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File:GreatHoax.jpg
"Paul McCartney Dead: The Great Hoax", a magazine cashing in on the rumors concerning McCartney.

The Paul Is Dead phenomenon began with a series of rumors in the 1960s that led some fans of the popular rock band The Beatles to believe that bassist and singer Paul McCartney had died and been replaced by a look-alike in 1966. McCartney is alive and well as of 2006.

Evidence for McCartney's death consists of hundreds of "clues" found in the Beatles' many recordings. They include statements allegedly heard when a song is played backwards; symbolism found in obscure lyrics; even references drawn from the relative position of illustrations on the covers of LPs.

"Paul Is Dead" is one of the best-known examples of an urban legend or hoax (it is often unclear whether proponents spread the story as a joke or as a real conspiracy theory). The rumor has been the topic of much sociological examination because it is unusual in the way its development, growth and debunking took place very publicly, due to the Beatles' enormous popularity.

Background

The rumors surrounding McCartney began in earnest on October 12, 1969, when someone identifying himself as "Tom" (allegedly Tom Zarski of Eastern Michigan University) called Russ Gibb, a radio DJ on WKNR-FM in Dearborn, Michigan (serving the Detroit market), and announced that McCartney was dead. Fred Labour, a junior at the University of Michigan, published a review of Abbey Road called "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light", itemizing various "clues" of McCartney's death on Beatles album covers, in the October 14, 1969 issue of the Michigan Daily. Adding to the mystery, Terry Knight, a former Detroit DJ and then singer on Capitol Records, released a cryptic, portentous song, "Saint Paul," shortly after his alleged meeting with McCartney in London. Gibb also produced (with John Small and Dan Carlisle) an hour-long radio show on the rumor, The Beatle Plot, which aired on WKNR-FM in late 1969 and has been repeated in the years since on Detroit radio.

Soon, national and international media picked up on the story and a new "Beatle craze" took off. The rumour eventually became a full-fledged conspiracy theory as members of the media and Beatles fans searched album artwork and song lyrics for clues to the cover-up and McCartney's supposed death.

The most common belief was that McCartney, while working on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, stormed out of a recording session, and in disgust, rode off in his Aston Martin. "He didn't notice that the lights had changed" ("A Day in the Life") because he was busy watching the pretty girl on the sidewalk ("Lovely Rita") after narrowly missing her (dressed in blue (she's the blur on the back of the Abbey Road)) jaywalking ("Blue Jay Way"). He then crashed into a light pole (a car crash sound is heard in "Revolution 9") and, dying from massive head injuries, burned to death (having "lost (his) hair" according to "Don't Pass Me By"). He was pronounced dead on a "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock as the day begins" (the day and time mentioned in "She's Leaving Home"). A funeral procession was held days later (as implied in the Abbey Road album cover), with John presiding over the service. After gravedigger George buries the body, John was known to have proclaimed "I buried Paul" (as implied in "Strawberry Fields Forever"). Meanwhile, Brian Epstein, stunned over the loss of McCartney, overdoses and dies. According to believers, McCartney had been replaced with the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest. The name of this look-alike has been recorded as William Shears Campbell, Billy Shears (the name of the fictitious leader of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), William Sheppard (based on the inspiration for the Beatle song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"), or some combination of the names. Many fans are convinced that the rumor was a hoax perpetrated deliberately by the Beatles as a joke, though this has been denied by all four members numerous times.

The rumour and its history have been exhaustively examined in the book Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul-Is-Dead" Hoax by Andru J. Reeve, the latest edition published in October 2004. In 2005, Wouter Van Opdorp explored the origin of the rumour in the documentary film "Who Buried Paul McCartney?" While produced in the Netherlands, the 24-minute film is presented in English.

Alleged clues, pre-Sgt. Pepper

The discography of the Beatles before the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album contain a relatively small number of alleged clues. The following is a listing of some of these.

My Bonnie

The Beatles' first single, as a backing band for the singer Tony Sheridan, is based on a Scottish folk song about the death of Bonnie Prince Charlie. For decades after his death, Scottish nationalists hoped that he might still be alive.

Help!

The song "Help" from the album of the same name is alleged to contain the message "we need a member", presumably due to the absence of Paul, when the line "I never needed" is played backwards. In addition, it has also been alleged that the line "I know that I just need you like", when reversed, contains "now he uses marijuana", presumed by some believers to refer to Paul. Driving under the influence of drugs was suggested to be one of the reasons for Paul's alleged car crash.

Rubber Soul

The Rubber Soul album cover has been suggested to look like the other Beatles (and the McCartney look-alike) are looking down into the grave of the real McCartney. Also, the text "Rubber Soul" seems to resemble an upside-down heart or a spade. Believers have interpreted this to represent an ace of spades, considered by some to be a symbol of death.

Yesterday...and Today

The lines "I believe in yesterday, suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be, there's a shadow hanging over me. Yesterday came suddenly..." from the song "Yesterday" have been taken by believers as an admission from McCartney's replacement that he was not the same person.

The controversial original "Butcher" album cover for Yesterday ... and Today features the Beatles holding broken dolls; one of the dolls' heads is being held next to McCartney's head, supposedly alluding to his decapitation in the car accident. There is a pair of false teeth on Paul's arm, taken as signifying that his teeth were knocked out in the accident as well.

On the subsequent replacement cover, McCartney is sitting inside a trunk. Believers thought that the trunk represented McCartney's coffin. Also, believers have speculated that the Beatles had the "Butcher" cover replaced because it reminded them too much of Paul's death.

A Collection of Beatles Oldies

The cover of the compilation album "A Collection of Beatles' Oldies" shows a car with headlights driving, suggested to represent the car McCartney allegedly died in. Also, the car seems to be driving into the figure's head. "Oldies" is the most prominent word on the album cover. If the letters "O" and "L" are replaced with the letters following them, "Oldies" becomes "P. M. Dies". Additionally, "Oldies" may be referring to the "old" Paul.

Revolver

The John Lennon song "She Said, She Said" contains the lyric "I know what it's like to be dead".

Paul is the only one being shown only in profile on the album cover.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album

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The Sgt. Pepper's cover.

Mostly due to its highly detailed cover, the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album has been alleged to have the most "clues" out of all the Beatles albums.

Cover

According to believers, the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cover shows a group of mourners standing in front of a freshly dug grave. Around the "grave", there are several symbols. A doll with a cracked head represents McCartney's fatal injury; another doll has printed on its shirt "Welcome the Rolling Stones" (The Beatles #1 competition at the time), a toy car on one knee and a bloody driving glove on the other. Below this doll we can see the flower arangement that looks like a car trailing fire. This is another reference to the car accident. A TV that is not turned on represents the news blackout about his death. Over the letter L in Beatles can be seen McCartney's rugby trophy. Under the word "BEATLES" yellow flowers in the shape of a bass guitar can be seen, representing the instrument Paul often played. Also, the guitar is facing the direction it would if a left-handed guitarist were playing it. Paul was the only left-handed guitarist in the Beatles. Within the flowers comprising the this guitar shape, the word "PAUL" followed by a question mark can be seen. Also, there are only three strings on the guitar, where a bass guitar usually has four, representing the loss of one member of the four person band. A small statue of the Hindu goddess Kali can be seen in front of the "grave", who is allegedly pointing a finger at Paul. In the Hindu tradition, Kali is the destroyer.

The Beatles Themselves

McCartney is the only person holding a wooden instrument, representing his coffin, and the instrument is the only one that is black, representing death. The instrument itself is a cor anglais, which is the only instrument shown on the cover which is not used in a marching band. Paul's "true" instrument would have been the tuba, which is sitting unused at feet of the wax figure of Ringo. Paul is the only Beatle wearing a "cool" color (blue), while the other three Beatles are all wearing warm colors. It also appears like he's being propped up by Ringo Starr and Harrison, as if rigor mortis had set in. Others see this as the image of McCartney not being himself, but rather a cardboard cut-out. McCartney is the only person with a hand over his head, a religious symbol for blessing the dead. The hand belongs to Stephen Crane, an American writer who died at the age of 28. Paul is taller than John and George, possibly indicating that it is possibly 'the replacement' in the photo, as Paul, John, and George are the same height.

The Colors

The flowers on the grave have different colors that may relate to Paul. Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. Red is the color of blood, desire, and love, which could point to the way Paul died or to the love the other Beatles have for him. Purple is associated with dignity, creativity, mystery, and magic. This color could have been used to indicate the mystery surrounding Paul's death.

The colors of Paul's suit may have some significance when combined with his pose. Paul is standing in a military pose as if he is holding a rifle. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty and blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity. Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection. This could mean that Paul is loyal to the Beatles even after his death by being replaced with his substitute. Or that the other Beatles digest the loss with Paul's substitute, as if he still was with them.

"1 ONE I X HE ^ DIE"

File:Pepper's reflection.jpg
A demonstration of the flipped "LONELY HEARTS" text on the front of the cover of Sgt. Pepper's.

An interesting trick is to take a shiny, polished butter knife (or a small mirror) and lay it horizontally across the words "LONELY HEARTS" on the drum on the cover of Sgt. Pepper. The top half of the words, combined with their mirror image, spells out "1 ONE I X HE ^ DIE".

This has been interpreted by believers in two ways. The first is the 1, the "ONE" and the I each represent one of the Beatles, while the "X" signals one is missing, the explanation being "HE DIE(d)". The second interpretation is that the date of Paul's alleged death is given. In this interpretation, the "1" and "ONE" make the number 11, meaning November, the eleventh month. The "I" and "X" are taken to represent Roman numerals making the number 9, which would be the day of the month. According to this interpretation, the message is "November 9th, he died". This theory is in accordance with the belief that the lyrics of the song "She's Leaving Home" gives his death day as Wednesday. November 9th of the alleged death year, 1966, was, in fact, a Wednesday. If the 'date' is read in the British way (D/M/Y instead of M/D/Y), it would be September 11th.

In both cases, the arrow formed between "HE" and "DIE" appears to point to Paul, signifying they're talking about him.

Back Cover

On the back cover of Sgt. Pepper McCartney is facing backwards, which is supposedly because he was dead and replaced with an imposter in the photograph. It is possible he was absent on the day that shot was taken, and it is indeed somebody else, roadie Mal Evans (although McCartney was present in alternate photographs, as seen in the 1987 compact disc reissue). Also, George Harrison is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins" from the song "She's Leaving Home", allegedly a reference to the day and time when Paul crashed and was killed. The words next to McCartney's head are "Without You", hinting they're missing their allegedly dead friend.

The other Beatles' hands could be spelling a word - George's fingers could be spelling the letter 'L', John is spelling the letter 'V' and Ringo is spelling the letter 'E'. The only letter missing is 'O', that would spell 'L-O-V-E'. This has been suggested to be singling out Paul McCartney, being the only Beatle without an 'O' in his name (unlike George, John and Ringo).

The badge

The inside cover of the Sgt. Pepper album has Paul wearing an emblem on his shirt sleeve whose initials have been suggested to be "O.P.D." ,for "officially pronounced dead". Most believe, however, that it in fact reads "O.P.P.", and it is a badge for the Ontario Provincial Police. Due to this, Paul's supposed replacement has been suggested to have been a policeman in Ontario.

Lyrics

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/"Billy's Here"

On the first track, "Paul" introduces "Billy Shears," the leader of the fictional Sgt Pepper's band. It has been observed that if you move the beginning letter of "Shears" to the end of Billy, it is now pronounced that "Billys Hear" or "Billy's Here," signifying that the real Paul is gone and Mr. William Shears Campbell has taken his place, however that doesn't explain what you do with the final "s", in reality it would be Billys Hears.

A Day in the Life

Lennon's dramatization of the demise of Tara Browne in the first part of "A Day in the Life" has been suggested by some to be an account of Paul's death. According to this theory, he was driving erratically under the influence of hallucinogenic compounds ("he blew his mind out in a car") and crashed because "he didn't notice that the lights had changed." The line "They'd seen his face before" is suggested to refer to the fact that many of the witnesses of the crash knew what Paul looked like, at least before the alleged disfiguring accident. In addition to this, some contest that the line "Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords" is really "Nobody was really sure if he was from the house of Paul."

Ironically, according to The Beatles Anthology book, Paul McCartney crashed his moped while riding alongside Tara Browne sometime in early 1966. This left McCartney alive and well, but with a badly cut upper lip (the scar can be seen on close examination of Revolver-era photos of McCartney) which encouraged him to grow a moustache to cover it.

The gibberish at the end of the song on the original UK LP and eventual CD edition of the album, the so-called "Inner Groove", when played in reverse has interpreted as, among other things, "Will Paul be back as Superman?". The commonly accepted interpretation however is "We'll fuck you like a superman", as described by Paul McCartney in his biography "Many Years From Now" (although yet another interpretation is "Yeah we're looking at you Superman").

Other Lyrical Clues

Some believers consider Lennon's song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to be a list of directions to McCartney's urn. Also, it is interesting to note that the capitalized letters in the song name "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is LSD, and Paul was under hallucinogenics when he "crashed the car".

Paul's "Fixing a Hole" contains lyrics that may refer to his alleged fatal head injury: "...I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in, and stops my mind from wandering", which led many believers to the conclusion that Paul's accident happened during a rainstorm. Others interpreted this line to be a reference to his fans weeping for him, this preventing his soul from "wandering."

Paul's "Lovely Rita" contains "...I took her home, I nearly made it..." which has been interpreted as hinting to Paul's failure to reach his destination due to the crash. It has also been suggested that Rita was a hitchhiker who Paul picked up on the night of his alleged death.

The lines "nothing to do to save his life, call his wife" from Lennon's "Good Morning, Good Morning" have also caught the attention of Paul is Dead believers, for obvious reasons, despite the fact that Paul wasn't married.

Harrison's "Within You Without You" has the lyrics "life goes on within you and without you" and what could be interpreted as the sounds of weeping near the end. Again, believers interpret this as the Beatles missing the deceased Paul.

William Shears Campbell

William Campbell (sometime the name is elaborated into William Shears Campbell) is a fictional Paul McCartney look-alike whose purported existence arose from the fevered efforts of conspiracy theorists to find significance in album photos and hidden musical messages during the Paul is Dead hoax. According to urban legend, a William Campbell won a "Paul look-alike" contest in 1966 and was induced to impersonate Paul after Paul died. In fact such contests were held, but no William Campbell ever won one.

These morsels were concocted together into one more-or-less cohesive tale: that the real Paul, killed in a car crash, had been replaced by a Canadian policeman named either William Campbell or Billy Shears, who had undergone plastic surgery in order to effect a perfect likeness, and who had previously won a Paul McCartney look-alike contest. The letters "OPD," appearing on a costume in a photograph on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, were interpreted variously as standing for "Officially Pronounced Dead" and an indication that Billy Campbell had worked in the Ontario Police Department (which doesn't exist in Canada, but in California!). (The badge on Paul's arm in the Sgt Pepper's album is that of the Ontario Provincial Police, which was given to him by a Canadian fan. The badge does not contain the lettering "OPD" but rather "OPP".)

Also on Sgt. Pepper, "Billy Shears" is the name of the lead singer for the fictional Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band that the Beatles were originally planning to "play" on the album. Though this concept was largely discarded, the end of the title track includes a lyric referring to the "one and only Billy Shears," played by Ringo Starr, who sings the lead vocal on the next song, "With a Little Help from My Friends."

Magical Mystery Tour

The soundtrack of the Magical Mystery Tour film was the next major album released by the Beatles. This album is also alleged by some to hold the most clues, many of them in the booklet originally released with the album.

Cover

The Walrus

McCartney is depicted as a walrus in the Magical Mystery Tour album cover (although some have suggested he is in fact the hippo). Some claim the depiction of a walrus is an ancient sign of death, ranging from ancient Viking to ancient Greek to ancient Inuit, but no evidence for such claims has ever been produced, not to mention that walruses aren't native to anywhere near Greece.

The phone number

When the cover is held in front of a mirror, the word "Beatles" becomes a telephone number (often said to be 231-7438 when held in front of a mirror or 537-1438 when held upside down, but many others are suggested). Upon dialing the number, the story goes, the listener would hear the message "you're getting closer", receive information about Paul's death, win a trip to his grave, or even talk to him in the afterlife. Similar to 867-5309, the numbers were frequently called by curiosity seekers, causing much annoyance for their actual owners. The number "231-7438" turned around in a mirror spells "8347-132" which in leet is Beatles.

Inside Sleeve/The fifth magician

The inside sleeve of the album states "Away in the sky, beyond the clouds, live four or five magicians..." If the magicians are taken to represent The Beatles themselves, then the fifth magician could be interpreted to be Billy Campbell, Paul's replacement, if not early members Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, both of whom are often referred to as being a "Fifth Beatle". Or more likely George Martin their producer who is usually called "The Fifth Beatle." In the movie, the five magicians are played by The Beatles and Mal Evans. Actually the fifth magician referred to was "Magic" Alex Mardas.

The Booklet

The booklet contains a number of scenes from the film which are suggested to contain clues.

The first of these shows McCartney dressed as an Army sergeant with a card on his desk that says "I WAS", suggested to indicate that the man WAS Paul. The card is actually a British equivalent of the Uncle Sam "I Want You!" poster and says "I you WAS". Paul is also seated beneath a pair of crossed flags, as they would appear on the grave of a military serviceman.

In a scene in the middle spread, Paul is not wearing shoes, as further alluded to on the cover of the "Abbey Road" album. His shoes are next to Ringo's bass drum, which says "Love The 3 Beatles". The multi-exposure image of George Harrison shows a head-on car collision about to occur in the upper corner. In another page featuring a still from the dancing scene, McCartney wears a black carnation while the other three Beatles wear red ones (the official reason being that they had run out of red ones).

Lyrics

Blue Jay Way

The George Harrison track, "Blue Jay Way", leads believers to think Harrison is giving a eulogy to Paul (with the lyrics "please don't be long, please don't you be very long, please don't be long, or I may be asleep..."). Also, some have claimed that the song's repeated line "Please don't be long," when played backwards, reveals the phrase "Paul is bloody." Also, after the backmasked line "Paul is bloody" After it, the line says "Paul is buried", also, in the beginning, the "Echos", in the lines between lines say: There's a fog upon L.A. "Paul" And my friends have lost their way. "Died" We'll be over soon they say. "Paul is buried". Now they lost themself instead "Yeah he is" Subliminal Echos in "". They are heard when played FOWARDS.

However, a reversal of the entire chorus reveals the message: "He said 'get me out', Paul is what is, Paul is with Hare Krishna, it seems. Paul is bloody..." "Get Me Out" was what he was supposedly yelling in the wreck. "Paul is what is" refers to the question of what Paul is now that he died. "Paul is with Hare Krishna it seems" may have some connection to Hinduism. "Paul is bloody" refers to what he looked like in the accident. Credit for this alleged clue is claimed by Michael Harbidge of the Paul is Dead site Officially Pronounced Dead.

Your Mother Should Know

According to The Beatle Plot, reversing this McCartney song produces the words "Why doesn't she know me...I shed the light...dead." It may also suggest "Why does she know me?".

I Am The Walrus

The John Lennon track "I Am The Walrus" allegedly implies that McCartney died on a "stupid bloody Tuesday"; if we are to believe that McCartney died "Wednesday morning at five o'clock", as in "She's Leaving Home" from Sgt. Pepper, this could translate to be Wednesday morning U.K. time, while it would still be Tuesday evening in the U.S. West Coast. The chant at the end of the track, played backwards, seems to reveal "Paul Is Dead, Paul Is Dead..." And when played forwards to the end, contains a portion of a BBC radio broadcast of King Lear which mentions, "O, untimely death!" Also, right at the end, if reversed a voice says, "Paul is dead, his head off lies with his spirit."

Strawberry Fields Forever/"I Buried Paul"

Some believers have interpreted what is generally agreed to be Lennon saying "cranberry sauce" at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever" to in fact be "I Buried Paul". Producer George Martin confirmed it was indeed "Cranberry Sauce" in his book Summer of Love. Lennon has also gone on record to confirm he said "cranberry sauce" via radio interviews. The Beatles Anthology Volume 2 CD, as well as some bootlegs, includes alternate takes of the song which also confirm this.

Yellow Submarine album

A small number of alleged clues have also been found in the Yellow Submarine album. The following list does not include alleged clues found in non-original songs on the album.

Cover

On the cover of Yellow Submarine, all the cartoon characters are pointing towards Paul, who is at the top of the hill in front of the group. John Lennon is holding his hand up over McCartney in what has been interpreted as a sign of benediction or the devil's horns. Many of the other characters are showing the same gesture.

Only A Northern Song

George Harrison's "Only A Northern Song" contains the lines "If you think the harmony, is a little dark and out of key, you're correct, there's nobody there". Believers have interpreted this as George alluding to the fact that he and Paul would often harmonize together on many of the group's songs, but now that he's gone ("There's nobody there") the harmony isn't working out.

The Beatles (aka the White Album)

Due to the minimalism of the cover, almost all of the alleged clues on the so-called "White Album" are found in the lyrics, many by playing the music backwards, or in the images of the accompanying poster found in the original vinyl release. There is however a Paul is Dead clue that can be found on the original poster that came with vinyl copies of the White Album up through the 1980s. In one of the photos, Paul is standing in what appears to be a subway or train car, possibly dancing, and there is a streak of bright light that looks like a skeleton's arm.

Lyrics

Glass Onion/The Walrus Was Paul

On The Beatles, Lennon's track "Glass Onion" has lyrics that read "...here's another clue for you all...the Walrus was Paul" (a back reference to "I Am The Walrus" from the previous Magical Mystery Tour album). Also, he states, "I told you 'bout the 'Fool On The Hill', I tell you, man, he's living there still", interpreted as claiming Paul remains on the hill where he was buried. It is also said that a 'Glass Onion' is a term used to describe a coffin with a glass top, or looking panel. The lyrics "Looking through a glass onion" suggest that Paul would have been buried in such a coffin.

The "Paul is Dead" rumor started October 12, 1969. Since "Glass Onion" was recorded on September 11, 1968, reports that the Beatles made this song in response to the rumors is unlikely.

I'm So Tired

Similar reversals of "I'm So Tired" allegedly revealed "Paul is dead, man. Miss him, miss him, miss him!" (or sometimes, "Paul is a dead man. Miss him, miss him, miss him!")near the end and "I wish I were not a Beatle!" from the line "...should I call you but I know what you would do", taken to mean that with the death of his friend, the singer (John) wishes to quit the band.

Revolution 9

In probably the most talked-about clue, the words "number nine, number nine" on the track "Revolution 9" became "turn me on, dead man, turn me on, dead man" when played backwards. The track also includes other alleged clues, such as the sound of a car crashing, and comments by John Lennon which seem to indicate what McCartney was "doing" before he "died"--for example, one forward-playing comment goes "who can tell what he was saying...his eyes was on fire", while another comment goes "Yoko, you better go to see he's dead". One comment played backwards yields "get me out, get me out!". Other things heard backwards are the sounds of a raging fire, an ambulance arriving at an accident, and the sounds of a funeral choir. Amongst playing the song in reverse, in the end as the fire is heard, reversing the line said before reveals the phrase, "There were two, there are none now" (one of the clearer messages). Moving forwards, another crackling sound (representing fire) is heard, followed by the phrase "ooh, death" (when played backwards seems to say "Paul is doomed"). In the most overt clue of all, a man's voice, presumably John's, seems to declare "Paul died", to which a crowd erupts in chaos (and some applause).

There is another reference to the alleged time of death considering the numbers after the songs "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9". Considering the information already given (McCartney "died" on 11/9) could indicate why Hey Jude 's B-side version of "Revolution" was released again on the Past Masters album.

Other lyrical clues

Ringo's track "Don't Pass Me By", has lyrics that read, "I listen for your footsteps but they don't arrive", and later, "I'm sorry that I doubted you...I was so unfair. You were in a car crash, and you lost your hair..." The end of George Harrison's track "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has Harrison seem to be calling "Paul, Paul, Paul..."

Abbey Road

The car in the background of the cover of the Abbey Road album has a license plate reading 281F. This is suggested as meaning that McCartney would have been 28 years old in 1969 if he was alive.

Abbey Road was the last album recorded by the Beatles (though Let It Be was released later). The total number of alleged clues on this album is rather small in comparison to their earlier works.

Cover

The front cover of Abbey Road is said to be a representation of Paul's funeral procession. Lennon is the clergyman or priest (sometimes interpreted as God) (dressed in white), Starr the funeral director, mourner (in black), or pall bearer (formally dressed), McCartney represents the corpse (bare feet, closed eyes, holding a cigarette or "coffin nail", and walking out of step with the others), and Harrison the grave digger (denim working clothes). Additionally, McCartney's cigarette is in his right hand; the "real" Paul is left-handed.

The Licence Plate

The licence plate of the white car reads LMW 281F. Some said that LMW stood for "Linda McCartney Widow (or Weeps)", while others said that LMW stood for a phrase such as "Left Me Waiting" or "Lost My Way"—in reference to a heated argument over which route through the city could be negotiated fastest, and the winner, arriving at the destination, wondered what was keeping Paul, this allegedly being the main reason for George Harrison's song, "Blue Jay Way".

The last part of the licence plate, 281F (with the "1" interpreted to fill in for an "I"), suggests Paul would have been 28 if he had not died. It should be noted at the time of the album's release, September 26, 1969, McCartney was in fact 27—however, in certain Chinese dating systems, life begins at conception, so by that definition he would have been 28. The Beatles' interest in Buddhism and Hinduism is considered the link to this system.

The Other Cars

The car visible on the road that The Beatles are crossing is driving down the road (remember, cars drive in the left lane on British roadways) in perfect line with Paul, alluding to his vehicle related death and reminding us that it happened some time ago. The police vehicle, officially present to stop traffic while the photo was being taken, supposedly represents either the officers who responded to the accident, the hearse, or allude to William Campbell's previous profession (see "The Badge" in Sgt. Pepper's).

Back Cover

On the back cover, a strangely configured and placed "3" in front of the Beatles name seems to indicate three "remaining" Beatles. Also, the name Beatles has a crack running through the letter S, making it imperfect. There is a chip in the letter "O" in "Road", again supposedly because Paul was the only one in the group without an "O" in his name. Some claim that a profile of McCartney's face can be seen in the image of the girl in the blue dress, while the shadows on the wall just behind her form a skull.

Lyrics

Come Together

"Come Together" contained several alleged clues in the lyrics. "He got hair down to his knee" is taken by believers to refer to the claim that hair and nails continue to grow after death. "He wear no shoeshine" is taken to refer to Paul being barefoot on the cover. "He got toe-jam football" is taken to refer to rugby, a sport Paul liked to play. "He got monkey finger" allegedly refers to the thin frail fingers of a dead body. "One and one and one is three" alledgedly refers to there being only three "remaining" Beatles. "Got to be good looking" is believed to refer to McCartney as the "cute" Beatle. "'Cause he's so hard to see" supposedly refers to the faded memory of someone who is now gone. "Come together right now over me" supposedly refers to the scene over McCartney's grave as the mourners come together.

Additionally, the song's chorus when played in reverse is supposed to become "Heave ho...and now...Oh, thank the smoke"; interpreted to mean that they were lifting Paul's crashed car but thankfully the smoke obscured their view of Paul's body from the inside.

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" contains the lines "And so I quit the police department/and got myself a steady job". This is taken by believers to be a reference to McCartney's supposed replacement William Campbell and his previous job as a policeman in Ontario.

Let It Be

"Let It Be", the end product of the "Get Back" sessions, was the final album released by the Beatles. Again, the total number of alleged clues on this album is relatively small.

Cover

On the cover of Let it Be, Paul appears to be singled out from the other Beatles in two ways. First, he is facing forward while the other Beatles are looking to the left. Second, Paul is the only Beatle whose face is not behind a white background. What's more, said background appears to be blood red.

When the album was remixed into "Let It Be... Naked" Paul's picture is still facing a different way than all the others, even with a new picture for George added, and the background is still different, a white background for Paul with a somber black for the rest.

The Song

The lyrics from McCartney's piece "Let It Be" include "I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me". This has been interpreted by believers to signify Paul meeting his mother Mary, who died when he was 14, in heaven.

Explanations

The following is a list of some of the more common explanations for some of the alleged clues.

The Accident Itself

There is no evidence of any sort of car crash in which Paul was directly involved. However, during the first week of January of 1967, Paul's custom-made Mini Cooper was wrecked by a friend on the M1 Highway outside of London. While not widely reported in the press on either side of the Atlantic, this incident may have contributed to the car crash element of the death rumour. Paul was also involved in a moped crash on December 26, 1965 which resulted in the scar on his lip that believers tend to attribute to plastic surgery "William Campbell" underwent to look like Paul.

Pre-Sgt. Pepper

Most of the clues listed from this time could not possibly be real because they all date from before the alleged car crash.

There are memos from the record company which prove that the original "Butcher" cover of "Yesterday...and Today" was recalled because they felt it was too "graphic", thinking that it would not sell. What's more, the Beatles themselves lacked the power to recall all the copies of the album released.

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

On UK pressings of the Sgt. Pepper album, when compared to the US pressing (on which most 'visual evidence' is discovered), the lyrics are printed in a manner off-set from the US version. Hence, in the UK (and possibly the rest of Europe as well), George's hand does not point at the "Wednesday morning at five o'clock..." lyric and neither is Paul's head next to the "Without You" lyrics. Some of those who believe "Paul is Dead" was a hoax pulled by the Beatles themselves have interpeted this to mean that it was manufactured for American audiences only.

The Beatles (The White Album)

The comment "Paul died" from Revolution 1 is, in fact, "All Right".

Abbey Road

The "LMW 281F" licence plate cannot possibly refer to Linda McCartney, as she only met Paul in 1967.

The license plate contains "28IF" -- meaning Paul would have been 28 if he had lived, however, he was still 27 at the time of the photo shoot.

The cigarette that believers said was in the wrong hand (his right) was actually in the correct hand--the hand in which Paul would have carried it. Paul was left-handed only when playing. In everything else, he was right-handed. (Ringo was afflicted oppositely: he was left-handed but played right-handed.)

Other references

Long time "Paul Is Dead" expert Joel Glazer wrote a 1977 treatise which included a theory suggesting that John Lennon's love of wordplay and clever studio editing may have been responsible for the more bizarre clues in later albums. However, with Charles Manson claiming the Beatles were putting hidden references to an upcoming racial war in their albums, the band members may have chosen not to reveal the joke at all.

During the Magical Mystery Tour film, Vivian Stanshall performs a song entitled "Death Cab for Cutie", a satirical song about a fatal car accident. Paul was known as - and even described himself in an interview as - "the cute one".

Lennon joked about the rumor in the years following its initial growth and, in his solo years, referred to it in his vengeful song to McCartney entitled "How Do You Sleep?" from the 1971 Imagine album, commenting "Those freaks was right when they said you was dead." McCartney himself also parodied the rumor with the title of his 1993 live album and tour, Paul Is Live, the cover of which is a replica of the Abbey Road cover with the "LMW 281F" licence plate changed to "51 IS", 51 being McCartney's age at the time of the album's release.

Internet

With the advent of the Internet, the "Paul is Dead" rumors have found new life. Several websites have sprung up claiming that photographic evidence proves that the Paul McCartney before and after late 1966 couldn't possibly be the same man. Some of these new theories postulate that Paul was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, the Illuminati, or even the other Beatles. It has also spawned ridicule and parody, including a 1994 Usenet piece entitled "Everyone BUT Paul is Dead"[1], suggesting the alleged clues in fact show that Paul is the only surviving Beatle, and it is John, George and Ringo who are deceased.

Students of the bass guitar have noted a marked difference between the style and quality of Paul's playing between earlier Beatles albums and later ones, his earlier playing being very simplistic while his later playing shows a great deal of skill and innovation. This can be linked to a change in recording technique; prior to 1966 he often recorded his bass live, but around that year he began to overdub the bass parts later with direct injection recording techniques, giving him more ability to form melodic bass lines. Additionally, according to McCartney himself in a 1988 Musician Magazine interview, the change in his bass playing coincided with a change in instruments. In 1966, Rickenbacker presented Paul with a custom-designed bass guitar, and he soon retired his famed Hofner to record with the new axe.

Beatles fans critical of McCartney's solo career sometimes cynically suggest that the theory is true, pointing out that there is no way the real Paul McCartney would write the music he is now producing.

Satiric references

File:Batman222.jpg
Batman #222 (June 1970). Art by Neal Adams.

The June 1970 issue of the DC Comics title Batman parodied the rumor with a story in which it is rumored that the "Paul" member of the band "Dead...Til Proven Alive" was deceased and replaced with a double. The twist was that "Paul" was the only survivor of a plane crash that claimed his bandmates and he hired doubles of them, starting the rumor that he died to cover up his actions.

The "Dirk is Deaf" theory [2] uses similar 'clues' to prove that Dirk McQuickly, the "Paul" character within The Rutles, was hit by an ice cream truck, resulting in his deafness. This is also rooted in the fact that, while the other "Rutles" played their parts on screen and in the sound studio, Dirk's bass and vocals were provided by the late session musician Ollie Hallsal, while onscreen he was played by Eric Idle. Likewise, the Rutle "documentary," All You Need Is Cash brings mention to a rumor that Stig O'Hara (the "George" equivalent) died in a flash fire at a waterbed shop. Among the "clues" were that, when played backwards, "Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band" sounds very much like "Stig has been dead for ages, honestly."

When Paul played on Saturday Night Live in 1993, he took part in the "The Chris Farley Show" skit, the highlight of which was Farley (with his usual flair for being flustered and awkward) asking Paul, "Remember when you were in the Beatles and you were supposed to be dead, and there were all these clues and everything and everyone thought you were dead... That was a hoax, right?" to which Paul replied, "Yeah. I wasn't really dead."

When McCartney guest-starred on The Simpsons in "Lisa the Vegetarian", he claimed there was a vegetarian hidden message in "Maybe I'm Amazed". Indeed, over the closing credits the song played and with a backmasked lentil soup recipe. At the end, he says "Oh, and by the way, I'm alive." Additionally, in "D'oh-in In the Wind," a psychedelic version of the regular theme is played during the credits, over which Homer says "I buried Flanders!"

In John Safran's Music Jamboree, there was a segment about the conspiracy, followed by a mock George Harrison-is-dead conspiracy, after his death in 2001, using clues like the Time magazine article detailing his death. At the end of the segment on the screen the text "Did you know: Ringo Starr and John Lennon are the only surviving members of the Beatles".

The Onion's Our Dumb Century collection includes a headline from December 1980 that reads, "New album clues reveal that John Lennon is dead."

The band SR-71 released a song called Paul McCartney on their debut album Now You See Inside which references that Paul is dead.

Samples

See also

References

  • Patterson, R. Garry. The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues. Fireside Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0684850621.
  • Reeve, Andru J. Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul is Dead" Hoax. AuthorHouse Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1418482943. Updated and revised edition originally released in 1993 by Popular Culture, Ink.
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