Paul Is Dead: how did the Paul McCartney rumour catch on that it led him to declare he's still alive?

Legend has it that on October 24 1969, Life magazine reporters Dorothy "Dot" Jenkins and Timothy Harper visited a farm in Scotland to interview former Beatle Paul McCartney. 

That sounds run-of-the-mill, with McCartney at this point in time married to the late Linda McCartney and wanting to have a quieter family life with his two children. But it would be during this interview, that was subsequently published on November 7 1969, that Paul addressed a rumour that had blown up that year.

"Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. However, if I were dead, I'm sure I'd be the last to know."

It would spell an end to the long standing suggestion that Sir Paul McCartney had died supposedly of a car accident back in 1966, and that the McCartney that was with the band between the releases from Revolver to Abbey Road was a replacement.

Those album releases didn’t stave off the rumours and in fact became breadcrumbs with many who believed in the death hoax pointing to hidden messages and meanings throughout the height of the “Paul is dead” craze. 

Ahead of McCartney’s Get Back tour, set to take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live on December 14 and 15, and then London’s The O2 on December 18 and 19, let’s find out (those of us of a much younger age) how the rumours began and, of course, what “clues” were hidden by the Beatles to let us know that Paul was, in fact, dead. 

How did the “Paul is dead” rumour begin in the first place?

There had always been rumours about either McCartney’s demise or him going solo dating back to 1966, when media outlets called then Beatles press officer, Tony Barrow, to enquire whether the musician was experiencing ill health or if he had in fact died. 

The rumour then resurfaced in 1967, this time claiming that Paul McCartney had been killed in a traffic accident while driving along the M1 motorway on January 7 of the same year, which McCartney alluded to during a press conference for the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in May. 

But the rumour once again received a new lease of life on October 12 1969 after a caller phoned in to WKNR-FM in Michigan. As The Beatles Bible wrote: “The caller, identified only as ‘Tom’, claimed that McCartney was dead, and instructed Gibb to play ‘Revolution 9’ backwards, where the repeated “number nine” phrase was heard as “turn me on, dead man”.

One listener to that call-in was an arts reviewer for The Michigan Daily, Fred LaBour, who used the clues given by ‘Tom’  along with others he had invented himself – including the name of William Campbell, the alleged replacement for McCartney - for a piece titled “McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought To Light,” published October 14 1969.

A quote attributed to LaBour claimed: “I made the guy up [William Campbell.] It was originally going to be Glenn Campbell, with two Ns, and then I said ‘that’s too close, nobody’ll buy that’. So I made it William Campbell.”

Several other radio stations in the New York area began picking up the rumour in the weeks that followed, including WABC, whose discussion in the early hours of October 21, 1969, reached listeners across 38 U.S. states. Many started to believe that perhaps ‘Tom’ was right - that Paul was dead.

What were some of the “clues” that led to people thinking “Paul is dead?”

Backmasking shenanigans 

Of the more popular “clues” came in the form of The Beatles uses backmasking techniques throughout their later releases; in particular, 1968’s The White Album. 

Per the radio call-in suggestion, many pointed to “Revolution 9” which when played backwards, some claimed to hear the phrase "Turn me on, dead man" repeatedly. It was a similar situation with the track "I'm So Tired", where John Lennon can allegedly be heard saying “Paul is dead, miss him, miss him."

Though John Lennon apparently addressed the rumours on “Glass Onion” when he sings "Here’s another clue for you all / The walrus was Paul."

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover

This was another popular “clue” surrounding the rumours of McCartney death; the cover was interpreted as a funeral scene. Paul is positioned slightly apart from the others and holds a black instrument, a clarinet, which was thought to symbolise mourning. 

The flowers in front of the band supposedly form the shape of a bass guitar, which Paul played, and some believed the flowers spelled out “Paul?” On Paul's left arm too, he's wearing a patch that says "OPD." This was interpreted as "Officially Pronounced Dead," though it actually says "OPP" (Ontario Provincial Police).

Abbey Road album cover

The cover to The Beatles’ 1969 Abbey Road album also suggested that Paul was dead; the iconic album cover shows the Beatles walking across a zebra crossing, which many saw as symbolising a funeral procession.

The belief was/is (deleted as appropriate depending on your thoughts) that John Lennon, dressed in white, represents a priest, Ringo Starr, in black, represents an undertaker.

Paul McCartney, barefoot and out of step with the others (and holding a cigarette in his right hand, despite being left-handed), was thought to represent a corpse and George Harrison, in denim, was said to symbolise a gravedigger.

There was also the matter of the licence plate of the Volkswagen Beetle in the background; the car has a licence plate reading "28IF," which fans believed meant Paul would have been 28 years old "if" he had lived (though he was actually 27 at the time).

Does the rumour that “Paul is dead” still circulate today?

Apparently so - as earlier this week (October 22 2024)that another rumour regarding Paul McCartney’s death surfaced, this time appearing on the social media platform Facebook. 

A page titled “R I P Paul McCartney” greeted Facebook users with a post that read: ““At about 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday (October 22, 2024), our beloved singer Paul McCartney passed away. Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”

But once again, that rumour was debunked and as of writing, no such page exists on Facebook. 

It would appear though that many are tired now of the “Paul is dead” rumours, with The Celebrity Post running a poll asking “What do you think about Paul McCartney's recent death rumours?” 

Of the 371 respondents, 82% stated that they found the hoaxes at this point in time both “stupid and boring.”

Tickets to see Paul McCartney during his Get Back UK tour are still available now but in limited supply. To avoid missing out, visit Ticketmaster to look at the options currently available.