Religious views of the Beatles the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus". Lennon had, in fact, originally made the remark to the British newspaper "London Evening Standard" and when it was first published in the United Kingdom, in March 1966, his words had provoked no public reaction. After "Datebook" quoted his comments five months later, however, vociferous protests broke out in the United States. The Beatles' records were publicly burned, threats were made and some radio stations refused to play their music. The protest also spread to other countries including Mexico, South Africa and Spain. Two press conferences were held in the US, where
Evening Standard evening edition eclipsed its morning counterpart. Both "The Standard" and the "Evening Standard" were acquired by C. Arthur Pearson in 1904. In May 1915, Edward Hulton purchased the "Evening Standard" from Davison Dalziel. Dalziel had purchased both papers in 1910, and closed "The Standard", the morning paper, in 1916. Hulton introduced the gossip column "Londoner's Diary", originally billed as "a column written by gentlemen for gentlemen". In 1923, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the "Daily Express", bought Hulton's newspapers, although he sold them shortly thereafter to the "Daily Mail"s owner Lord Rothermere, with the exception of the "Standard". It became a