Beatles' Hoax

Through The Cracks
Clouds | Danny Gatton | Roy Buchanan | TimeBox - Patto | Joe Stanley

The Hidden Clues in the Paul is Dead Hoax.

One of the more interesting controversies concerning Paul, was the long drawn out hoax over his "death". This hoax was spread by radio stations and newspapers in the Midwest United States claiming he had died in a car crash in 1966. The hoax was believed in reality to have been perpetrated by Epstein upon hearing for the first time the Sergeant Pepper studio recordings. Epstein supposedly was so concerned over the radical change in their music, and fearing a major loss of sales, came up with the idea, giving birth to, arguably, one of the most unique hoaxes in history. The magnitude of this hoax is fully realized in the fact that it was interspersed within the lyrics and artwork of several albums, and even made an appearance in some of their solo works.

The story like any good hoax was left mainly to the imagination of the fans and the media hype. McCartney was supposedly replaced with the winner of a Paul McCartney look-alike contest by the name of William Shears Campbell, Billy Shears was the name of the fictitious leader of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Some of the hidden clues to the hoax are on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album, and while some were indeed put there, some are just as likely the product of over active imaginations.

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Anomalies

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the British rock band "The Beatles". Recorded over a 129-day period beginning on December 6, 1966. The album was released on June 1, 1967 in the United Kingdom, and the following day in the United States. Sgt. Pepper is often described as The Beatles' magnum opus and has been acclaimed as one of the most influential albums of all time by prominent critics and publications. It was ranked the greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003.

The well known cover of this album contains many images, and two that were painted out. Hover your mouse pointer over the images for descriptions.

Sgt. Pepper drums 1.- The people are looking at what appears to be a freshly dug grave.
2.-The yellow flowers (directly below the flowers that spell Beatles) are in the shape of a bass guitar. Paul was the bass player for The Beatles.
3.-There are three sticks on the yellow flowers that represent the strings of the bass. There are only 3 sticks to represent the 3 remaining Beatles.
4.-Also, notice that the yellow flowers spell out ‘PAUL?’; questioning Paul’s existence.
5.-The doll on the right of the cover (in the white, black, and red stripes) has a small white car, with a blood red interior, on her lap. This is a model of the car that Paul supposedly died in.
6.-Directly below the doll’s left foot is a white vase with yellow flowers in it. If you look closely it resembles a car plummeting over a cliff with flames coming out of the back end.
7.-Below the ‘T’ in Beatles is a statue of the Hindu God Shiva ‘The Destroyer.’ Its hand points directly to Paul.
8.-The Beatles are standing behind the drum in the center of the photo. They are standing sideways except for Paul who is facing directly forward. John, Ringo, and George look three dimensional while Paul looks more two dimensional like a cardboard cutouts.
9.-Paul is the only one holding a black instrument. Black is associated with death, and the theme repeats in succeeding albums.
10.-This is the first time you see an open palm above Paul’s head, which is purported to signify either that the person under the open palm will soon die or has recently passed away.
11.-Take a small mirror and place it perpendicular to the center of the drum, so that you split ‘LONELY HEARTS’ in half. Now read the combined writing on the drum and the mirror. It says 1 ONE 1 X HE | DIE. ‘1 ONE 1′ equals three, another reference to three Beatles. The ‘X’ crosses out Paul because he is no longer alive. And the arrow between ‘He’ and ‘Die’ points directly to Paul.

Centerfold

The Beatles are sitting facing the camera. On Paul’s left arm is a patch that says O. P. D. (Officially Pronounced Dead), much like D. O. A. (Dead on Arrival). The photo was taken at such an angle, and with Paul’s sleeve folded, so that it appears to say O. P. D. when in reality it reads O. P. P. This stands for the ‘Ontario Provincial Police. Another interpretation is that William Campbell was once a police officer in Canada.

Sgt. Pepper Back

Back Cover

Paul is facing backwards, to signify that the man in the photograph is an imposter. Paul, George, and John were all about the same height, but in this photo Paul appears higher than the other two. This represents that he is *rising up,* ascending if you will. The words “Without You” are coming out the side of Paul’s head, from the song title “Within You, Without you.” George’s thumb is pointing to the lyrics “Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock,” the time of Paul’s death.
George’s hand makes an L, John’s a V, and Ringo’s an E. Paul (in blue) is the HOLE where the O would be in the word LOVE.

Sgt Pepper hands

Magical Mystery Tour Anomalies

Front Cover

Paul is the Walrus. He is the only one in black. We know Paul is the Walrus from the song ‘Glass Onion.’, "Well here's another clue for you all, The walrus was Paul"

Original Album Booklet

Throughout the booklet Paul is shown without shoes. Generally, people are buried without shoes.

Inside sleeve : Paul’s magicians hat is pulled down over his face. Hiding his face because it is not really him.
Page 3: Paul sits under crossed flags. Crossed flags are placed over the casket in British Military funerals.
Page 3: A sign sits on the desk in front of Paul that reads “I Was You .”
Page 3: In this photo Paul has the scar on his lip.
Page 4: Paul’s hat is crushed, indicating that he suffered head injuries in the car crash.
Page 9: A cartoon of Paul shows a crack in Paul’s head. Again a reference to the head injuries.
Page 13: Ringo’s drum reads “Love the 3 Beatles ”
Page 23: Paul is the only Beatle wearing a Black carnation.
Page 24: An open hand is photographed above Paul’s head.

Mystery Tour Booklet
Back Cover

If you turn the album sideways the people in white spell out “RIP.”

Back cover

Abbey Road Anomalies

I believe that, outside of the shoeless, Paul being out of step the remainder of the clues are a bit of a stretch. But, that is the best part of a good hoax, the unwitting "hoaxees", tend to fill in the gaps.

1.) Paul’s eyes are closed and he is in his bare feet, both representative of a corpse.
2.) Paul is out of step with the other Beatles - his right foot is forward, the others are leading with their left foot.
3.) Paul is smoking with his right hand. Paul played the bass as a lefty. An ambulance, or a morgue wagon, is parked on the right side of the street.
4.) The car in the background appears to be headed directly at Paul.
The VW bug that is parked on the left side of the street has a license plate that says ‘28IF’. Paul would have been 28 when this album was released, IF he would have lived.
5.)In the procession across the street, John represents the Preacher (dressed in white), Ringo represents a Pall Bearer (or undertaker), Paul is the Deceased, and George is the Grave Digger, (in jeans or work clothes).

The Beatles - Yesterday and Today, (The Butcher Album)

The actual name is “The Beatles Yesterday and Today.” The graphic nature of the cover gave it the nickname ‘the Butcher Album.” It was never sold in stores. Copies of this album are very rare. This version only went out to record stations as a promotional album. After Capitol records received complaints, an alternate cover was produced.

Butcher Album

Front Cover

Paul is sitting inside the trunk. The trunk represents a coffin. This is one of the first photographs showing a scar on Paul’s upper lip. A sign that this is the imposter William Campbell sitting in for photograph sessions.
The bloody meat and assorted baby doll parts are supposed to represent the horrible nature of the car accident.
With the set of teeth on Paul’s right arm signifying that Paul’s teeth were knocked out in the car crash. George is holding the head of a baby doll next to Paul’s head, to signify that Paul was decapitated in the accident.

Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine
Front Cover

The yellow submarine looks as though it is buried inside the hill that the Beatles are standing on. This is the first occasion where we see an open palm above Paul McCartney’s head. It’s generally taken to mean either that the person under the open palm will soon die or has recently passed away.

Whether intentional or not, the enormous amount of incidences that occur in these albums, and the songs therein ,where Paul is singled out is certainly worth noting. We do know that the incident was a hoax, so the majority of the unusual content was intentional. The rest? Well, use your imagination.

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