We Built This City: Greater Manchester Roland Dransfield

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Greater Manchester with Lisa Morton as she explores the enduring values that make Mancunians remarkable. This episode of 'We Built This City' brings together stories from past guests like Sharon Latham, Siobhan Johnston and Anna Jameson and others who embody the city's spirit of connectivity, generosity, and resilience.
You’ll hear stories of unexpected friendships and connections, career pivots and discover the power of connections, the magic of loyalty, and the spirit that has shaped Manchester's legacy this is an episode that's not just about a city, but about the people who make it great.
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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter

Dive into the vibrant world of punk rock, DIY ethos, and the transformative power of music with John Robb an adopted Mancunian who has built a life in the beats and bars of Manchester.
John is a prolific writer who was the first to write books on the likes of the Stone Roses and The Charlatans Discover the untold stories behind the city's gritty rise to musical fame and how John's relentless creativity continues to shape its future.

Join Lisa Morton to hear how a punk kid from the coast became a cornerstone of the city's music scene, and why he believes Manchester's perpetual state of change is its greatest strength.

John is currently on a spoken-word tour and you can find out more about that here.

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter

Connect with John:
Via ‘Louder Than War’
On X FKA Twitter
On Instagram

“We look after the community and try to grow Manchester” 
Julie Twist is a property pioneer who has been helping to shape the city's skyline since 1994.
 In this episode of "We Built This City," Julie recounts her unexpected leap from supermarket employee to city centre property specialist celebrating 30 years of her company, Julie Twist Properties. 
Discover alongside host Lisa Morton how Julie took on a male-dominated industry aged only 23, and what it was like to navigate a business through historic events like the Manchester IRA bomb.
Julie shares insights on the seismic shifts in Manchester's real estate landscape, the rise of luxury developments, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with a burgeoning business. 

Find out how you create a community where there wasn’t one before and what it takes to create a 24-hour city.


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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter

Connect with Julie 
On Rightmove
Via her website
On LinkedIn

“All of these formidable women, it’s amazing”
To mark International Women’s Day 2024, Lisa Morton is asking some of Greater Manchester’s most inspiring role models what they are both celebrating and campaigning for in 2024. 
In this special episode of We Built This City, Lisa explores what’s changing for women across boardrooms, classrooms, changing rooms and dancefloors.
You’ll hear from Jane Kenyon, founder of Girls Out Loud, Radio 1’s Victoria Jane, Zalena Vandrewala, chair of Women of the Year awards, Yvonne Harrison, CEO of Women In Football and Natasha Davies, Senior Marketing Manager for fine dining group, D&D London, who made it onto Northern Power Women’s Future List for 2024. 
Find out what they are proud of, what they’re still fighting for -  and which Greater Mancunian women inspire them to keep pushing for change.
Girls Out Loud have an upcoming fundraising ball on 19th April find out more information here.

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter

“Music is all around us in Manchester. It really is!”
Join Host Lisa Morton as one of Manchester Music’s most influential figures DJ Paulette shares stories of breaking barriers and beats in a male-dominated industry, from blagging a lifetime Hacienda membership to spinning records at the city's most iconic venues. 
In this episode, Paulette reflects on the legendary “Flesh” club night the Hacienda's first gay event, where Paulette’s soundtracking helped to create cultural shifts and the unforgettable nights that were a testament to the transformative power of music.
Hear what is was like for Paulette to lose all of her live event work overnight during the pandemic, her involvement with StreamGM how the reaction of mancunians made her proud to be from this city.
Hear the insights and stories behind DJ Paulette’s much-anticipated book “Welcome to the Club, The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ”  It tells the story of over 30 years of living a creative life, the intersection of gay and rave culture and using music to shake things up.

Paulette is celebrating her book launch and International Women's Day with an event at the Whitworth Art Gallery on March 7th 2024. She’ll be in conversation with AFRODEUTSCHE. You can get free tickets here

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter


Connect with Paulette
Buy her book
Via her Website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter

“We couldn’t have picked a better city to build this arena”
Dive into the electrifying world of live events with Sam Piccione. Sam is the President International of Oak View Group, the company behind the much-anticipated Co-Op Live Arena.
Sam’s work has taken him from the United States to China, London, and now Manchester, where he's helping to create a new state-of-the-art venue. Sam and host Lisa Morton discuss his journey from music-loving New Jersey kid to key player in the global live events scene. 
With iconic Manchester venues, like the Hacienda, the Free Trade Hall and the Ritz, what will this new space bring to the city and how do you build something brand new yet still incorporate the values of a Manchester institution like the Co-op? 
Sam and Lisa discuss the unique features of Co-op Live, its community impact, and why Manchester is the perfect setting for this new chapter in live entertainment.  Sam explains what it will feel like to be one of thousands of fans watching your favourite artists at Co-Op Live.  

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Your host, Lisa Morton, started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.
To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Connect with Lisa and Roland Dransfield: 
Via our website
On Instagram
On X FKA Twitter
On Spotify


Connect with Sam
On LinkedIn