| First of all, here are some pictures of Ringo to make up for me not being able to post them earlier  :
      
 aww, haha.
 weird seeing it in colour, isn't it?
 Haha, Ringo and the Monkees (minus Mike)
 
I hope that's enough to satisfy all you Ringo fans out there.... if not, you're crazy.
Anyhoo, today is August 11, which means....
TODAY IN 1966 THE BEATLES WERE IN CHICAGO!!!!
If you don't know why, then shame on you.
John: "If I had said television is more popular than Jesus, I might have gotten away with it"
*reporters laugh*
"But as I had just happened to be talking to a friend I used the word 'Beatles' as a remote thing, not as what I think; as 'Beatles' like those other Beatles, like other people see us. And I had just said they are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way, which is the wrong way, yap, yap."
Reporter: "Some teenagers have said that-- have repeated your statement, said "The Beatles-- I like the Beatles more than Jesus Christ. What do you think about that?"
John: "Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England, that we meant more to kids than Jesus did.... or religion. At that time, I wasn't knocking it or putting it down; I was just saying it as a fact. And it sort of-- it is true especially more for England, than here. You know, I'm not saying that we're better or greater or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person, or God as a thing, or whatever it is. You know, I just said what I said and it was wrong, or was taken wrong, and now it's all this!"
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John: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
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GEORGE: The 'bigger than Jesus quote wasn't really said the way it came out in America, where they took that one thing and blew it out of context. But the repercussions were big, particularly in the Bible Belt. In the South they were having a field day. There's footage of the disc jockey who started all the uproar saying, 'Come and bring your Beatle trash and deposit it here! We will have different sites all around the States to deposit this trash and we'll be burning it.' And the Ku Klux Klan were out there saying, 'We're going to get them.'"
NEIL ASPINALL: "As the Americans had taken exception to the comment, Brian suggested to John that he record a taped statement explaining what he had meant and regretting all the fuss. Studio time was booked with George Martin, but then there was a change of plan.
Brian went over to the States prior to ther tour and made apologies, and in a press conference told promoters that if they wanted to cancel a show they could do so. Nobody did."
(John approved Brian's statement through the telephone)
BRIAN EPSTEIN'S PRESS STATEMENT: "The quote which John Lennon made more than three months ago to a London columnist has been quoted and misrepresented entirely ouyt of context. Lennon is deeply interested in religion, and was at the time having serious ralks with Maureen Cleave, who is both a friend of The Beatles and a representative for the "London Evening Standard".
What he said, and meant, was that he was astonished that in the last fifty years the Church in England, and therefore Christ, had suffered a decline in interest. He did not mean to boast about The Beatles' fame. He meant to point out that The Beatles' effect appeared to be, to him, a more immediate one upon certain of the younger generation."
RINGO: It was a real mess in America because they took it the wrong way. We read it and it passed us by. It wasn't blasphemous - it was a point of view. If we took it on a worldwide view the church would still be winning. There weren't more people coming to see us than going to churh.
It was a valid point. We were punks and said a few things, but not to cause what it caused. It only did so in America because someone took that one line and shot it to the moon."
JOHN: "In England nobody took any notice: they know this guy's blabbing off - who is he? But over here some luncatic gets his Klan mask on and starts running round burning crosses" '74
GEORGE: "Although there was a big palaver, we got to America and held a press conference where John apologised. Under the pressure of the cameras and the press, despite the stress of having to deal with what he'd caused, he gave his apology or explanation. He got through it and we decided, "We'll go and do the gig.'"
RINGO: "We all had to pay for it and it was a pretty scary time. John had to apologise, not because of what he'd said, but to save our lives because there were a lot of heavy threats - not only to him, but to the whole band. Sometimes you've got to take your cap in your hand and say 'excuse me.'"
"You had a serious and long talk about religion (in which you are very interested) and the quote came out of the fact that you were astonished and surprised that Christianity in the last 50 years in this country has gone off in its appeal. When you said the Beatles are more popular than Jesus you were not trying to upset anyone, but suggesting that your appeal is more immediate. * He felt you shouldn't mention the Disciples being "thick" as that wold cause more offence. Also that you could conclude with "Profound and sincere apologies to Americans and to all people throughout the world who may have misinterpreted this quote, which was taken out of context.
George MArtin has said he will do the tape with you and has booked Number 3 Studio at Abbey Road for 2.30PM tomorrow (as your BBC thing at Paul's is for 4PM).
Brian wanted to discuss this with you. If he doesn't call you and you want to reach him, (remembering NY is 5 hours BEHIND us) he's at the Waldorf TOWERS which is EL 5-3000. Our office there is 212-563-6767. I'll be home (HYDe Pk 6440) til around 7.45 tonight....anyway will see you at Abbey Road tomorrow."
JOHN: "I didn't want to talk because I thought they'd kill me, because they take things so seriously here. I mean, they shoot you and then they realise that it wasn't that important. So I didn't want to go, but Brian and Paul and the other Beatles persuaded me to come. I was scared stiff. I saw a couple of press conferences on film where I'm saying, "Well, what I really meant was I wasn't condoning that we were bigger than Jesus. I was just saying the fact that kids follow us and not Jesus.' Going through all this hypocrisy - and terrified. I was really scared" '74
"Even I doubted how much sense the whole article meant because I'd forgotten. Ir was that unimportant - it had been and gone. I had to reread the whole article to make sure I hadn't said anything I didn't mean."
"I said we were more popular than Jesus, which is a fact. I believe Jesus was right, Buddha was right and all of those people are right. They're all saying the same thing - and I believe it. I believe what Jesus actually said - the basic things he laid down about love and goodness - and not what people say he said. If Jesus being more popular means more control, I don't want that. I'd sooner they all follow us, even if it's just to dance an sing for the rest of their lives. If they took more interest in what Jesus - or any of them - said, if they did that, we'd all be there with them" '66
RINGO: "John did not want to apologise, because he didn't say what they said. But what was happening around us was getting too violent, and so Brian asked him and kept asking him to say something, and in the end John realised that he'd have to go out and do it."
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"I prefer John to Jesus because he wrote better songs"
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(This is John)
"
yum.
haha
