(Friday, July 29, 1966) — The American teen magazine Datebook today republished John Lennon’s remarks that “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus,” which had first appeared in England on March 4, 1966, in an interview for the Evening Standard newspaper by journalist Maureen Cleave.

The republication of the Lennon quote in Datebook would set off a chain of events that would culminate in public bonfires of The Beatles’ records and a public backlash that at times made the group fearful for their lives,