When I was younger, my friends and I got into the 'Paul is dead' phase. Okay, so it lasted about 4 days, but we found as many clues as we could. All of them had been found before, except maybe a few VERY esoteric ones. Well, first let me tell the story of 'Paul is dead', and then I'll present an extremely partial compilation of clues.
The Story
In October 1969, a rumor spread, that Paul McCartney was dead. The story was based on "clues" found on Beatle records and album sleeves, that Paul had actually been killed in a car accident in November, 1966 (on Tuesday night / Wednesday morning). Researchers discovered a car accident, which happened around that time, involving two passengers. The driver, a young male with dark hair, was disfigured beyond recognition. Then, in the winter of 1966, a "Paul look-a-like" contest was held by the Beatles in Canada, and although thousands entered, no winner was ever announced. But there was a winner, William Campbell, a Scot, who was paid an exorbitant amount of money to play Paul. Campbell was never heard from again, and so the story goes that the "stand-in" had been playing Paul since 1966 and that since then the other Beatles had placed various clues onto Beatles records and sleeves, to break the news gently to their fans. The "clues" are of two kinds; those actually recorded on their records and those depicted on the album sleeves.
The clues
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- On the front cover, the word "Beatles" is spelled out in flowers on a grave Amid the grave are yellow flowers shaped like a bass guitar, easily identifiable as such. (Paul played the bass). From a distance, the flowers appear to spell out "P A U L ?".
- On the front cover, the other 3 Beatles are holding western instruments, while Paul is holding a Tibetan horn which is played at funerals. In Tibetan culture, death is dominant, and many clues focus on this.
- On the front cover, it appears that the small doll in the green dress is looking at a toy car plummeting in flames.
- On the back cover, Paul's back is turned to the camera, while all the others are facing the camera
- On the back cover, George is pointing at the lyrics "Wednesday morning at five o'clock", the supposed time of Paul's death.
- If you hold a mirror horizontally across the words " LONELY HEARTS" on the bass drum on the front cover, with the reflective part of the mirror pointing away from you, the letters in both the mirror and the album collectively spell out "1 ONE 1 X= HE arrow DIE". The arrow points at Paul. One and one and one is three. Paul has been crossed out.
- Words to "She's Leaving Home: "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock."
- Words to "A Day in the Life":
"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..."
Magical Mystery Tour
- Inside the booklet accompanying Magical Mystery Tour, "I Am The Walrus" is subtitled, "No you're not, said Little Nicola". The walrus (in Scandinavian culture, a symbol of death) is somebody else (which is stated later in this document).
- Inside the booklet, there is a picture, using a wide-angle lens, showing people dining. If you turn the picture 90 degrees to the right and stare at a distance,
the beret of the diner nearest the camera appears to be the left eye socket of a skull, which can be made out. This picture is the only photo in the book not from the film.
- Inside the booklet on the picture showing the Beatles playing, Ringo's bass drum has a small "3" on it.
- Lyrics to "I am the Walrus": "Stupid bloody Tuesday". The song fades to a death scene from Shakespeare's King Lear.
- At the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever", John says "I buried Paul". (When questioned about the statement John said "I said cranberry sauce").
The White Album
- Lyrics to "Glass Onion": "here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul". This was well into the 'Paul is dead' craze, and obviously this is a clue for the masses.
- If you play the voice that repeats Number 9, Number 9 in "Revolution 9" backwards, the voice
says "Turn me on dead man.....Turn me on dead man."
Abbey Road
- The front cover of Abbey Road shows Paul out of step with the others; the license plate on the VW has 28IF meaning Paul would have been 28 if he had lived; Paul is the only one not wearing shoes (Europeans used to bury their dead without them); John is dressed in white, representing God / giving the eulogy, Ringo the priest / pallbearer (little pun there) and George the gravedigger;
The car on the street is aiming right for Paul.
* Wuukiee would like to mention that it was Russ Gibb who supposidly started this whole thing.
* yerricde would like to add that at the end of I'm So Tired, if played backwards, you can hear John say, "Paul is dead now; miss him, miss him, miss him."
* gobbet updates me that there is a new (2003) website that tries to prove with photos and music of the Beatles that Paul is dead and was replaced. It's quite different from other "Paul is dead" sites, so I will bring forth the link: http://uberkinder.5u.com/paul/index.html
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