Turn Me On, Dead Man

We all know Paul McCartney, the beloved member of The Beatles. In some circles, it is believed that he actually died in a car accident in 1966 and was replaced by a look/soundalike in order to spare the public from the grief of losing such a cherished idol. It was feared that his death would cause devastation, even mass suicides, among his fans. Another common, more logical belief, is that this was simply a rumor that the band played into to gain publicity.

According to the theory, Paul drove off in his car, an Austin-Healey, after an argument with the band during a recording session. It is said that he crashed his car and died. He was supposedly replaced by a lookalike, who has been rumored to be William Campbell, the winner of a Paul McCartney lookalike contest. The man may have looked like Paul, but how would he manage to imitate his distinct musical styles? Some believe he was very strictly and professionally trained to sound just like him.

As the rumors spread, fans began to notice various clues hidden in in songs and album artwork. A well known "clue" is that the words spoken by John Lennon in the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" are "I Buried Paul."

The famous Abbey Road album cover has also been interpreted as a funeral procession; John is dressed in white to symbolize the preacher or religious figure, Ringo is dressed in black to symbolize the mourner (or mortician, pallbearer, there are various interpretations), George is dressed in denim to symbolize the gravedigger, and Paul is barefoot and out of step with the rest of the band, symbolizing the deceased. There are various other "clues" hidden in the Abbey Road artwork, including a license plate on a Volkswagen that reads 28IF, supposedly indicating that Paul would be 28 if he had survived the crash. Paul would have actually been 27 (which could tie into a completely different elaborate conspiracy), but he would have been in his 28th year of existence, which by Indian belief, would make him 28, since they count the time spent as a fetus part of one's life. On the back cover of Abbey Road, there is a girl in a blue dress. Apparently, if you hold the album away from you and look at her elbow, there is a hidden profile of Paul. It is believed by followers of the conspiracy that this album's artwork was staged.

The cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band also bears some clues to the conspiracy. The wax dummies of George, Ringo, and Paul are looking at a grave. There are yellow flowers shaped like a guitar. From a distance, it is believed that the flowers spell out "Paul." There is also supposedly a doll in a green dress watching a toy car crash. On the back cover, Paul's back is turned to the camera. Also on the back, George is pointing at the lyrics "Wednesday morning at five o'clock" which is the rumored time of Paul's death.

In the song "Glass Onion", the lyrics include, "Here's another clue for you, the walrus was Paul." This pertains to a Norse belief that the walrus was a sign of death.

"Revolution 9" supposedly contains a hidden subliminal message. When played backwards, the words, "Turn me on, dead man, turn me on, dead man..."

There are countless clues to this conspiracy, to share them all would take days. I encourage you to research the theory and come to your own conclusions. It is quite interesting, whether you believe the theory or not. I have my own opinion, though I will not state it to keep this unbiased. I'll leave you with some lyrics for thought...

Here come old flat top He come groovin' up slowly He got joo joo eyeballs He one holy rollers He got hair down to his knee Got to be a joker He just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine He got toe jam football He got monkey finger He shoot Coca Cola He say I know you, you know me One thing I can tell you is You got to be free Come together, right now Over me

He bad production He got walrus gumboot He got Ono sideboard He one spinal cracker He got feet down below his knees Hold you in his armchair You can feel his disease Come together, right now Over me

He roller coaster He got early warning He got muddy water He one Mojo filter He say one and one and one is three Got to be good looking Cause he's so hard to see Come together right now Over me Come together, yeah