More than 60 years after the Beatles split up, many people still talk about and enjoy the songs of the iconic Liverpool group; John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, along with Paul McCartney, formed this group, from 1957 to 1970.
Regarding this last member, there has been a fairly widespread myth that many people, including fans of the group, despite how incredible it may sound, believe a lot, and that is that they claim that the bassist and composer of songs such as Hey Jude, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da or All My Loving, has been dead since 1966, but how is this? We tell you.
‘Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock…’
According to widespread myth, on November 9, 1966, Paul McCartney walked out of the studio where he was working on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album with the rest of the Beatles.
Heading home in his Rolls-Royce, McCartney allegedly became distracted by a mysterious woman, causing him to run a red light and allegedly have a serious traffic collision with another unidentified vehicle, in which the bassist of the Liverpool quartet lost his life almost instantly.
Following this, Brian Epstein, the group’s manager at the time, advised the rest of the Beatles not to make any statements regarding what happened with McCartney, and suggested getting a double to replace the bassist in the band, taking advantage of the fact that the group had retired from touring at that time.
With this, according to legend, they hired former Canadian policeman William Shears Campbell to impersonate the popular artist, and from this, Campbell became the Paul McCartney, who even continues to give recitals today.
Magazine of the time talking about the topic.
Alleged evidence
According to the most fervent believers of this conspiracy theory, the Liverpool quartet left certain visual and sound clues throughout all of their works.
It all began with the album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band, which McCartney was supposedly working on at the time of his death; according to many, it represents a funeral march, rather than a party or a concept album, as various symbolisms supposedly confirm the veracity of this legend.
The fact that McCartney is the only one shown in front, a three-string bass made of flowers, the hand above the British bassist’s head (this, according to Brahmanic cultures, is a bad omen), the presence of dark beings like Aleister Crowley or a supposed doll with blood on its hand are some of the supposed symbols that the Liverpool quartet added to convey this message.
Alleged evidence found on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This same trend would be repeated with the covers of their other albums, from Magical Mystery Tour to Let It Be, and even with some covers of The Beatles’ albums as soloists.
Abbey Road is another example of this, as they claim that the cover represents a funeral march, in which McCartney is the one who is going to be buried.
In songs
According to others, it’s not just the album covers, as some songs claim that if played backwards they give certain messages about Paul McCartney’s death; Revolution 9 is the most cited example of this, as the experimental song mostly written by John Lennon features phrases like “Turn me on, dead man,” which they said serve to reinforce the theory.
Strawberry Fields Forever is another popular example, as at the end of the song in Ringo Starr’s drum section, many claim that Lennon says “I bury Paul”, a myth that the artist himself denied, as he claims that he said “Cranberry Sauce”.
You can listen to other examples of these supposed messages left by the Beatles here, although conspiracy theorists claim that there are many more clues in other songs by the Liverpool quartet.
