The nightclub that changed Manchester
Witness History

The nightclub that changed Manchester

B1IntermediateSeptember 21, 202610 min
  • Documentary

In 1962, Nigerian-born Phil Magbotiwan opened a brand-new nightclub in Manchester, England. In part because of his own personal experiences of racism, Phil wanted to create somewhere where everyone would be welcome – Manchester’s first racially inclusive nightclub The Reno was born. The nightclub became a particularly important space for Manchester's mixed heritage community, who felt unwelcome in city centre venues. Phil’s youngest daughter, Lisa Ayegun shared her memories of the Reno and her dad, with Matt Pintus in 2022. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. Witness History is a short BBC Wo...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 8 of 12 · 1:12

notifications on.

the city. The Reno was Manchester's first racially inclusive nightclub, a venue where

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

  • Tap for the meaning

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B1

B1 · Intermediate

Fine if you can follow simple news

A1 29%A2 38%B1 20%B2 9%C1 3%
  • 88% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 168 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 46 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I'm going to be a little bit more I'm going to be a little bit more I'm going to be a little bit more

1:00

life by hearing from those who were there. Episodes are less than 10 minutes long and they come out every weekday. If that appeals to you why not subscribe and turn your push notifications on. Today we're going to Manchester in England for the story of a nightclub that changed

1:16

the city. The Reno was Manchester's first racially inclusive nightclub, a venue where everyone was welcome. Just a warning, this episode contains some racist and outdated language. Matt Pintus has the story.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (9 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy