LONDON (AP) – Beatle John Lennon won’t be portraying Jesus in St. Paul’s Cathedral after all because Lennon’s personality might shove Christ into the background, a record company announced Thursday. The long-haired Beatle had been considered for the lead in a pop musical called Jesus Christ in the cathedral next spring. But the writers of the show and the recording company said they are convinced a relative unknown should be the star. Lennon was barely involved in the issue. But he was quoted as saying he would be interested in the part as long as his wife. Yoko Ono, could take the role of Mary Magdalene.

John and Yoko Lennon, the self-styled peace propagandists of the pop-rock set, have been in Toronto to launch their campaign of ‘peace persuasions’.

After their well publicized ‘bed in for peace’ in Montreal, earlier this year, they now plan to market their slogan ‘War is Over! If you want it.’

In the best Madison Avenue advertising tradition, John and Yoko will proclaim the advantages of their product via billboards, handbills, posters and all the mass news media. As John told his admirers last June, ‘plug peace — it‘s merchandise. You’ve got to outsell the businessmen . . . Make people aware there is an alternative to war.’ It all sounds very charming. John and Yoko will undoubtedly offer multi renditions of their ’give peace a chance’ song, wear and send an extravagant array of flowers and be interviewed over and over again.

Unfortunately peace or love or even hate, for that matter are not ‘products’ which can be adequately dealt with by the same techniques which work so well in selling soap.

Propaganda and mass advertising destroy social institutions and replace them with economic institutions which are incapable of giving expression to the ideal of public or personal peace.

The Lennon campaign has nothing to do with peace; it has only to do with the pursuit of fads and inception. Their campaign contributes nothing to the peace which we ostensibly celebrate each December 25.

OTTAWA — Pierre Elliott Trudeau is one of the beautiful people.

The word comes from Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, who spent almost an hour with the prime minister Tuesday in his Centre Block office on Parliament Hill.

They came to talk peace, but according to Lennon, they talked generalities.

“He was more beautiful than we expected. We got great incentives from just meeting him,“ said Lennon’s Japanese wife.

“If all politicians were like Trudeau, there would be world peace. You don’t know how lucky you are in Canada,” interjected the bearded Beatle.

Lennon and his wife hurried to Ottawa overnight Monday from Toronto when the prime minister conceded he had some time for them in his Tuesday schedule. Apparently they had time to spare also from organization of a peace festival they plan to hold at Mosport in July.

Prime Minister Trudeau didn’t get a personal invitation to the festival, Lennon confided.

The couple entered the prime minister’s office still dressed in long black cloaks. Lennon’s hair streamed behind him as he and his wife strode rapidly through the halls of the Parliament buildings.

They were met by a prime minister also dressed in black, but his suit was made of corduroy—very mod.

The couple also met Health and Welfare Minister John Munro before leaving  the capital.

“Why the health minister?” they were asked.

“To keep the festival healthy, man,” replied Lennon.

Only one reporter was allowed to enter the prime minister’s chamber with the visitors. They posed for pictures, one with the prime minister’s arm around Yoko’s shoulder one with Lennon and Yoko with their arms around each other.

It was a symphony in black, said the server.

Is black a color of peace?

“No,” said Mrs. Lennon. “It’s practical like black or white, but black is warm winter.”

At the War Is Over Peace press conference in the Ontario Science Centre in December 1969, John and Yoko answered questions from more than 100 media members.

They were assisted by two Canadians who were described by John as “the John and Yoko of Canada.’’  One was concert promoter John Brower, the other (pictured here) was journalist/broadcaster Ritchie Yorke.