Music Ramblings
Vince Tracy
Moments in history are pivotal. In the early 1960s The Beatles were exciting all of us with their
music and they were beginning to become very popular in America. The groups were becoming
very popular around Merseyside and some were gaining popularity in other parts of the world
with Germany and America well to the fore. I listened to the American Forces Network Radio
AFN and Radio Luxembourg - the BBC had not yet started Radio 1. Radio Caroline was another
huge influence and the DJs were able to share their personalities with various gimmicks used in
producing jingles to play on their shows. It’s not always clear who was choosing their music and
you might remember the Payola scandal where money was being paid to DJs and producers to
give records airtime on popular shows. Like most people I just enjoyed the music and didn’t realise
there was so much politics involve. I hadn’t known that the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, had
bought copies of the song Love Me Do to help the Beatles climb the charts. Despite all the hard
work of their astute manager the Beatles were to generate their own problems.
In 1966, John Lennon’s statement that The Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus Christ’ was
published in The London Evening Standard. He said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink.
We’re more popular then Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.
Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.”
This was hardly the most diplomatic thing he could have said. There was a terrific backlash and
Christian groups in the US were outraged resulting in some states burning Beatles records.
Lennon later apologised. I suspect he was ordered to do so by his manager. However, had the
Beatles got too big for their boots and did John Lennon really believe what he had told the press?
In 1972, Lennon wrote a letter to American Evangelist Oral Roberts, apparently in which he
apologized and further explained his statement about being “bigger” than God. Here’s an excerpt
from a letter that Lennon wrote to Roberts:
“The point is this, I want happiness. I don’t want to keep on with drugs. Paul told me once,
‘You made fun of me for taking drugs, but you will regret it in the end.’ Explain to me what
Christianity can do for me. Is it phoney? Can He love me? I want out of hell.”
It has been subsequently explained that John wasn’t against Jesus but was against organised
religion. Well, John certainly did put his foot in it and Christianity has survived whereas the Beatles
are now a memory with only two of the Fab Four still alive. I still love their music and I like to play
their songs on my guitar. This, however, was a classic instance of saying the wrong thing at the
wrong time and the Beatles certainly suffered through John’s faux pas.
John would seem to have had his heart in a good place with his campaigns for peace and love.
Many of us still like to hear his Christmas song and the world certainly still needs to bear his
prophetic words in mind . . . all we are saying is give peace a chance.
All we are saying is give peace a chance.
John Lennon
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