PAUL MCCARTNEY REFLECTS ON JOHN LENNON'S COMMENT

In 1966, an interview was published with John Lennon in London’s Evening Standard where said the band was “more popular than Jesus.”

Paul understands why Lennon made it. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1984, McCartney said:

"I was shocked, but I understood why he said it. He was trying to make a point about the power of popular culture. He was saying that the Beatles were more influential than Jesus, but he wasn't trying to be blasphemous. He was just trying to make a point."

Paul also said that he didn't think the comment was meant to be taken literally. He said:

"I think he was just trying to make a point about the power of popular culture. He wasn't saying that the Beatles were better than Jesus, he was just saying that they were more popular."

While this statement didn’t cause too much of a ruckus in the U.K., it was considered quite scandalous in the U.S. The Beatles were gearing up for their 1966 North America tour. John addressed his comments at a press conference when they arrived in the U.S. He apologized, saying he was not anti-religion and simply made a poor comparison regarding the band’s popularity. 

In an interview with The Adam Buxton Podcast, Paul McCartney recalled that this press conference was one of the few times he saw John Lennon “nervous.” Paul said that John was "trying to be funny" but that he "didn't realize how it would be taken."

“One of the only times I saw John nervous was when he had to answer that question at a press conference,” Paul revealed. “He had an answer for it, which was he was actually being positive about religion. But he had to play the game, and he had to sort of be very serious about it. And I think that made him a bit nervous.”

In the end, the comment helped to solidify the Beatles' position as cultural icons.

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