Manchester Mavericks

Local author and journalist Colin Blaney has spent the past decade or so interviewing personalities from Manchester and Salford as a reporter for various local news organisations. Famous as the author of ''Grafters'', the best-selling true crime hit which told the tale of his years as the leader of a gang of thieves who operated throughout Europe during the 70s and 80s, Colin could be described as a maverick himself; that is, someone untamed by the need to conform to the nine-to-five lifestyle. His interest in these kindred spirits led him to interview some famous and not so famous people who have had an impact on the cultural, sporting and political life of Manchester. Among them are writers, musicians, teddy boys, mods and rockers, a woman who worked at the Midland Hotel and the man behind the Strangeways riot. Some of them are no longer with us while others played a small but vital role in the city and displayed the Mancunian spirit regularly described as ''not kow-towing to anyone''. Some are Mancs by birth others have been welcomed with open arms by a city well known as a magnet for immigrants from all four corners of the globe.