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"Paul is dead" is a real thing. He died. Paul doesnt exist any more.

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On 12 October 1969, a caller to Detroit radio station WKNR-FM told disc jockey Russ Gibb about the rumour and its clues. Gibb and other callers then discussed the rumour on air for the next hour, during which Gibb offered further potential clues. Two days later, The Michigan Daily published a satirical review of Abbey Road by University of Michigan student Fred LaBour, who had listened to the exchange on Gibb's show, under the headline "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light". It identified various clues to McCartney's death on Beatles album covers, particularly on the Abbey Road sleeve. LaBour later said he had invented many of the clues and was astonished when the story was picked up by newspapers across the United States. Noden writes that "Very soon, every college campus, every radio station, had a resident expert." WKNR fuelled the rumour further with its two-hour programme The Beatle Plot, which first aired on 19 October.

The story was soon taken up by more mainstream radio stations in the New York area, WMCA and WABC. In the early hours of 21 October, WABC disc jockey Roby Yonge discussed the rumour on-air for over an hour before being pulled off the air for breaking format. At that time of night, WABC's signal covered a wide listening area and could be heard in 38 US states and, at times, in other countries. Although the Beatles' press office denied the rumour, McCartney's atypical withdrawal from public life contributed to its escalation. Vin Scelsa, a student broadcaster in 1969, later said that the escalation was indicative of the countercultural influence of Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, since: "Every song from them – starting about late 1966 – became a personal message, worthy of endless scrutiny ... they were guidelines on how to live your life."

WMCA dispatched Alex Bennett to the Beatles' Apple Corps headquarters in London on 23 October, to further his extended coverage of the "Paul is dead" theory. There, Ringo Starr told Bennett: "If people are gonna believe it, they're gonna believe it. I can only say it's not true." In a radio interview with John Small of WKNR, Lennon said that the rumour was "insane" but good publicity for Abbey Road. On Halloween night 1969, WKBW in Buffalo, New York broadcast a program titled Paul McCartney Is Alive and Well – Maybe, which analysed Beatles lyrics and other clues. The WKBW DJs concluded that the "Paul is dead" hoax was fabricated by Lennon.

Before the end of October 1969, several record releases had exploited the phenomenon of McCartney's alleged demise. These included "The Ballad of Paul" by the Mystery Tour; "Brother Paul" by Billy Shears and the All Americans; "So Long Paul" by Werbley Finster, a pseudonym for José Feliciano; and Zacharias and His Tree People's "We're All Paul Bearers (Parts One and Two)". Another song was Terry Knight's "Saint Paul", which had been a minor hit in June that year and was subsequently adopted by radio stations as a tribute to "the late Paul McCartney". According to a report in Billboard magazine in early November, Shelby Singleton Productions planned to issue a documentary LP of radio segments discussing the phenomenon. In Canada, Polydor Records exploited the rumour in their artwork for Very Together, a repackaging of the Beatles' pre-fame recordings with Tony Sheridan, using a cover that showed four candles, one of which had just been snuffed out.

Premise

Proponents of the theory maintained that, on 9 November 1966, McCartney had an argument with his bandmates during a Beatles recording session and drove off angrily in his car, crashed, and was decapitated. To spare the public from grief, or simply as a joke, the surviving Beatles replaced him with the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest. This scenario was facilitated by the Beatles' recent retirement from live performance and by their choosing to present themselves with a new image for their next album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In LaBour's telling, the stand-in was an "orphan from Edinburgh named William Campbell" whom the Beatles then trained to impersonate McCartney. Others contended that the man's name was William Shears Campbell, later abbreviated to Billy Shears, and the replacement was instigated by Britain's MI5 out of concern for the severe distress McCartney's death would cause the Beatles' audience. In this latter telling, the surviving Beatles were said to be wracked by guilt at their duplicity, and therefore left messages in their music and album artwork to communicate the truth to their fans.

A DJ put all those signs together: Paul with no shoes ... and the Volkswagen Beetle. Then there was Magical Mystery Tour, where we three had red roses and he had a black one. It was just madness ... There was no way we could prove he was alive.

Dozens of supposed clues to McCartney's death have been identified by fans and followers of the legend. These include messages perceived when listening to songs being played backwards and symbolic interpretations of both lyrics and album cover imagery. One frequently cited example is the suggestion that the words "I buried Paul" are spoken by Lennon in the final section of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever", which the Beatles recorded in November and December 1966. Lennon later said that the words were actually "Cranberry sauce".

Another example is the interpretation of the Abbey Road album cover as depicting a funeral procession. Lennon, dressed in white, is said to symbolise the heavenly figure; Starr, dressed in black, symbolises the undertaker; George Harrison, in denim, represents the gravedigger; and McCartney, barefoot and out of step with the others, symbolises the corpse. The number plate of the white Volkswagen Beetle in the photo – containing the characters LMW 28IF – was identified as further "evidence". "28IF" represented McCartney's age "if" he had still been alive (although McCartney was 27 when the album was recorded and released) while "LMW" stood for "Linda McCartney weeps" or "Linda McCartney, widow". That the left-handed McCartney held a cigarette in his right hand was also said to support the idea that he was an impostor.

Rebuttal

On 21 October 1969, the Beatles' press office again issued statements denying the rumour, deeming it "a load of old rubbish" and saying that "the story has been circulating for about two years – we get letters from all sorts of nuts but Paul is still very much with us". On 24 October, BBC Radio reporter Chris Drake was granted an interview with McCartney at his farm. McCartney said that the speculation was understandable, given that he normally did "an interview a week" to ensure he remained in the news. Part of the interview was first broadcast on Radio 4, on 26 October, and subsequently on WMCA in the US. According to author John Winn, McCartney had conceded to the interview "in hopes that people hearing his voice would see the light", but the ploy failed.

McCartney was secretly filmed by a CBS News crew as he worked on his farm. As in his and Linda's segment in the Beatles' promotional clip for "Something", which the couple filmed privately around this time, McCartney was unshaven and unusually scruffy-looking in his appearance. His next visitors were a reporter and photographer from Life magazine. Irate at the intrusion, he swore at the pair, threw a bucket of water over them and was captured on film attempting to hit the photographer. Fearing that the photos would damage his image, McCartney then approached the pair and agreed to pose for a photo with his family and answer the reporter's questions, in exchange for the roll of film containing the offending pictures. In Winn's description, the family portrait used for Life's cover shows McCartney no longer "shabbily attired", but "clean-shaven and casually but smartly dressed".

Following the publication of the article and the photo, in the issue dated 7 November, the rumour started to decline. In the interview, McCartney was quoted as saying:

Perhaps the rumour started because I haven't been much in the press lately. I have done enough press for a lifetime, and I don't have anything to say these days. I am happy to be with my family and I will work when I work. I was switched on for ten years and I never switched off. Now I am switching off whenever I can. I would rather be a little less famous these days.

Aftermath

In November 1969, Capitol Records sales managers reported a significant increase in sales of Beatles catalogue albums, attributed to the rumour. Rocco Catena, Capitol's vice-president of national merchandising, estimated that "this is going to be the biggest month in history in terms of Beatles sales". The rumour benefited the commercial performance of Abbey Road in the US, where it comfortably outsold all of the band's previous albums. Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, both of which had been off the charts since February, re-entered the Billboard Top LPs chart, peaking at number 101 and number 109, respectively.

A television special dedicated to "Paul is dead" was broadcast on WOR in New York on 30 November. Titled Paul McCartney: The Complete Story, Told for the First and Last Time, it was set in a courtroom and hosted by celebrity lawyer F. Lee Bailey, who cross-examined LaBour, Gibb and other proponents of the theory, and heard opposing views from "witnesses" such as McCartney's friend Peter Asher and Allen Klein. Bailey left it to the viewer to determine a conclusion. Before the recording, LaBour told Bailey that his article had been intended as a joke, to which Bailey sighed and replied, "Well, we have an hour of television to do; you're going to have to go along with this."

It was a bit weird meeting people shortly after that, because they'd be looking at the back of my ears, looking a bit through me. And it was weird doing the "I really am him" stuff.

McCartney returned toPaul is dead man Paul is dead man Paul is dead man Paul is dead man

Paul is dead man

• A 2018 comedy short film, Paul Is Dead, depicts a version of events where McCartney dies during a musical retreat and is replaced by a look-alike named Billy Shears.

Notes

1. Estranged from McCartney, Lennon said: "Paul McCartney couldn't die without the world knowing it. The same as he couldn't get married ... go on holiday without the world knowing it. It's just insanity – but it's a great plug for Abbey Road."
2. A Capitol Records recording artist, Knight had been present during the White Album session when Starr temporarily left the band, in August 1968. In the song, the singer conveys his fears that the Beatles were about to disband.
3. The fact that he would have been 27 in late 1969, rather than 28, was dismissed with the rationale that, in the Hindu tradition, infants were one year old at birth.
4. In the 2000 book The Beatles Anthology, McCartney says that his reaction to the rumour's growth had been: "Well, we'd better play it for all it's worth. It's publicity, isn't it?"

References

1. ^ Noden, Merrell (2003). "Dead Man Walking". Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970). London: Emap. p. 114.
2. Morris, Julie (23 October 1969). "The Beatle Paul Mystery – As Big as Rock Music Itself". Detroit Free Press. p. 6.
3. Winn 2009, p. 241.
4. ^ LaBour, Fred (14 October 1969). "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light". The Michigan Daily. p. 2.
5. Gould 2007, pp. 593–94.
6. ^ Glenn, Allen (11 November 2009). "Paul Is Dead (Said Fred)". Michigan Today. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010.
7. ^ Schaffner 1978, p. 127.
8. "Why Did WABC Have Such a Great Signal?". Musicradio 77 WABC. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
9. ^ Sounes 2010, p. 262.
10. ^ Winn 2009, p. 333.
11. McKinney 2003, p. 291.
12. Winn 2009, pp. 332–33.
13. ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 342.
14. Bisci, John. "WKBW: Paul McCartney Is Alive And Well – Maybe, 1969". ReelRadio. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
15. Castleman & Podrazik 1976, p. 281.
16. ^ McKinney 2003, p. 292.
17. Clayson 2003, p. 118.
18. ^ "Terry Knight Speaks". Blogcritics. 2 March 2004. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011.
19. MacDonald 1998, p. 271.
20. Billboard staff (8 November 1969). "McCartney 'Death' Gets 'Disk Coverage' Dearth". Billboard. p. 3.
21. Schaffner 1978, p. 130.
22. Hoffmann & Bailey 1990, pp. 165–66.
23. Gould 2007, p. 593.
24. Turner 2016, p. 368.
25. ^ Shivani, Anis (15 January 2017). "Paul is Dead: The Conspiracy Theory That Won't Go Away". Dawn. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
26. Time staff (July 2009). "Separating Fact from Fiction: Paul Is Dead". Time. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
27. Patterson 1998, pp. 193–97.
28. Clayson 2003, pp. 117–18.
29. MacDonald 1998, p. 273fn.
30. Yorke, Ritchie (7 February 1970). "A Private Talk With John". Rolling Stone. p. 22.
31. The Beatles 2000, pp. 341, 342.
32. Draper 2008, p. 76.
33. "Beatle Spokesman Calls Rumor of McCartney's Death 'Rubbish'". The New York Times. 22 October 1969. p. 8.
34. Phillips, B.J. (22 October 1969). "McCartney 'Death' Rumors". The Washington Post. p. B1.
35. Miles 2001, p. 358.
36. ^ Winn 2009, p. 334.
37. Miles 2001, p. 359.
38. ^ Winn 2009, p. 335.
39. Sounes 2010, pp. 262–63.
40. Neary, John (7 November 1969). "The Magical McCartney Mystery". Life. pp. 103–06.
41. ^ Burks, John (29 November 1969). "A Pile of Money on Paul's 'Death'". Rolling Stone. pp. 6, 10.
42. Schaffner 1978, pp. 126–27.
43. Castleman & Podrazik 1976, p. 361.
44. "Paul Is Dead ... A Comedy Short Film Inspired by the Classic Bizarre Rock & Roll Conspiracy Theory". urbanistamagazine.uk. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

Sources

• The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
• Burns, Gary (2000). "Refab Four: Beatles for Sale in the Age of Music Video". In Inglis, Ian (ed.). The Beatles, Popular Music and Society: A Thousand Voices. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-22236-9.
• Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1976). All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
• Clayson, Alan (2003). Paul McCartney. London: Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-482-6.
• Doggett, Peter (2011). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. New York, NY: It Books. ISBN 978-0-06-177418-8.
• Draper, Jason (2008). A Brief History of Album Covers. London: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84786-211-2.
• Gould, Jonathan (2007). Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America. London: Piatkus. ISBN 978-0-7499-2988-6.
• Hoffmann, Frank W.; Bailey, William G. (1990). Arts & Entertainment Fads. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press. ISBN 0-86656-881-6.
• MacDonald, Ian (1998). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-0-7126-6697-8.
• McKinney, Devin (2003). Magic Circles: The Beatles in Dream and History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01202-X.
• Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. New York, NY: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-5248-0.
• Miles, Barry (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-8308-9.
• Patterson, R. Gary (1998). The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues. New York, NY: Fireside. ISBN 0-684-85062-1.
• Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.
• Schaffner, Nicholas (1978). The Beatles Forever. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-055087-5.
• Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-723705-0.
• Turner, Steve (2016). Beatles '66: The Revolutionary Year. New York, NY: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-247558-9.
• Winn, John C. (2009). That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-307-45239-9.

External links

• National Post's guide to "Paul is dead" clues, May 2017
• "The 70 Greatest Conspiracy Theories in Pop-Culture History", Vulture, October 2016

• 1960s in mass media
• Conspiracy theories in Europe
• Conspiracy theories in the United States
• Death hoaxes
• History of the Beatles
• Journalistic hoaxes
• Paul McCartney
• Urban legends
• Death conspiracy theories
• 1960s fads and trends
• Pseudohistory
• 1969 neologisms