In the late 1960s, a conspiracy theory emerged that Paul McCartney he was dead and had been replaced by The Beatles with a look-alike. Some people took the theory too seriously, especially since there are countless photos and videos of McCartney proving that he is alive. His daughter, Maria, she recently addressed this theory and how it affected her growing up.
‘Paul is Dead’ conspiracy theory gained steam after ‘Abbey Road’ debut
In 1967, a rumor began to circulate that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car accident, and The Beatles currently used a lookalike to hide it from fans. These theories began to explode after the cover for Abbey Road emergedand many fans combed through every detail for clues.
Several of the alleged pieces of evidence that fans believed supported the theory were Paul McCartney walking barefoot, a creepy license plate on a Volkswagen beetle, and each member of The Beatles acting out a funeral procession. In an interview on Good Day New York, McCartney’s daughter addressed these alleged tests and how some were discredited.
“Dad said, ‘It was a sunny day.’ He had sandals on and he just took them off when they crossed because it was hot,” Mary explained. “But then, John Lennon is wearing a white suit. I think they said, ‘Oh, this means Paul is dead.’ And then in the background, apparently, there’s like the number plate that almost reads as ‘271f’, like it’s still alive, and people read all this stuff on it, but they were just reading.”
Mary McCartney says a lot of people would ask her father if he was still alive
Growing up with a lot of people telling you that your father is dead when he isn’t has to be frustrating. Mary, who directed the documentary Abbey Road If these walls could singhe shared stories about people coming up to Paul in public and asking if he was dead.
“That happened once in a shoe store on Long Island. It was like, ‘Oh, but you’re dead,’ and he was like, ‘No,’ and they were like, ‘No, but we saw everything,’” Mary shared. “That was my first memory of being like, ‘What’s going on here? Why do they say that? Then, it kind of opened up.”
Paul McCartney became paranoid because people thought he was dead
In an interview for his website, paulmccartney.com, the former Beatle said people often phoned him to see if he was dead or alive. He would tell them that he was alive, but some would not believe him. He said he became “paranoid” because if he couldn’t convince them, no one could.
“I know all the rumors…because I was asked about them!” McCartney revealed. “There would literally be someone calling to ask, ‘Are you dead?’ I said, ‘Well, no. I’m answering this phone call! And the answer would be, ‘Well, I can’t be sure it’s you. So, you actually get a little paranoid with yourself. And you think, ‘How am I going to prove to them or anyone that I am?!’ I figured, in time, this double would write some pretty decent songs, and if it wasn’t me, how did I train him to write songs?
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