of street justice.

From the tough streets of Salford, Paul Massey begins his rise in the criminal underworld. While in jail, he hatches a plan to bring the gangs together and take over the city.

This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and Sound Design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Manchester is at the centre of a cultural revolution. The Hacienda. Acid house. Ecstasy. Paul Massey makes a moves on the drug scene and enforces his own style of justice on the streets.

This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Paul Massey is on a wild night out. He's being filmed by a TV crew, but the evening will change his life forever. A rival threatens to muscle in on his territory, but Massey is having none of it. And he spots a new money making venture.

This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Massey sets his sights on the top political job in Salford, but he's facing pressure on all sides. The police are out to get their man and he finds himself caught up in a violent gangland feud.

This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

An assassin lays in wait. The aftermath takes the gang war to new levels of violence, leaving a young innocent victim seriously hurt and hardened criminals shocked at the callous brutality.

This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series Producer: Paul Grant
Producer: Oliver Newlan
Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey
Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston