You have to feel awful for Lennon, here - they really thought that his single comment would destroy the band in the U.S. at the time and that he'd ruined everything. And they absolutely lost a LOT of fans in the South of the U.S., as people were burning their albums in the streets. Thankfully the rest of the world didn't understand what the fuss was about and they eventually moved past it, but it's hard to understate just how crazy the reaction in the U.S. was at the time to his comment (which was totally misunderstood, as he says; he wasn't saying they were "better" or that it was a "good thing" they were "bigger than Jesus" - he was mainly talking about the fact that surveys at the time showed that Christianity was declining and that kids were more interested in rock and roll than going to church - there were literally articles about it in Time magazine at the time - that's what he was referencing - but some people thought he literally took it as a "brag" of some kind, when it was more like a statement of amazement that it was true - which it was). It's also important to understand the historical context, here - a lot of the PARENTS of teenagers at the time and middle-aged adults were scared to death of rock and roll and saw it as a great "corruption of youth" and that they were losing control of their kids - so for Lennon to make that statement (that again was literally just referencing a topic of discussion at the time), it basically fed into the worst fears of parents in the U.S., especially in the right-wing/religious South of the U.S., where they were burning the records and calling the Beatles "agents of Satan", etc. All of which was of course, ridiculous. But yeah, Lennon thought he had destroyed their success when the furor started - and before this press conference, witnesses said he was breaking down in tears in front of the other three and apologizing to them. But even though they moved past it, this was the end of the "innocent, mop toppy, fun Beatles" image they cultivated (which was always a fake image from the start; they were amphetamine pill-popping, hooker screwing, hard-drinking lunatics in Germany before Epstein put them in suits and they came up with the "polite" image they had when their first albums came out). This uproar actually ended up giving them permission to be the people they really were after this.

You have to hand it to Paul McCartney for trying to rescue his friend John from the onslaught.

@jk4675

Жыл бұрын

ugh not another McCartneyite

@arlinspire

Жыл бұрын

@@jk4675 Paul McCartney >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> you.

@BoDarvil77

Жыл бұрын

@@jk4675 ugh not another McCartney denier.

@adamfindlay7091

Жыл бұрын

Cute too, I think!

@davidallen346

Жыл бұрын

Paul Mccartney Beatles band leader 👏

"Nasty had in fact only said that The Rutles were 'bigger than Rod'. Rod Stewart wouldn't be big for another eight years."

These lads were under so much pressure all around the world, and they handled it especially John handled it perfectly. The answers were clear and direct. It’s sad to see John struggling and stressing. Heard he cried to Brian about being so stressed about this whole mess and how he didn’t mean to cause harm to anyone.

@user-fu2mi1nd5l

2 ай бұрын

also they knew Paul was to pay the price for the deal later that year

Ive read that John felt under so much pressure behind the scenes before the press conference, he burst into tears in front of his bandmates. My poor baby ❤❤❤❤

@fefejones81

8 ай бұрын

I read the exact same thing. Poor baby. He was always honest.

@kurtkieswetter5514

8 ай бұрын

I love John...but besides abusing his 1st wife and abandoning his first child,go watch how he treated one of his heros bob dylan .....John could be a fucking asshole

@helloihatehumanity7305

6 ай бұрын

Cringe. A grown-ass man who also abuses his wife is not a baby.

@samnous2002

5 ай бұрын

You have read that where? Things have to have a credible source.

@samnous2002

5 ай бұрын

@@helloihatehumanity7305He did not abuse his wife. Where did you get that from?

For someone who was under all that pressure, he still looked great 👍

@amateur_football9751

Жыл бұрын

yeah tragically this probably cost him his life 14 years latter, I blame the reporter who John trusted to speak tongue in cheek

@adamfindlay7091

Жыл бұрын

Kinda thin, IMO.

@randymillhouse791

4 ай бұрын

Cocaine keeps a young man looking fit and trim.

@SiiriCressey

2 ай бұрын

​@@amateur_football9751 That was one of D.M.C.'s excuses?

There was no reaction like this in England or Europe. We're crazy here in the US.

@archangelmusic13

Ай бұрын

not crazy, just dumber, john was just saying that because he was upset that the beatles were more popular than jesus to kids and meant more to kids than jesus.

I always wanted to see this full press conference… good stuff I feel bad for John right here his backs against the wall.. in 2021 this isn’t big deal it’s crazy too see house straight laced America and Britain were in the 1960s… pot really made people relax lol

@MrGiorgioud

Жыл бұрын

To be honest the "Jesus" comment, published first in the London newspaper Evening Standard (written by the Beatles' good friend Maureen Cleave), passed completely unobserved in Britain. It's America that made a big deal out of it when it was re-published in a teen magazine....

I'm a Christian, and I dont know if you guys are aware, but John actually later in his life became a Christian after watching a Billy Graham sermon! I was not offended about what he said here, and I was also a skeptic towards God but just like Lennon, I got to know Him as a relationship and not a religion and things just eventually became fuller for me 😊 im a huge Beatles fan and I stand by the fact that The Beatles are a gift from God, to the world

@nasialai115

7 ай бұрын

Real? 😮😊

@samnous2002

5 ай бұрын

He never became a Christian. Stop fibbing!

@MOMO41837

4 ай бұрын

What year is this? It's never too late to step into the new millennium Put the Bible down and get yourself to a library There is no Sky Daddy or Magic Baby Do you still believe in the tooth fairy and the easter bunny? What a rube...

@ktcarl

2 ай бұрын

What?!?!?!!? Please fact check yourself that Lennon became a Christian?

@Waldenpunk

2 ай бұрын

To be fair, the Beatles have been more important in my life than Jesus ever was.

I forgive them 🙏🏿

I feel so so bad for them because they were so young here and the interviewers were literally asking them questions that were really tricks to get them to say things they didn't mean. And it hurts my heart because if you just see videos like this you can tell they are trying to put words in their mouths, and with the little information they did have, they would twist it, to make them sound horrible for a story. I hurt for john especially because people now say he was so terrible but I really feel like that wasn't what really happened with his wife and stuff because when you see things like this, you can tell they are fishing to get them to say something that they don't mean, and it breaks my heart. And I'm not saying he was an angel of course, and I know he had some drug issues and depression, and I don't doubt he had issues with his wife because obviously it ended for a reason, but he's not some terrible abusive person either. Honestly, he was a beautiful human being with normal human issues and if someone were to make him out to be anything less than that they would be horribly mistaken. We love you john💗💗

This shows how close minded humanity is……John Lennon didn’t mean anything negative about religion, it’s just his way of speakin……and people need to shut up and quit takin shit out of context and look at all angles

@FORTYNINEFOURTYFOUR

Жыл бұрын

too late

@FORTYNINEFOURTYFOUR

Жыл бұрын

RIP Lennon. Thank you Lord Jesus for life and eternal forgiveness.

@stanzaloan3454

Жыл бұрын

This will probably seem unbelievable but my 1000% 19 year old Christian grandma was there when he said that. What struck me about your reply was she had said the exact same thing minus a word or two 😆. Both her and her friend were so loud it started pissing people off. A police officer said you can leave or go to jail. Well they chose jail 😆. That just shows how ridiculous and how far people took that unnecessary bull$h!t. I feel like someone seen an opportunity and ran with it...

@stanzaloan3454

Жыл бұрын

​@@FORTYNINEFOURTYFOUR Its not to late for others

1:15 John said he was sorry, but in a tongue & cheek sort of way. He was like, "Hell yeah I'm sorry you guys can't handle the truth."

@boomerrocksUSA

Жыл бұрын

this was true - he was genuinely sorry he dragged the rest of the band and Brian Epstein into having to apologize for him, but his actual comments? Nope. "Sorry, not sorry".

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

@Boomer Rocks "I'm still sorry I opened m'mouth" but not for what came out of it lol!

@eleazarbeltran6463

7 ай бұрын

@@boomerrocksUSAwell if you had a strong opinion on something, you kinda hold on to that opinion no matter what. I’m a Catholic and a lot of people criticize our religion but it’s their opinion, could be right or wrong. It’s an opinion people have, it’s just how you take of it.

Lennon is my all time fave artist, not rocker I mean all time creative person in history here on earth. Mentions of Jesus, I couldn't care less about. The media exploited this nonsense ad nauseam.

When The Beatles got cancelled 😢.

@wolfgangamadeusmozart1293

Жыл бұрын

They are great musicians. But they will never be bigger than Jesus.

@jimmymcjohns4639

8 күн бұрын

@@wolfgangamadeusmozart1293they took it out of context that made him look bad. Lennon said it in a way that people are paying attention and praising them more than their religion

Looking at this now, I find them frank and open. Even as they're bombarded with repetitive and sometimes overly personal questions. Paul and George clearly support John.

Paul was clearly offended by the reporters snide jab with the gotcha attempt at the end and did what he does many many times over the years and covertly flips him the bird.

They were so patient w the same questions, today's pop stars would have walked out..

What he said was true

@eleazarbeltran6463

7 ай бұрын

it’s always been true. Doesn’t matter if you were Christian or not, it was declining then and people were idolizing television or what was popular then. It’s just the way he said it was out of context

The Beatles were tired at this point. Brian Epstein had them do a press conference at every stop they performed in. They got the same questions over and over. John in a private conversation said something to a reporter that he held in confidence. She blew up the story and the media ran away with it. I love the fact that Paul comes to John's defense. That was the great thing about the Beatles. They were a family and always stuck up for each other.

@johnp515

Ай бұрын

It wasn’t said “ in confidence”. The journalist who John spoke to didn’t “blow up” the story, she merely quoted him in a newspaper piece that went out in Britain without any comment whatsoever until American teen magazines started quoting from it and the controversy grew in America just before The Beatles’ tour there.

These fatherless comments were a little concerning.

Lennons on the speed 😊

They explained the statement but they didn't backpedalled 👍

It should be noted that John Lennon was trying to imply with his quote was that to the youth at that time, the Beatles were popular than going to church.

The irony was that Johns statement was actually on Gods side, to his mind he/Beatles in the natural order were beneath God whereas the world around him - a decreasingly religous world - were acting like that order was reversed, it was the insanity of that that he was pointing out, those offended and defending God missed his point completely

Ironically, this statement today would be applauded by the media and fellow entertainers in the music industry ...

@boomerrocksUSA

3 ай бұрын

100% true.

John wasn’t wrong

John so needed Paul and Yoko to explain what he meant when he was about to lose it. I can see what he meant when he said he had two close friends in his life. Between the lines he also said: "Paul, I love you just as much as I love my wife, even though you won't sleep with me like she does!" :D

Anyone can give his/her opinion about who is more popular than who. There is really no need to take it seriously nor resort to hostility or violent. If someone said I'm not as good as the other one, I will work hard to prove to myself that I'm actually good.

insane that that quote killed him in the end

If this was said these times, he would've gotten away with it.

@redadamearth

8 ай бұрын

Are you kidding? lol If Taylor Swift or any current day pop star said they were more popular than Jesus today, the right-wing and Fox News would lose their minds and call them the devil. lol

@thesofa.4194

7 ай бұрын

rightfully so

Anyone who has a open mind would know that when John Lennon said the Beatles are more popular than Jesus It is just a figure of speech. I understood what he meant because being a religious person I know that God created all things and is popular and famous more than any human being The Beatles are famous and popular because we fans buy and play their music

John Lennon if he had Twitter

I don’t think I’ve ever seen John so anxious. Poor guy. Even back when I was a Christian I always thought they wildly overreacted to his statement.

The other Beatles , Paul in particular, did a fine job in taking the heat off John. In retrospect, John was proved right. Just the Bible Belt lot that got their knickers in a twist.

Restored? its 360p..

@boomerrocksUSA

Жыл бұрын

restored in the sense of combining all available clips, putting them in sequence and matching the brightness, contrast level from clip to clip. You just got it for free and you still complained?

"Mocked for my theory of Christedom" Warm Gun reversed

It was a flippant remark which, even in the 60s, people took offence to and took it the wrong was.

This is embarrassing stuff of the mainstream American press

What a big TO DO over nothing

Cancel Culture was created here.

@404TVfr

2 жыл бұрын

Bruh, cancel culture is just the new book burning. It's always existed.

@boomerrocksUSA

2 жыл бұрын

the attempted cancellation of a celebrity was born with Lennon in 1966.

@doctorrobert1339

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, conservatives invented the so called cancel culture.

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

Oh, c'mon- what did you think McCarthyism was all about?

@davidhickey1830

9 ай бұрын

@@BigBri550It was about getting communists, fellow travelers and useful idiots out of the US government

This is why he he was assasinated in 1980

@brianpattishall774

Ай бұрын

Bullshit

That’s the least of it there very lives were in danger Can you imagine how the maga crowd today 1966 was a hell of a year politically and culturally civil rights the realisation that the Asian war was not going well and the Beatles on top of it all

This is edited and spliced out of order

@boomerrocksUSA

2 жыл бұрын

No full, unedited version of this press conference exists, but this is as close as one can get.

@boomerrocksUSA

2 жыл бұрын

@Michelle MaBelle 🎼 Incorrect. This is Chicago. This is evident by the distinct wall paper behind them

英語圏の他諸国に比べて、アメリカの保守層はこういうところが異様だということに日本人の大多数は気付いていない。レノンさんは軽井沢に永住しておけばよかったね。

Ha Ha some "apology" Lennon

@johnp515

Ай бұрын

He doesn’t want to apologise, he was made to, so it’s completely understandable that his “apology” is insincere. He’s repeatedly saying that his comment was “taken wrong” which was the case.

>More popular than Jesus >Gets killed

@zapdunga12

Жыл бұрын

So from your statement you think Jesus or God had John killed?.... Religion is the cause of more killing, hatred, death, destruction, and wars in the history of the world. Jesus, Christians, Muslims .... funny I've never heard of a war of atheists

@MOMO41837

2 ай бұрын

15 years later...😂

Religion, as George Carlin once said, The escape pod of people with no answers or arguments.

Today Lennon's comment about the decline of Christianity would make him a hero, but his misogyny and making fun of gays and the handicapped would get him cancelled

@jdenino6022

3 ай бұрын

John Lennon made fun of gays?

@davidhickey1830

3 ай бұрын

@@jdenino6022 He sure did, including Brian Epstein

@johnp515

Ай бұрын

@@davidhickey1830 when?

@user-fu2mi1nd5l

20 күн бұрын

@@johnp515 At end of Baby You're a Rich Man......

Where's the apologize, i need that

@boomerrocksUSA

Жыл бұрын

"I said what I said and it was wrong or was taken wrong" - thats about as close as you could of an apology from Lennon. He had a chip on his shoulder his entire life.

@zapdunga12

Жыл бұрын

YOU NEED THAT? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? He had nothing to apologize for if you understood what he said.

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

1:15

@gretchennelson7056

4 ай бұрын

That’s all they fucking deserved. He had nothing to apologize for.

Lennon, you know exactly what you were saying, and he knows exactly what he meant To bad your not around Grow Up

@marcokite

Жыл бұрын

'you're' not 'your'

John Lennon was more important to me in my life and influenced me much more than Jesus or God did. You see I saw John, heard him speak, he was real. I've never met Jesus, only read books about him written by other men. And I don't even know what Jesus looked like. And another thing, Jesus is not even his name as the letter J wasn't created until the 1600s. He was a Hebrew and was bar mitzvahed. What do you think he was celebrating during the Last Supper? Passover. He was bar mitzvahed. He never gave up his religion. He was called Rabbi by his followers not Jesus. His real name was probably Yeshua bar Yosef. I don't even know how or when the 'Christ' thing started. I do know that the place Christians call hell is never mentioned in the Bible. Catholics came up with that hundreds of years later along with the idea of Saints. Christians can't even agree on their own religion. You have so many denominations. Some believe He is the son of God and others believe he IS GOD. Jews believe THEY are the chosen people. Muslims think Allah is God. And there are so many other religions. Here's how I see it. If there were truly a God, He would have made his wishes as easy to understand as 1 plus 1. 1 plus 1 in the U.S. is 2. 1 plus 1 in India is 2. 1 plus 1 all over the earth is 2. It's as simple as that. If there really was a God, he would have made his plan and wishes for his children as simple as 1 plus 1. This way the entire world would have been united as one from the very beginning. There never would have to have been the Holy Crusades, wars, death, destruction, and killing in His name. There never would have been the need for prophets or preachers or priests or for that matter Jesus or Moses or Mohammed. Just 1 plus I equals 2. If there was really a God.

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

John Lennon wasn't talking about the existence of God. Lennon's initial comments that got leaked in the press were his views on the state of Christianity in the west which he felt it was on the decline. And it was in decline, particularly in England at that time. The C of E was becoming a stagnant, irrelevant institution, a colossal monument to useless dogma.

@johnalkema8575

Жыл бұрын

Listen. What John said was taken completely out of context and was not said in any shape or form against God or Jesus. As a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. John may have known it or not but his preachings of peace and love come first and foremost from our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Prince of peace and John whether he knew it or not was only conveying it through God. I mean yes John had his faults just like everyone else. But his message of peace and love can only come through our Lord Jesus Christ

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

@@johnalkema8575 You're right: John's "Jesus Christ" quote was completely out of context; furthermore, Lennon didn't know he was going to be quoted in the press. He was ambushed and then blamed for it! Maybe he was naive to not realize that his quips to a journalist might end up in print, but he didn't deserve the backlash he got for it.

@MrGiorgioud

Жыл бұрын

What you need to understand is the fundamental difference between Europe and America. The "Jesus" quote was part of an informal interview conducted by the journalist and Beatles confidant Maureen Cleave for the London newspaper The Evening Standard. It was part of a long conversation regarding the decline of morals in the West, and it went completely unnoticed in Britain. The interview was re-published in an American teen magazine, and that quote isolated and amplified. With the substrate of Christian fundamentalism still prevalent in American society, it was easy for the quote to be misrepresented and voila, scandal ensued.

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

@@MrGiorgioud You are absolutely right, Giorgio. That is what happened. Btw, do you suppose Lennon's comments to Maureen Cleave may have been "pillow talk" if there is any truth to the rumor that the two had an affair?

5:40 Paul's annoyed, again at john. John loved to hear himself talk... blood hell...😅 He never lets people talk. I hate that. Paul was trying to cover John's arse and he couldn't lol..smh..i never liked john anyway. George was my favourite 👍🏻💯

@skarlex7065

9 ай бұрын

They were interviewing John because he was the one who said it I don’t know what your on about. John handled it well

@gretchennelson7056

4 ай бұрын

They were interviewing John you idiot, and if you don’t like him don’t watch. Simple as that.

Worst apology ever. John seemed insincere and stressed.

@tomlynntigard

Жыл бұрын

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Try being that famous with everyone taking what you say as truth or advice every day! "I said what I said and it was wrong" John said sincerely. FORGIVE hoping we'll be fogiven for our idle words we all have spoken.

@gretchennelson7056

4 ай бұрын

He had NOTHING to apologize for. Of course he was stressed. How would you like to be in that,position?

No actually it’s not declining, but you did! And are no longer

@boomerrocksUSA

Жыл бұрын

oh FFS this was 1966 and he was talking about Christianity in England the connection kids had to The Beatles compared to religion.

@gamerboz_4528

Жыл бұрын

Imagine having a grudge for something that happened 56 years ago, L comment, W band.

@bellezavudd

Жыл бұрын

Still one of the most influential bands in history.

@zapdunga12

Жыл бұрын

He may not be here physically but his music will live on long after your sorry ass is dead. And the fact that you are on KZread with millions of things to watch, yet you are watching a person who's been dead 42 years. Who's going to even know you existed 100 years from now?

@BigBri550

Жыл бұрын

Christianity is declining in western, industrialized nations. In the third world Christianity is still spreading like an epidemic.