More popular than Jesus Sources More popular than Jesus "More popular than Jesus" was part of a longer remark made by John Lennon during a 1966 interview, in which he argued that the public was more infatuated with the Beatles than with Jesus and that rock music might outlast Christianity. His opinions drew no controversy when originally published in the United Kingdom, but when republished in the United States a few months later, angry reactions flared up in Christian communities. The full quotation was: The statement originates from a March 1966 article for the London newspaper the "Evening Standard". When "Datebook", a US teen
Evening Standard Associated Newspapers bought out the remaining stake, turning it into "The Standard". In 1987 the "Evening News" was briefly revived to compete with Robert Maxwell's "London Daily News", but was reabsorbed into "The Standard" later that year, after the collapse of Maxwell's paper. In 1988 the "Evening Standard" included the by-line "Incorporating the 'Evening News'", which remained until the paper's sale in 2009. On 21 January 2009, the Russian businessman and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev, owners of "The Independent", agreed to purchase control of the newspaper at £1 for 64 percent ownership. A few