By: Jaeden Andrade
Owlfeed Media Editor

Recently I rekindled the flame of my love for The Beatles and after listening to most of their albums in one day, I looked into Beatles conspiracy theories. I figured with how big they are there has to be at least a couple, right? Well there are.

In the depths of Internet and with the help of former Owlfeed Journalist, Alejandra Espinoza, I found a very interesting and almost convincing theory. It goes as follows: Paul McCartney is dead.

Paul McCartney died in 1966 after a car crash. You may be thinking, “Hey, that doesn’t make sense. Paul McCartney is still alive and making music.”  

Well if you are, you’re almost correct. Billy Shears is still alive and making music. Billy Shears was the “solution” that The Beatles had to cover up the death. He looked, sounded, and even played bass like Paul.

There are many clues to this being “true”. Many come from the cover of the album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. The cover is supposed to represent a funeral, and on Paul’s left arm there is a patch that seems to have the letters “O.P.D” which stands for “Officially Pronounced Dead”. The Yellow flowers are also supposed to spell out “Paul” but I don’t see that one.

On the back cover you can see all of The Fab Four and the lyrics for every song. However, you might also notice that George Harrison is pointing to the phrase “Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock”, because that’s when Paul crashed his car according to this theory.

Billy Shears is also “introduced” in the song ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. The concept of the song is that the group is no longer The Beatles and they are now “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” So with a new band came the new member Billy Shears.

The way that this was taken is that a man named Billy Shears was the perfect replacement for the dead Paul McCartney.

The Abbey Road album cover is also filled with clues. The Beatles themselves just walking across the street are clues. John, dressed in all white is supposed to represent a priest, then Ringo in a black suit is representing an undertaker. Next is Paul, who is out of step with the other Beatles is holding a cigarette in his right hand, even though it is well-known that he is left-handed. He is also barefoot as the dead no longer need shoes. George Is dressed in all denim as he is representing a gravedigger.

There are many different hints to this theory in their songs. According to Time Magazine “Lennon also mumbled, “I buried Paul” at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever” (in interviews, Lennon said the phrase was actually “cranberry sauce” and denied the existence of any backward messages).” Even Alejandra Espinoza says “…if you listen to ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ I swear you can hear them say ‘Paul.’”

There are many different nods and clues to this theory whether it be true or not, what do you believe? Is the real Paul McCartney alive or was there someone else who took up the mantle?