The rumour that Paul McCartney died in 1966 has been around for decades.
For those unaware, the legend goes that following a Beatles bust-up, Macca sped off in his car, and while distracted, hadn't noticed some changing traffic lights. He was then reported by some accounts to have been decapitated in a car accident and replaced by a lookalike by the band's management.
The myth picked up traction around 1969, when on October 12, a caller to Detroit radio station WKNR-FM told disc jockey Russ Gibb about the rumour and the "clues" people say suggest it is true. Gibb and other callers then discussed the rumour on air for the next hour, and the myth then exploded in popularity.
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The caller to Russ Gibb's show claimed that if Gibb were to play the Beatles' avant-garde sound collage Revolution 9 backwards, they would hear the message "Turn me on dead man". This was supposedly a reference to McCartney's death.
There were many "clues" alluding to Macca's 'death' in other works by the Beatles. On the back cover of Sgt Pepper, McCartney has his back to the camera and George Harrison's thumb is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday morning at five o'clock" - apparently the time that Paul met his maker.
Also on the sleeve of Sgt Pepper, a mysterious hand is held over the head of McCartney, which "many believe is an ancient death symbol of either the Greeks or the American Indians".
Paul had taken a step back from the public eye at this point, opting to spend more time with his wife Linda, however years later he would address the rumours. In 2019 he said: "I know all the rumours… because I was being asked about them! There would literally be someone ringing up to ask, ‘Are you dead?’ I said, ‘Well, no. I’m answering this phone call!’ And the reply would be, ‘Well, I can’t be sure it’s you’. So, then you actually do get a bit paranoid about yourself."
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