More popular than Jesus was "bigger than God", but reaction was minimal. In a 2008 article marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' double album "The Beatles" (also known as the "White Album"), the Vatican newspaper, "L'Osservatore Romano", issued the statement: In response to the statement, Starr said "Didn't the Vatican say we were possibly Satanic, and they've still forgiven us? I think the Vatican's got more to talk about than the Beatles." In its 14 April 2010 edition, "L'Osservatore Romano" responded to Starr's comments, stating that "John Lennon had no need of forgiveness from the Vatican, "L'Osservatore Romano" reprinted its 1966 article on
Fifth Beatle the "fifth Beatle", but over the years he and producer George Martin have clearly been recognised as the inner circle members who most profoundly affected the band's career. In an interview in the 1990s describing Epstein's involvement in the band's rise to fame, Martin declared "He's the fifth Beatle, if there ever was one." McCartney summarized the importance of Epstein to the Beatles when he was interviewed in 1997 for a BBC documentary about Epstein. He stated: "If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian." In 2013 Epstein was the subject of a graphic novel entitled "The Fifth Beatle"