More popular than Jesus quoted Lennon's comments in July, extensive protests broke out in the US, particularly throughout the Bible Belt. Some radio stations stopped playing Beatles songs, their records were publicly burned, press conferences were cancelled, and threats were made. The controversy coincided with the group's US tour in August 1966, and Lennon and Brian Epstein attempted to quell the dispute at a series of press conferences. Some tour events experienced disruption and intimidation, including a picketing by the Ku Klux Klan. Press coverage of their just-released album "Revolver" was also overshadowed by the controversy. Shortly after the controversy broke, Lennon apologised for
Evening Standard staunchly Conservative paper, harshly attacking Labour in 1945 in a high-profile campaign that backfired. In the 1960s, the paper was upstaged by "The Evening News", which sold over 1 million copies nightly. During the decade, the paper also began to publish the comic strip "Modesty Blaise", which bolstered its sales throughout the 1970s. The "Evening Standard" ceased publishing on Saturdays on 30 Nov 1974, when it still produced six editions daily. In 1980, Express Newspapers merged the "Standard" with Associated Newspapers' "Evening News" in a Joint Operating Agreement. The new paper was known as the "New Standard" until 1985, when