According to the Amarillo Globe-Times on August 4, 1966, "In announcing the ban at Station KMHT at Marshall, Manager Paul Williams said, 'I think we should have banned the records years ago in the interest of good music.' KMHT and its sister station KLUE at Longview, have not only banned the Beatle discs but have scheduled 'a neighborhood bonfire Friday [8/12] to destroy the records.' A survey in Longview brought 1,100 calls with 97 per cent favoring the ban."

Meanwhile, the Longview Daily News reported on August 5, 1966, that the program chairman of KLUE, Mike Mitchell, said "tremendous numbers" of youths were bringing "thousands of records" to the station for their planned bonfire on August 12th. "The word beetle may soon again simply refer to the insect in this country," said Mitchell. "The overwhelming majority of our calls and letters favor the movement, but we have had some few calls from persons who object," he told the newspaper, adding, "We have received checks and offers of checks from businessmen who want to help with the project. Of course, we can't accept donations of money, but we do appreciate their backing."

KLUE had to bring in extra staff to answer the telephone after announcing their ban and bonfire. Among the calls was one from a local Beatles fan club which "tearfully contacted the station reporting that its members were gathering all club paraphernalia and that the station personnel could expect club members to 'bring everything in on Friday.'"

While Mitchell was hoping that The Beatles would get the "cold shoulder" from U.S. fans when the band began their American tour on the same night as the station's bonfire, KLUE was getting a very warm shoulder by area media for their campaign. In addition to the newspaper coverage, the Daily News cited station manager Lowell Wolfe in reporting that "both Dallas and Houston television stations have filmed activity at the station since the youngsters began compiling the bonfire material."

However, The Times in Shreveport, LA, on Thursday, August 11, 1966, wrote that "The 'Ban the Beatles' bonfire at Radio Station KLUE Friday night is drawing mixed reactions from local teen-agers. When the controversial statement made by John Lennon of the Beatles alleging that Christianity is dying out and that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ first became public, the station was swamped with phone calls in favor of a Beatle ban. After the initial furor began to die out, however, pro-Beatle sentiment began to come to the fore. A pro-Beatle group attacked KLUE with paint brushes after hours and painted the inscription 'Yea Beatles' along with several obscene remarks on the station's outside walls. Pro-Beatle groups have said they will demonstrate in favor of the mop-haired singing group this Friday night and a large number of Ban the Beatles fans will also be on hand."

The bonfire, though, was a big success. On August 14, 1966, the Longview Morning News, reported:

"Beatle-burning teenagers, joined by a surprising number of adults, turned a huge pile of Beatle lore, records and pictures into a pile of ashes near the Radio Station KLUE tower Friday night. Donna Woods of Longview volunteered to set flame to the big pile and came away with a smile. 

"City Police Capt. Jack Gatlin reported that cars parked in the vicinity of the radio station south of the city were so snarled it took more than an hour for the drivers to manipulate tight turns and clear the area. An estimated 1,000 youngsters and adults crowded around the big blaze and another two or three thousand cruised passed [sic] the point in cars. 

"A surprising aspect of the apex of the 'Burn the Beatles' campaign here was that most spectators gathered around the bug fire without a word. Those dedicated to showing the Beatle crew the back of their hands remained calm and collected as flames seared the pile of record albums and pictures. 

"'It's a smash,' one youth remarked quietly as heat from the fire warmed his face. 'There isn't anyone or anything as popular as those Beatles think they are.' 

"The youth's remarks pointed out the now unpopular words of Beatle John Lennon, who proclaimed a couple of weeks ago that his singing group was 'more popular than Jesus.' 

"The 'Burn the Beatle' campaign was begun after the publicity-seeking Beatle remark. Tony Bridge, station owner, joined the campaign along with his staff members. He, too, was one of the spectators Friday evening. Lowell Wolfe, station manager, aided Miss Woods at the bonfire, spreading kerosene on the pile."

The day after KLUE's bonfire of Beatles records and memorabilia, the station was knocked off the air when lightning struck the station's transmission antenna. The Longview Morning Journal on August 14, 1966, reported that the news director, Phil Ransom, was "knocked unconscious when the lightning coursed into the building" on August 13th. Station manager Lowell Wolfe told the newspaper that the incident "caused extensive damage to radio equipment but it was hoped the station would resume regular broadcasts."

Neither the newspaper nor the station staff expressed a view that the lightning strike was the result of divine retribution due to the record bonfire or the ban.

Unrelatedly, KLUE was co-owned with KMHT in Marshall, TX.

In 1966, KLUE had news headlines hourly, with a "police bulletin" daily at 7:05 AM. KLUE carried American league baseball games and "area high school sports as scheduled." Both KLUE and its sister station KMHT described themselves in newspaper ads promoting college football broadcasts as "East Texas' Sports-Minded Stations." On Sundays, the station featured religious programming from 6:45 AM until noon.

• now defunct