It was undoubtedly a left-wing company in the ’60s and ’70s especially when feelings were running very high between left and right in this country and it was a given at Granada that you were left-wing. It was un-stated but there. You were kind of anti-Establishment and that phrase sort of sums up Granada’s ethos because you would question power, and institutions. The old ways of doing things had to be questioned and therefore you came from a radical perspective. That’s not to say that they didn’t do over the left or the Wilson government or Callaghan or anything else because anti-establishment came first but yes, if you talk to people they came from the Left, which is still the case pretty much today (although the difference with today and then is that they say they do, but they probably aren’t from the Left! (Too many Chardonnay socialists now). But industrial relations were bad in the ’70s all over Britain. There was a man, as John Huntley told me, the TUC’s Regional Officer for the North-west, and his name was Colin Barnett, and he was on Granada Reports more or less every day. He was on the box more than Bob Greaves! And there was a show called Union World which – was David Kemp…
David Kemp was Producer.
Yes. Can you imagine that today, Union World? And that was a typical Granada statement. Granada liked making statements like, you know, like the Election 500 or the BAFTA Craft Awards from Manchester. This is important and we are going to bloody well do it and Union World was one of those. But yes, definitely, everyone knew it was Left-wing. It was from the gritty North, Granada from the North. Well you wouldn’t find such feelings down in Thames or London Weekend or Southern. Northern and proud and that was Granada. Not just in current affairs, but through its drama output, regional programmes and entertainment.
