Paul is Dead

John, George, Ringo, and… Faul?

Without a doubt, the most controversial conspiracy surrounding the Beatles is the theory that the real Paul McCartney actually died in 1966 and was replaced by an imposter look-alike. Though at first the idea seems ridiculous and impossible, the fact that avid conspiracy believers have dedicated so much of their lives to proving the “evidence,” and have gone so far to fill all the gaps with supposedly credible information, can make even the most die-hard Beatle worshipper second guess the true identity of the beloved Paul McCartney. After taking all of the following information into consideration, the truth will be up to you to decide.

The Last Testament of George Harrison

According to the documentary, “The Real Paul McCartney is dead,” on July 1, 2005, Highway 61 Entertainment in Hollywood, California received an unsolicited package by mail with no return address. The package, postmarked in London, England, contained a mini cassette player with two mini cassette tapes. These tapes were labeled, “The Last Testament of George Harrison.” Apparently the voice on the recording had been examined by three different labs and has not been verified as Harrison’s real voice. The content of the tapes, however, have lead some to believe that they are an authentic confession detailing the tragedy and concealment of the real Paul McCartney’s Death, and the false continuation of his legacy.

A Well-Kept Secret

            The Liverpool-accented voice on the tapes alleges to be George Harrison in the hospital. The voice claims that years earlier, he received a call from John, who told George he was going to go public with the truth about Paul. Eight days later, John was killed. The voice also claims that two weeks prior to the recording, George confided in the living Paul McCartney-in-question that he was going to reveal the truth about the “real Paul’s” death. He says that it was because of this that a man then broke into George Harrison’s home and stabbed him in the chest with a knife.

The Story

            The recorded voice then relays the details of a horrible accident, the alleged death of Paul McCartney. This is the story.

 On November 9, 1966, the fab four were at Abbey Road recording studios at a late night recording session that began around midnight. There was tension between John and Paul, who where arguing over the lyrics to a song. It was about 5am when, in the heat of the argument, Paul left the studio in his Austin Healy. It was pouring rain. On the way home, Paul saw a girl, Rita, walking on the side of the road in the rain. He offered her a ride and when she realized who he was, she went into a hysterical frenzy, hugging and grabbing him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, which flipped and crashed. Rita was able to escape from the vehicle to get help, and when she did, the vehicle exploded, leaving Paul’s body decapitated. At about 6 am when the other three Beatles were leaving Abbey Road, they were stopped by a marked black van and were told by the officer, Maxwell, that there had been a terrible accident involving Paul McCartney. Maxwell took the John, George, and Ringo to MI5 British intelligence and asked them to identify Paul’s remains. The accident had left Paul’s body mangled. He was missing an eye and had lost his teeth except for two protruding from his gums. For this, Maxwell said, “he kind of looks like a walrus, doesn’t he?” and in an outrage, John began to hit him and repeatedly yell “No, I am the walrus! Not him! I am the walrus!”

Maxwell then took the distressed three to an MI5 safe house and after hours of deliberation, the government had concluded that if Paul’s death went public, “a rash of suicides would likely follow,” and therefore, his death must be kept a secret in order to prevent his death from becoming even more of a catastrophe. Upon making that decision, John realized that he had about fifty songs in the works that he could finish and produce to keep the Beatles’ career going. The next step would be to replace Paul with a look-alike, perfected by MI5’s own plastic surgeons. The next day, the Beatles announced that they would no longer tour, but work from the recording studio in order to buy themselves time for “False Paul’s” complete transformation. At that time, “Tiger Beats” magazine held a look-alike contest for Paul. To the public, the reason for the contest seemed to be innocent fun, but it’s true purpose was to find Paul’s replacement. The winner was never announced, but taken to MI5 to begin the transformation. His name was William Campbell. Excited for the opportunity to covet the identity of the world famous Paul McCartney, Campbell began to undergo reconstructive operations of the chin, lips, nose, ears, and eyebrows. He took speech therapy to perfect the Liverpool accent, and John nicknamed him “Faul” for “False Paul.”

Some of the “Evidence” and Other Allegations

            The Beatles’ company “Apple Corporation” is in reference to the name “A Paul Corporation,” as a tribute to the dead Paul.

Ringo called the false Paul “Rubber Paul” which inspired the name of the album “Rubber Soul.” The photo on the cover of the album was taken with a distorted lense to conceal the facial differences between the transforming Faul and the real Paul. The “moptop” haircut here was meant to cover the scars from plastic surgery

The album, “The Revolver,” was named for the symbolic revolving door through which Paul left and Faul entered. The cover was drawn because Faul had recently underdone more cosmetic surgery, and the small character pictured inside Paul’s ear was meant to signal to fans to listen for clues in the music that would suggest Paul’s death.

The song, “Eleanor Rigby,” references Paul’s secret funeral, which only Paul’s parents, John, George, and Ringo attended. “Father McKenzie” is meant to signify Paul’s father, “father McCartney,” without being too obvious.

"Father McKenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear/ no one comes near"

The original album for “Yesterday and Today” was a photo of the four posing with raw meat and naked baby dolls on Faul’s shoulder’s, which referenced the gruesome death of the real Paul. Maybe too suggestive for MI5’s liking, the album cover was changed to a simpler photo of the four of them, but with Faul in a suitcase, which represented a coffin. There, a scar can be seen on Faul’s upper lip.

The cover of “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” depicts a funeral scene, with freshly dug-up Earth, representing the burial of their band mate. All the people depicted in the crowd are people Paul would have wanted at his funeral, and they all were either dead, had had near death experiences, or had portrayed death.

To the right of the cover sits a doll with a toy Austin Healy (Paul’s car) and a bloody driver’s glove, referencing the accident that killed Paul.

When a mirror is placed on the drumhead it reads, “I ONE IX HE DIE,” or “1 one nine he die” for the date of his death on 11/9.

On the back of the album, Faul is the only one facing away. The lyrics, “without you” are right above his head, and George’s photo points to the lyrics, “Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock,” the time when Paul died.

The lyrics of the song, “Glass Onion,” reference Paul’s appearance the last time they saw him. 

“and here’s another clue for you all/ The walrus was Paul.”

John Lennon recorded backwards lyrics (back masking) as clues onto different songs on “The White Album.” In the song, “I’m so tired,” are the words “Paul is dead, man. Miss him. Miss Him.” In “Revolution 9” is a voice that says, “Turn me on, dead man.”

On the cover of “Let it Be,” Faul is the only one featured in front of a colored background---blood red.

The “Abbey Road” cover depicts the four Beatles dressed for a funeral. Faul is in a suit and shoeless, the way the dead were traditionally buried in England. John wore white to depict the preacher, Ringo wore black to depict the undertaker, and George wore blue jeans and a work shirt to depict the gravedigger. Faul is also shown out of stride with the other Beatles and with a cigarette in his right hand, though Paul was left-handed.

You Decide for Yourself

Here an avid believer of this conspiracy analyzes what he claims to be distinct facial differences between Paul and Faul. According to this website, it is impossible that they are the same person. What does this "evidence" mean to you?