Burning Records

In 1966, John spoke to a reporter in London. They were talking about the modern church, and he said, 'We're more popular than Jesus now.' When John's words were reported in the US a few months later, many people were angry. There were newspaper stories like 'Lennon Says that the Beatles are Bigger than Jesus'. This wasn't what John meant. But some shops refused to sell their records. Some radio stations refused to play them. A few radio stations asked listeners to burn their Beatles records. Years later, Ringo joked, 'It was OK for us, because then they bought them again!' But at the time, the band and their manager were worried.

So what did John mean? He tried to explain his words to the American people before the band toured the country again. 'I was just saying it as a fact,' he explained. 'It is true - more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater... I'm sorry that I opened my mouth.' It was a bad start to the Beatles last tour.