Paul is Dead?

One of the most influential bands of all time is The Beatles, a British pop/rock band from the sixties. With the enormous popularity of the band, made up of of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard 'Ringo Starr' Starkey, ('Beatlemania') it wasn't long until a conspiracy theory became thought up and sometimes believed. The conspiracy is about the alleged death and replacement of Beatles bassist Paul McCartney. The story of his death was supported by 'clues' from hidden meanings on album covers, lyrics, certain line's being played backwards (which can be found on the website indicated at the end of this article), and the like.

The story around the death of 'the cute Beatle' puts his date of death at November 9th, 1966. McCartney had an argument with his band members for one reason or another and drove off in the middle of night while it was raining heavily to calm down. According to the story, Paul McCartney saw a young hitch hiker named Rita (the name being taken from the belief that the song Lovely Rita is about her) and decided to give her a ride. When Rita realized who was driving, she jumped on him which caused McCartney to lose control of the car, making him crash. The effects of the alleged crash was devastating for McCartney. As John Lennon puts it, "He blew his mind out in a car. He didn't notice that the lights had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared. They'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords." (A Day in the Life, Sgt. Pepper).

When news of the death of Paul McCartney reached the band, an idea was proposed to hold a look-and-sound-alike contest to find someone to replace McCartney, paying the police and medical staff involved to keep quiet as well as 'Faul,' or the false Paul McCartney. The idea went through and someone was found. William 'Billy Shears' Campbell of Ontario, Canada. After a bit of plastic surgery, unreleased recording, and studio editing Billy Shears became the perfect McCartney double.

Clues:

Here is a list of some clues and explanations.

Clue: This patch on McCartney in photos taken for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band says O.P.D which stands for 'Officially Pronounced Dead.'

Explanation: The patch actually reads 'O.P.P' for the Ontario Provincial Police, who gave Paul the patch. Unfolded, the patch should look like this .

Clue: The mumbling at the end of Strawberry Fields Forever says 'I buried Paul.' Why would a living person be buried?

Explanation: Lennon was actually saying 'Cranberry Sauce' out of lack of something to do.

Clue: Paul is barefoot on the cover of Abbey Road. It is a symbol of death.

Explanation: Paul was wearing sandals but he kicked them off because it was a hot day.

Clue: This album cover is distorted to make the differences between Faul and Paul less obvious. It also implies that the band is looking down at Paul's grave. Also, "Rubber Soul" could mean that William replaced Paul both in body and soul.

Explanation: The album picture was given a distorted effect when the camera fell during a photo session. The band liked the effect and decided to keep it. "Rubber Soul" is an expression used for soul music produced by non-black artists. Also, the album was released before Paul's 'death'.

These are not even half of the clues contributing to the conspiracy. A full amount of clues can be found on the website bellow.

I really enjoyed learning about a conspiracy centered around my favorite band. However, there is no basis in reality. It has been used for several humorous references by The Simpson's, McCartney himself, and others.

So, what do you think?

Source:

Officially Pronounced Dead? - A "Paul is Dead" website which has audio, pictures, and everything else that make up the over three hundred clues for this conspiracy.