A Pall in the Fall of '69

After the summer of '69, there was the fall of '69 and.... it was on this day (October 12th) of that year that a Detroit radio station DJ received a phone call informing him that if he were to play the Beatles' song Strawberry Fields Forever backwards, he would hear John Lennon saying "I buried Paul". And that, dear readers, was what started the worldwide rumour that Paul McCartney was dead. That he had, in fact, died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike.

Apparently there were other "signs" that McCartney was no long with us, some of them appearing on Beatles album covers prior to that eerie phone call. The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album art shows the four Beatles assembled front and centre before a crowd of celebrities and other famous faces. There is a hand above Paul's head, purportedly signifying the blessing of a body before internment. And "Beatles" is spelled out in red flowers upon what appears to be a grave... which is also adorned with a left-handed bass guitar (just like Paul's) composed of yellow flowers. All very weird. 

From the Yellow Submarine album art,

John holding his hand up as the Devil's Horns,

a gesture in many cultures to ward off bad luck

and even evil spirits.... right above Paul's head. 

The Magical Mystery Tour album cover shows Paul dressed as a black (symbolic of death) walrus, an ill omen for Viking hunters (if the hunters saw a dead walrus before the start of their hunt, they would turn back). There are other details but I won't list them all, seeing as there are many other web sources for such trivia. But as a point of interest, in the Magical Mystery Tour movie, in the scene where the Beatles are all decked out in white tuxedos, Paul is the only one wearing a black carnation in his lapel - while the others wore red carnations. There's that deathly black again.

Then there was 1969's famous Abbey Road album cover, showing Paul out of step with the other Beatles on the street crosswalk, drawing attention to him... plus there's the fact he is barefoot, which is how the dead are buried in several countries. Some say this photo depicts a funeral procession, with John dressed in white - representing the religious person, Ringo in black as the undertaker, then Paul in a baggy suit and barefoot - the deceased, and finally George, dressed in old denim jeans, as the gravedigger. Oh, and the licence plate on the white car reads "28IF", meaning Paul would have been 28 if he had not died. And again, there are several more details in the image but that discussion could go on forever. 

There are even clues in the music, intentional or not, but I side with the sceptics on this one, believing Paul has been with us all along, and that these "signs" are coincidental or perhaps a joke or hoax at best... or worst. 

And whether Paul was still with us or not, there was that other, later rumour that the Canadian band Klaatu was really the re-formed Beatles. I have practically zero knowledge of Klaatu, other than their song Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, which I actually first heard done by The Carpenters (very well, I might add). There are elements of the song that remind me of some Beatles music... drumming that recalls the sound and style of Ringo's later Beatle work, and the overall vibe, vocals and arrangement could very well have been an even more experimental piece from the Magical Mystery Tour era. 

The Sun King? Nope, Klaatu's first album....