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
A Quiet Word With ... had interviewed anyone on television, and the first time he interviewed anyone by himself in twenty years. Some time later Martin viewed an "infuriating" interview with American comedian and actor Will Ferrell on the Nine Network's "A Current Affair" that involved the reporter attempting to get Ferrell to repeat catchphrases from the film "" rather than containing anything of substance; Martin regarded this interview as an embarrassment to the nation. These two factors gave him the idea for a more substantive interview program, and inspired him to create "A Quiet Word With ...". The first episode, featuring Martin conversing with