We continue the journey through some of the clues that are taken to support the theory of the alleged death of Paul McCartney in 1966, and his subsequent replacement with a double. We have already presented some of the visual evidence that is supposedly contained in some of The Beatles’ artwork for their albums. Here we continue with some other visual evidence, and we then move on to some of the audio evidence showed in support of the theory.

Not only the artwork of Sgt. Pepper, but also the Abbey Road (1969) cover is a cornerstone for the death theory’s sustainers. The fab four are portrayed at the center of the zebra crossing of the street. It is supposed to represent a funeral procession, with Lennon representing God with his long hair and beard and wearing all white; Ringo Starr is dressed like the man officiating the service. Paul McCartney is the only one out of step, wearing a suit and walking barefoot. In some Oriental cultures the dead man is represented and buried barefoot, and The Beatles were just coming back from a trip to India when they made this cover. The last one is George Harrison, wearing work clothes, and is supposed to be the grave digger. Paul is also holding a cigarette with his right hand, although he is left-handed.

Behind this scene, there is a car whose plate states 28 IF. McCartney would have been 27 when the album came out, but he would have been in his 28th year of existence, as Indian beliefs count life from conception and not birth. The Beatles often stated their fascination with Indian beliefs. Furthermore, on the other side of the road, there is a police car which allegedly represented the police car that arrived at the accident where McCartney died.

On the cover of Magical Mystery Tour (1967), the stars that form the name of the band, if read holding the cover to a mirror, form a telephone number, or a tree depending on how you hold it. In 1969 many people called, some said it was regular people answering, some said that you could hear a funeral parlor, some said a man claiming to be Billy Shears would answer. Others said you’d get the response: “You’re getting closer.”

Audio

There are many references in the lyrics of The Beatles’ songs, spread throughout several albums.  In the ‘I’m so Tired’ (1968), track of the White Album, Lennon sings something which results in seemingly random sounds. If listened to it backwards though, it is possible to hear Lennon say “Paul is dead, man: miss him, miss him, miss him!” A previous recording of the song, also featured an additional piece, which would say before the cited sentence, “Are you listening?” wanting to garner the attention of the audience and giving then the news of Paul’s death. At the beginning of Revolution 9 (1968), the line “Number Nine” is repeated over and over, and if listened to backwards would sound “Turn me on, dead man” or “Turning on dead man.” these words repeat all throughout the song for almost 9 minutes. Years before, in “A Day in the Life” in Sgt. Pepper, Paul sang, “I love to turn you on.”

The biggest alleged clue in the song, though, comes later on; when the track is played in reverse, there is what appears to be an audio representation of a car crash. Starting around 4m 40s it is possible to hear the sound of a speeding car zooming past things with horns blazing. Then there’s the sound of a lorry sounding his horn and then the sound of heaven choir singing. After this we hear the bell chimes of a fire engine and then John saying “Turn me on, dead man. Turn me on.” Right after there is a crowd chatting and then an alleged starts screaming “Let me out! Let me out!” seemingly in increasing desperation. This would be the reconstruction of the accident.

In ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ (1967), at the end of the song there is an instrumental part over which somebody would seem to say “I buried Paul.” It was then claimed by The Beatles that they are saying “Cranberry sauce” instead. In the song Glass Onion (1968), off the White Album, John Lennon sings ominously “Well here’s another clue for your all: the walrus was Paul.” ‘I Am The Walrus’ (1967) is a song contained in the Magycal Mystery Tour album. The walrus is considered a symbol for death in some cultures. For instance, the walrus was a bad element of Viking hunters. If they saw a dead walrus at the start of their journeys they would turn back because of its negative symbolism.

In a documentary recorded by John Lennon in 1971 about the making of his solo album ‘Imagine,’ there is another possible clue. John Lennon and George Harrison have a conversation about The Beatles. When Lennon mentions “The Fab Four” Harrison corrects him saying “The Fab Three.” A certain ‘Beatle Bill’ is mentioned, although a fictional ‘Beatle Ed’ also comes into the discussion.

Paul McCartney denied on several occasions that anything concerning the theory is true.

Here, we just wanted to give a glimpse of, as a matter of fact, what is one of the most enduring theories about mysterious musicians’ death. No judgment or accusation toward any part is intended.

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When talking about the history of The Beatles, it is impossible to overlook the theory surrounding Paul McCartney’s death, something that has been attached to the band for more than 40 years now. Considered by many just a hoax, many others are convinced about the validity of the theory stating that the real Paul McCartney is dead, and was replaced by a double.

Everything started in 1969, when a DJ in Detroit received a call from a guy named Alfred, who claimed that Paul McCartney was dead, and had proof to back up his statements. Actually, according to Alfred, everybody had those clues. They were in The Beatles’ albums, spread throughout the music, the covers and the booklets.

Since 1969 the legend of the presumed Paul McCartney death has found no final solution, with many people convinced the current Paul McCartney is actually a double, and that the real Paul’s life ended in 1966 in a car accident.

The story says that Paul McCartney died on the 9^th of November 1966. He left the EMI studios in London that night quite tired, sad and a bit depressed. Along the way he supposedly met a girl and gave her a ride. At one point he didn’t notice a red light and crashed his car against a telegraph pole after colliding with a lorry. According to this reconstruction, both passengers in the car were killed, and McCartney was decapitated during the accident. Some of the ones who are convinced of the actual McCartney death place the date of the passing in 1965, though the classic date is 1966.

The Beatlemania was running worldwide, the Queen of Great Britain had nominated the fab four baronets, and fans were crazy about the band. According to the legend, this led The Beatles’ management to cover the accident up, and replace Paul with a double, William Campbell, a Scottish policeman with a great resemblance to the late Beatle who had previously won a Paul McCartney look a like contest. Through plastic surgery, he became become Paul.

He also had to be very gifted, as he could keep on playing bass as good as, or even better than, Paul and his songwriting was excellent. The theory supposes that the surviving members would have felt guilty of covering up the friend’s death, and therefore would have let this feeling out by placing clues in the albums.

The Beatles did not perform live after this moment, and Paul McCartney appears taller than he used to be since that period. Moreover, some scientists applied studies on craniometry to photos of Paul McCartney that date back before 1966 and afterwards. Craniometry is a science used in forensic activity. Those scientists found out consistent discrepancies which would not appear in presence of the same person portrait in the photos. The level of discrepancy is high enough to make the scientists be doubtful about the identity of the current Paul McCartney, although they did not state with certainty that the Paul McCartney of before 1966 and after are two different people.

It seems odd that something like this could have really taken place. Nevertheless, it is true that after 1966, The Beatles inserted several clues in their albums pointing to the alleged death of Paul McCartney. More than 400 clues have been counted by advocates for the Paul Is Dead (P.I.D.) movement. Many have thought that it was only a marketing strategy adopted by the band, in order to gain attention. It is also true though, that they already had all the attention they needed, and even more than the one they could stand according to their statements. Others claim that they were playing the people who believed in the theory, feeding them clues in order to make fun of them. This seems impossible though, as the rumors of McCartney’s death got popular only in 1969, after the clues were already released in the various albums.

As it is impossible to list here all of the clues that are taken as evidence, we will just present some of the most relevant ones here. The clues are divided into visual clues and audio clues.

Visual

Some of the major clues include the artwork of some of the most famous Beatles’ records. Sgt. Pepper (1967) was the first album released after the classic date in 1966. There are tons of clues taken as evidence by those who sustain the death theory; we will cite only some of the most relevant. The whole cover is a grave scene, with the word “Beatles” being spelled out in flowers; furthermore, there is a composition of yellow flowers which have been interpreted as being a left-handed bass guitar complete with strings, the instrument played by Paul McCartney. He is also the only one in the cover holding a black instrument.

The photo sees a hand hanging over McCartney’s head, a symbol that surrounded him often, which is considered a symbol of death. The scene also includes a car model, which is supposed to represent the car in the accident, and a doll with red lines (blood perhaps) running thru her dress. If a mirror is placed horizontally across the center of the words “Lonely Hearts” in the middle of the Sgt. Pepper drum, a message is spelled out: 1ONE IX HE <> DIE, with the arrow before pointing at McCartney. 1ONE IX, 11 9, would be the date of Paul’s death.

In the booklet photos McCartney is portrayed with a uniform and the acronym O.P.D. (which in England stands for Officially Pronounced Dead). Some say that the patch stands for Ontario Police Department.

In the back cover McCartney is the only portrait with his back backwards, and the end of George Harrison points to the sentence “Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock as the day begins” which is supposed to be the time of Paul’s death.

Image Courtesy of  Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

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