POP/ROCK - July 7, 1987

A West German artist has taken slain ex-Beatle John Lennon’s alleged comparison of the band’s popularity with that of Jesus of Nazareth literally--by painting a portrait showing Lennon wearing a crown of thorns and showing it in a Liverpool exhibition. The Church of England was not amused: “The Beatles did a great deal for this city and the world and should be shown in that way,” said Asst. Anglican Bishop of Liverpool Michael Henshall. “But there is no way you can represent one of them as the Son of God.” The painting, by J. L. Stengel, has gone on display more than 20 years after Lennon himself caused a storm by suggesting that the Beatles, then the country’s most successful musical group, might be more popular than Christ.