More popular than Jesus John Lennon's comments. The 1966 "L'Osservatore Romano" article noted that Lennon had apologised for his comments and that fellow Beatle Paul McCartney had criticized them." In 2010, Starr said that he had now found religion, adding, "For me, God is in my life ... I think the search has been on since the 1960s." In 2012, the "Houston Press" music blog compared several aspects of popular media and concluded that Jesus is more popular than the Beatles. In 2015, "The Philippine Star" said that almost half a century later, Lennon's statement proved half-wrong, reporting that "rock 'n roll is dead
More popular than Jesus came into contact with the Revd Ronald Gibbons, who told reporters that a Beatles version of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" might provide the Church of England with "the very shot in the arm it needs". The day after Cleave's article appeared in the "Evening Standard", Beatles press officer Tony Barrow offered "Datebook", a US teen magazine, rights to all four interviews. Barrow believed the pieces were important to show fans that the Beatles were progressing beyond simple pop music and producing more intellectually challenging work. As "Datebook" was a socially progressive magazine that addressed subjects such as interracial dating