Paul is (not) Dead

An analysis of visual clues surrounding the myth of Paul McCartney's death by Andy Langager

The following are visual clues that lead to the rumor that Paul McCartney is dead.  Although, it is still not clear which came first, the visual clues or the rumor.  In any case, these creative interpretations of Beatles cover art prove the strength that visual communication can have.  In this case, perpetuating an outlandish rumor.

The rumor states that Paul McCartney died in an automobile accident at 5 a.m. on a Wednesday morning in September.  Those who believed the rumor say Paul suffered major trauma to the head or was even decapitated.  Theorists also say his teeth were knocked out or mangled, leaving no evidence in dental records.  They say that William Campbell, a Paul McCartney look-alike, took his place after some plastic surgery to make him look more like the deceased rock star.  All following appearances of Paul were actually William Campbell.

(Design: Peter Blake and Jan Haworth Photo: Michael Cooper)

The "Sgt. Pepper" (1967) album cover.  This was a Beatles concept album, in which the Beatles took on alter egos.  "Billy Shears" is the alias of Ringo, but this is believed to be a reference to William Campbell, a play on "Billy's here."

In this image, Paul is holding a black instrument.  Black represents death in Western culture.  Also, there is an open palm over his head, which supposedly also represents death.

Paul's instrument, the bass, is represnted by some flowers, which look suspiciously like a funeral arrangement.

Here is the drum that stands before the Beatles.  If you take a mirror to the drum...

...you get I ONE I  X HE DIE.  This can mean I + ONE + I (Three Beatles remaining) or the 11th of September, he died.

Here is a picture on the inner sleeve of the Sgt. Pepper album.

A close up of Paul's sleeve reveals O.P.D., or "Officially Pronounced Dead."  

Here is another picture from the inside sleeve.

If you mirror this image, you see that the Beatles form the letters "L, V, E" with their fingers.  Paul stands where the "O" would go to form the word "LOVE."  Paul's back is turned, again signifying Paul having left the Beatles in death.  The "O" that Paul is not displaying can mean the letter "O" but also the number "0" for nothing, or death.

(Photo Iain MacMillan)

Here we have the album cover of "Abbey Road" (1969).  This is a very well known album cover and has been mimicked and satirized many times.  "Paul is Dead" theorists interpret John, Ringo, Paul, and George as an Angel, Reverend, Deceased, and Gravedigger respectively.   Paul is shoeless.  Burying the dead without their shoes is supposedly a tradition in Britian.  The cigarette in his hand represents a coffin nail.  Paul is holding the cigarette in his right hand, but Paul was left handed.  This is believed to be because William Campbell, Paul's replacement, is right handed, so he would hold the cigarette in his right hand.  Also, Paul is in the direct line of traffic.  It was rumored that Paul died in a traffic accident, so that holds in line with the theory.

A close up of the white Volkswagon Beetle reveals the license plate is "LMW 28IF."  There are those that believe this is a clue, and that LMW stands for "Linda McCartney Weeps" or "Linda McCartney Widowed."  Also, Paul would have been 28 if he were still alive at the time of the Abbey Road album.
Of course, in the year of the supposed accident in 1966, Paul did not meet Linda Eastman until 1969..

The back cover of Abbey Road leads us to more clues.

First, next to "Beatles" there is a series of dots.  If you connect them, they make the shape of a "3," or, "Three Beatles (remaining)."  

On the upper-right hand side, we have a fuzzy white image.  This ambigious shape could be interpreted as a human skull or a skeletal face, the sign of Death himself.  Three Beatles plus this ghostly image make four.

Is Paul Dead?

The answer is no.

Paul is alive.  But the interpretation of a few visual images managed to perpetuate this rumor.  This tells us something about the power of visual communication.  Simple verbal or textual information is often not enough to start to convince of something.  With additional visual evidence supporting verbal information, far-out claims suddenly become more plausible.

Conspiracy theories are almost a form of entertainment.  It's fun to hear evidence about them, whether it is the JFK assassination, the "faked" moon landing, or alien landing is Roswell.  They are even more fun when we have visual clues to back them up.  Of course, the Beatles later poked fun at the "Paul is Dead" myth, but at time they had no intention of suggesting he was dead.  It was all a matter of interpretation of visual images by a few paranoid fans.

The lesson learned is that when interpreting art or any kind of visual communication, we must start unbiased.  If we have a goal in mind to prove, such as "Paul is Dead," we will most likely be able to find some sort of evidence to back up our hypothesis.  

Anytime artists present their work to the public, it will be open to interpretation.  The more ambigious the work is, the more possible interpretations there will be.  Most artists seem to want people to come up with their own interpretation of the work because it makes their art seem deeper and more meaningful.  However, unless they specifically say "this is what my art means and nothing else," there will always be the possibility of misinterpretation or the reading of meanings or symbols that the artist did not intend.  This is a sacrifice the artist has to make when he or she goes public with their work.

Creators of visual communications such as artists, advertisers, filmmakers, newscasters, or graphic designers must always be conscious of possible interpretations of their work, especially if they have a desired message or image they are trying to convey.  If an alternative or even opposite message is interpreted, there could be negative consequences.

copyright 2003 andy langager