1962: Ken Barlow reads his work in print
Survival: A Magazine of the Left was a left-wing political review which published a controversial article by Ken Barlow in its fourth issue in 1962.
The essay, for which Ken was paid 25 guineas, was part of a group of articles in which young people gave their views on the Great Britain of the early 1960s. Ken got the gig thanks to a former teacher at Manchester University who recommended him to Survival's editor. Having grown up in a backstreet terrace in Weatherfield, Ken wrote an opinion piece about the lifestyles of the working class, secretly quizzing his neighbours in Coronation Street in order to gather research. The resulting article, entitled "The Student and the Working Class", was a 2,000-word attack on Ken's class, characterised by the lad as being "lazy-minded, politically ignorant, starved of a real culture and stubbornly prejudiced against any advance in human insight and scientific progress."
The magazine was published in February 1962 and caused furore in Coronation Street when the story was picked up by a local paper with the headline "Ex-student slams neighbours". The most vocal complainants were Len Fairclough and Harry Hewitt, who demanded an apology from Ken, although Ken stood by his comments, insisting that his problem was with society rather than individuals and that his words shouldn't be taken personally. Riled by Ken's dismissive manner - and being branded a "loud-mouthed, beer-swilling moron" - Len thumped the lad in the Rovers Return, knocking him out.
A few days later, The Banner newspaper offered Ken 180 guineas to write a series of essays on "Life in a typical Northern town". Ken was tempted, but ultimately turned down the offer feeling that it wasn't worth the trouble.