McCartney Recalls 'Madness' of Death Rumor

'Paul is dead' rumor refused to die, Beatle says

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 26, 2009 3:53 PM CDT

(Newser) – The infamous rumor that Paul McCartney died in 1966—and was replaced by a man who looked and sounded like the original—had Beatles’ fans regularly checking the musician’s appearance to see if he was the genuine article, McCartney tells Mojo magazine, as noted by the Telegraph. “I could see people sort of looking at me more closely,” McCartney said. “'Were his ears always like that?”

The rumor led to an elaborate interpretation of the cover of Abbey Road: John, Ringo, and George stood for a clergyman, undertaker, and gravedigger; Paul’s lack of shoes symbolized his death; and the “28IF” license plate suggested McCartney would have been 28 “if” he had lived. ''I'd had bare feet 'cos I'd kicked off my sandals,” McCartney says. “The car that said '28IF' was a completely random car that had just been parked. It was madness.''

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A visitor passes an oversized cover of "Abbey Road" during the opening of the "Beatles Museum" in Hamburg, Germany, Thursday, May 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer)

Musician Sir Paul McCartney performs at Citi Field Friday, July 17, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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It was funny really, but ridiculous. It's an occupational hazard—people make up a story, and then you find yourself having to deal with this fictitious stuff.
- Paul McCartney

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

NxBigmouthery

Aug 27, 2009 11:05 AM CDT

I don't think anyone believes this.

Liberal_Fascist

Aug 27, 2009 4:09 AM CDT

I hate to introduce political topics to otherwise non-political threads, but isn't this kind of cult misinformation kind of like the death panels and pulling the plug on Grandma? How do you fight it when everyone believes the bullshit?

NxBigmouthery

Aug 26, 2009 8:58 AM CDT

And Paul would have been 27. There was a brilliantly funny book my brother gave me back in the day called the Uncyclopedia of Rock. Its cover featured a reproduction of the Abbey Road cover, with tyre marks on the road and 'Paul' under the VW.

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music • Paul McCartney • celebrity • Beatles • rumor • rumors • Abbey Road

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McCartney Recalls 'Madness' of Death Rumor