Dropped a Yellow Brick Load

Oh dear.

I think it may be time to hunker down behind a reinforced revetment, put on the blast goggles and hide.

When John Lennon mentioned in a magazine interview in the mid 1960s that “the Beatles were bigger than Jesus”, he was taken entirely out of context by large sections of the American bible belt and things went south incredibly fast for a few weeks until he appeared on US TV with the rest of the Beatles to apologise (I have never been sure that he needed to, considering what he actually said, but perception is everything, I suppose). However you view it, it was an object lesson in the clash between the concept of freedom of speech and religious belief systems.

Now Elton John has given an interview with Parade magazine, according to the BBC, in which he is said to state that Jesus was a "super-intelligent gay man". It doesn’t take a genius to realise that this is going to rattle a few cages.

I like Sir Elton and generally wish him well, the mad old sod, but he doesn’t do himself any favours. I guess this might pass unnoticed and nothing will happen, but somehow I doubt it. In the days of digital downloads, it’s hard to see the mass burning of Elton John records in scenes reminiscent of the Klan leading red-necks in their Beatle witch-hunt, but it’s a fair bet that somebody will be upset.


Rocket Man

The mad, glassy-eyed fundies of the Bible Belt take a paradoxically Old Testament approach to their Christianity: they are somewhat less into the turning of the other cheek and forgiving the sinner than they are for piling into a pick up truck with shotguns and speeding off for a little therapeutic and ill-informed smiting.

Of course, he might apologise in a couple of weeks and sales of Elton John music will sky rocket. In the meantime, fill the sandbags.

Dropped a Yellow Brick Load

Oh dear.

I think it may be time to hunker down behind a reinforced revetment, put on the blast goggles and hide.

When John Lennon mentioned in a magazine interview in the mid 1960s that “the Beatles were bigger than Jesus”, he was taken entirely out of context by large sections of the American bible belt and things went south incredibly fast for a few weeks until he appeared on US TV with the rest of the Beatles to apologise (I have never been sure that he needed to, considering what he actually said, but perception is everything, I suppose). However you view it, it was an object lesson in the clash between the concept of freedom of speech and religious belief systems.

Now Elton John has given an interview with Parade magazine, according to the BBC, in which he is said to state that Jesus was a "super-intelligent gay man". It doesn’t take a genius to realise that this is going to rattle a few cages.

I like Sir Elton and generally wish him well, the mad old sod, but he doesn’t do himself any favours. I guess this might pass unnoticed and nothing will happen, but somehow I doubt it. In the days of digital downloads, it’s hard to see the mass burning of Elton John records in scenes reminiscent of the Klan leading red-necks in their Beatle witch-hunt, but it’s a fair bet that somebody will be upset.


Rocket Man

The mad, glassy-eyed fundies of the Bible Belt take a paradoxically Old Testament approach to their Christianity: they are somewhat less into the turning of the other cheek and forgiving the sinner than they are for piling into a pick up truck with shotguns and speeding off for a little therapeutic and ill-informed smiting.

Of course, he might apologise in a couple of weeks and sales of Elton John music will sky rocket. In the meantime, fill the sandbags.