A rumor that Paul McCartney had passed away and been replaced by The Beatles with a lookalike surfaced in the late 1960s. Since McCartney is clearly visible in several photos and videos, some individuals took the hypothesis too literally. Recently, his daughter Mary talked about this viewpoint and how it affected her as she was growing up.
The ‘Paul is Dead’ conspiracy theory picked up steam after ‘Abbey Road’ debuted
The Beatles were reportedly concealing Paul McCartney’s death from fans by using a look-alike around the time the story of his death in a car accident began to circulate in 1967. After Abbey Road’s cover was shown, these hypotheses gained traction, and many fans scrutinized every aspect of it for hints.
Paul McCartney allegedly strolling barefoot, an unsettling Volkswagen beetle registration plate, and each member of The Beatles allegedly portraying a funeral procession were just a few of the purported pieces of evidence that fans thought backed the hypothesis. McCartney’s daughter discussed these alleged pieces of evidence and how some of them were disproved in an interview with Good Day New York.
‘It was a sunny day,’ Dad says. He was wearing sandals, but because it was hot, he simply flipped them off as they crossed, Mary said. But John Lennon is dressed in a white suit. I imagine their reaction was, “Oh, this means Paul is dead.” People have allegedly read all sorts of things into the number plate in the background, which nearly appears to read “271f,” as if the subject were still alive, but this is merely reading.
Mary McCartney says many people would ask her father if he was still alive
It must be difficult to grow up with so many people telling you that your father is dead when he isn’t. In the Abbey Road documentary Whether These Walls Could Sing, Mary, who also directed it, told tales of strangers approaching Paul in public and inquiring if he was deceased.
“That occurred once at a Long Island shoe store. They were like, ‘No, but we watched the whole thing,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, but you’re dead,'” Mary recalled. “That was my first memory of wondering, ‘What the heck is going on here?'” What makes them say that? It then appeared to be opening up.
Paul McCartney became paranoid over people believing he was dead
The former Beatle claimed in an interview on his website, Paulmccartney.com, that people frequently called him on the phone to check on his status. Some of them wouldn’t believe him when he told them he was still alive. He claimed that if he couldn’t persuade them, no one could, so he started to become “paranoid.”
“I am aware of all rumors… since I was questioned about them!” McCartney made known. Someone might genuinely call and inquire, “Are you dead? Yes, I replied. I’m taking this call right now. “Well, I can’t be positive it’s you,” would be the response. So you start to feel a little bit paranoid about yourself. And you ask yourself, “How am I going to show them or anyone else that this is me?” If it wasn’t me, how had I taught him to create songs? I reasoned, “In time, this look-alike will be producing some pretty good songs.
