This could be (and probably is) a disinformation/WMD campaign, however, given the extensive amount of data on the Paul Is Dead topic, and the number of years that this conspiracy spans, I thought it was an interesting story/distraction.
There is a docudrama/mocumentary called Paul Is Really Dead that came out in 2010 in which George Harrison recorded a testimony just in case he died after his stab wound attack. I found the voice and manner of testimony of George Harrison to be highly questionable and very mockumentary-ish, however, the video did review many of the conspiracy claims that were made, so in that aspect it was worth watching, provided of course that you're a Beatles fan and enjoy a very in-depth conspiracy.
Considering all of the evidences presented over the years, there are two options that I see...Paul is in fact dead, or the Beatles were tricksters who fabricated the largest hoax in the music industry. As I see it, the Beatles are in the top 10 of all rock genre music groups, keeping the company of the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones. That being said, the Beatles really didn't need any more popularity or controversy based advertising to sell records or concert tickets, so it doesn't make any sense to create advertising with hoaxes, if anything it might even weaken their popularity. There really is no motive aside from the practical joke aspect. And, considering John Lennon's anti-war/peace messages, John doesn't seem like someone who would intentionally deceive the world for fun.
I'm still undecided to the point where I'd endorse the Paul Is Dead claim, however, I've been leaning in that direction for years.
In cases like this, I prefer to retreat to semi-safe ground and say, "I wasn't there, so who knows?"
As always...draw your own conclusions.
Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (Video 2010) - IMDb
Former Beatle Ringo Starr Claims the “Real” Paul McCartney Died in 1966 and Was Replaced by Look-Alike
In an exclusive interview with the Hollywood Inquirer, Mr. Starr explained that the “real” Paul McCartney had died in a car crash on November 9, 1966, after an argument during a Beatles’ recording session. To spare the public from grief, the Beatles replaced him with a man named William Shears Campbell, who was the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest and who happened to have the same kind of jovial personality as Paul. “When Paul died, we all panicked!” claims Ringo, obviously very emotional. “We didn’t know what to do, and Brian Epstein, our manager, suggested that we hire Billy Shears as a temporary solution. It was supposed to last only a week or two, but time went by and nobody seemed to notice, so we kept playing along. Billy turned out to be a pretty good musician and he was able to perform almost better than Paul. The only problem was that he couldn’t get along with John, at all.” William Shears Campbell, better known as Billy Shears, does indeed “disappear ” from records in 1966 and no traces of him can be found after Paul’s alleged death.
These pictures from 1966 show the great resemblance between Paul McCartney on the left, and William Shears Campbell on the right, at the time of McCartney’s alleged death.
Mr. Starr alleges that the group did send out a lot of hidden messages through the years to prepare the population for the truth. He notably says that the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was awash with Paul-is-dead clues: the Beatles had indeed officially formed a “new” band featuring a “fictional” member named Billy Shears, which happened to be the actual name of Paul’s replacement. “We felt guilty about the deception” added Ringo Starr. “We wanted to tell the world the truth, but we were afraid of the reactions it would provoke. We thought the whole planet was going to hate us for all the lies we had told, so we kept lying but sending subtle clues to relieve our conscience. When the first rumors finally began about the whole thing, we felt very nervous and started fighting a lot with each other. At some point, it was too much for John and he decided to leave the band.” Ringo Starr claims that he finally decided to tell the truth because he was afraid that it was going to die with him. At age 74, he is the only other surviving member of the famous band besides Paul McCartney, and he was afraid the deception would never be revealed.
According to Ringo Starr, the cover of the Abbey Road album was a hidden message to the world, symbolizing a funeral procession. John Lennon, dressed in white, symbolizes the clergyman. Ringo Starr, dressed in black, symbolizes the undertaker. George Harrison, in denim jeans and shirt, symbolizes the gravedigger and McCartney, barefoot and out of step with other members of the band, symbolizes the corpse.
The rumors of Paul’s death began more than 45 years ago but had always been dismissed as nonsense by the band and its entourage. In September 1969, American college students published a series of articles in which they claimed that clues to McCartney’s death could be found among the lyrics and artwork of the Beatles’ recordings. Clue-hunting rapidly proved infectious, and within a few weeks, it had become an international phenomenon. Rumors only declined after a contemporary interview with McCartney was published in Life magazine in November 1969.
Neither Paul McCartney nor anyone from his entourage has commented Ringo Starr’s declaration yet, but the interview has already provoked a lot of reactions around the world. Journalists and paparazzis from around the world have surrounded the residence of the musician only minutes after the interview was broadcasted and are waiting for the star to comment the allegations.
The British MI5 also announced an investigation to determine if an impostor could have indeed posed for 48 years as the Member of the Order of the British Empire, Sir James Paul McCartney, during official ceremonies involving Queen Elizabeth II.
And Paul/Faul's reply...
Paul McCartney Refutes Ringo Starr’s Allegations that He Died in 1966
"“I know that Ringo is growing senile and losing his mind,” says Sir Paul, “but he doesn’t need to invent such idiotic stories to attract attention. He probably heard that Wings was about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and he felt jealous. I’ve seen Ringo do and say many stupid things in my life, but this is one of the worst! If he’s so badly in need of media coverage, he could just invent crap about himself without implicating me in his delirium” he added with spite."
Peace.
There is a docudrama/mocumentary called Paul Is Really Dead that came out in 2010 in which George Harrison recorded a testimony just in case he died after his stab wound attack. I found the voice and manner of testimony of George Harrison to be highly questionable and very mockumentary-ish, however, the video did review many of the conspiracy claims that were made, so in that aspect it was worth watching, provided of course that you're a Beatles fan and enjoy a very in-depth conspiracy.
Considering all of the evidences presented over the years, there are two options that I see...Paul is in fact dead, or the Beatles were tricksters who fabricated the largest hoax in the music industry. As I see it, the Beatles are in the top 10 of all rock genre music groups, keeping the company of the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones. That being said, the Beatles really didn't need any more popularity or controversy based advertising to sell records or concert tickets, so it doesn't make any sense to create advertising with hoaxes, if anything it might even weaken their popularity. There really is no motive aside from the practical joke aspect. And, considering John Lennon's anti-war/peace messages, John doesn't seem like someone who would intentionally deceive the world for fun.
I'm still undecided to the point where I'd endorse the Paul Is Dead claim, however, I've been leaning in that direction for years.
In cases like this, I prefer to retreat to semi-safe ground and say, "I wasn't there, so who knows?"
As always...draw your own conclusions.
Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (Video 2010) - IMDb
Former Beatle Ringo Starr Claims the “Real” Paul McCartney Died in 1966 and Was Replaced by Look-Alike
In an exclusive interview with the Hollywood Inquirer, Mr. Starr explained that the “real” Paul McCartney had died in a car crash on November 9, 1966, after an argument during a Beatles’ recording session. To spare the public from grief, the Beatles replaced him with a man named William Shears Campbell, who was the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest and who happened to have the same kind of jovial personality as Paul. “When Paul died, we all panicked!” claims Ringo, obviously very emotional. “We didn’t know what to do, and Brian Epstein, our manager, suggested that we hire Billy Shears as a temporary solution. It was supposed to last only a week or two, but time went by and nobody seemed to notice, so we kept playing along. Billy turned out to be a pretty good musician and he was able to perform almost better than Paul. The only problem was that he couldn’t get along with John, at all.” William Shears Campbell, better known as Billy Shears, does indeed “disappear ” from records in 1966 and no traces of him can be found after Paul’s alleged death.
These pictures from 1966 show the great resemblance between Paul McCartney on the left, and William Shears Campbell on the right, at the time of McCartney’s alleged death.
Mr. Starr alleges that the group did send out a lot of hidden messages through the years to prepare the population for the truth. He notably says that the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was awash with Paul-is-dead clues: the Beatles had indeed officially formed a “new” band featuring a “fictional” member named Billy Shears, which happened to be the actual name of Paul’s replacement. “We felt guilty about the deception” added Ringo Starr. “We wanted to tell the world the truth, but we were afraid of the reactions it would provoke. We thought the whole planet was going to hate us for all the lies we had told, so we kept lying but sending subtle clues to relieve our conscience. When the first rumors finally began about the whole thing, we felt very nervous and started fighting a lot with each other. At some point, it was too much for John and he decided to leave the band.” Ringo Starr claims that he finally decided to tell the truth because he was afraid that it was going to die with him. At age 74, he is the only other surviving member of the famous band besides Paul McCartney, and he was afraid the deception would never be revealed.
According to Ringo Starr, the cover of the Abbey Road album was a hidden message to the world, symbolizing a funeral procession. John Lennon, dressed in white, symbolizes the clergyman. Ringo Starr, dressed in black, symbolizes the undertaker. George Harrison, in denim jeans and shirt, symbolizes the gravedigger and McCartney, barefoot and out of step with other members of the band, symbolizes the corpse.
The rumors of Paul’s death began more than 45 years ago but had always been dismissed as nonsense by the band and its entourage. In September 1969, American college students published a series of articles in which they claimed that clues to McCartney’s death could be found among the lyrics and artwork of the Beatles’ recordings. Clue-hunting rapidly proved infectious, and within a few weeks, it had become an international phenomenon. Rumors only declined after a contemporary interview with McCartney was published in Life magazine in November 1969.
Neither Paul McCartney nor anyone from his entourage has commented Ringo Starr’s declaration yet, but the interview has already provoked a lot of reactions around the world. Journalists and paparazzis from around the world have surrounded the residence of the musician only minutes after the interview was broadcasted and are waiting for the star to comment the allegations.
The British MI5 also announced an investigation to determine if an impostor could have indeed posed for 48 years as the Member of the Order of the British Empire, Sir James Paul McCartney, during official ceremonies involving Queen Elizabeth II.
And Paul/Faul's reply...
Paul McCartney Refutes Ringo Starr’s Allegations that He Died in 1966
"“I know that Ringo is growing senile and losing his mind,” says Sir Paul, “but he doesn’t need to invent such idiotic stories to attract attention. He probably heard that Wings was about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and he felt jealous. I’ve seen Ringo do and say many stupid things in my life, but this is one of the worst! If he’s so badly in need of media coverage, he could just invent crap about himself without implicating me in his delirium” he added with spite."
Peace.
