Hi Duncan, station manager at KWFR in San Angelo which was probably the first Texas station to ban the Beatles, said he also had noticed the group was falling off in popularity and admitted the banning held a "potential of martyrdom."

He also said that even if the Beatles retracted their statement, the ban would continue.

"Personally, I think they are talented young men... I wish they would get a haircut, though," he said.

Duncan also ventured the opinion the movement might be a blessing for other singing groups.

So now, maybe, parents of teenagers can look forward to being blasted out of the house with the sounds of groups such as the Outsiders, Mindbenders, Turtles, Animals, Kinks and Young Rascals rather than the Beatles.

"I really feel like we have increased our listenership since about 90 per cent of our letters are in favor of what we've done," Duncan said.

He said the average age of that other 10 per cent was about 13.

"Basically I think it has the approval of our mature listeners," he said.

He said the younger ones wrote in things like "you just better not do that." If they had left off with the statement "we're more popular than Jesus now, they might have proven that point," Duncan said, "but they went on."

So that [sic] Beatles are permanently banned at KWFR radio.