'Paul Is Dead': The Bizarre Beatles Conspiracy Theory Turns 51 Today

On 12 October 1969, a Detroit DJ accidentally sparked one of music's most notorious conspiracy theories; 'Paul is dead'. 

It all began when Russ Gibb, who was hosting his show on WKNR radio station, received a call instructing him to put on The Beatle's White Album and spin the "number nine, number nine" intro from Revolution 9 backwards. 

Gibb tried it out on-air and heard the words, "Turn me on, dead man". From there, the clues rolled in...

At the end of Strawberry Fields Forever, listeners claimed to hear John saying "I buried Paul", although we now know he was saying "Cranberry sauce". 

But it didn't matter. No matter how ridiculous, the conspiracy theory was birthed. Fans believed The Beatles were hiding a secret: Paul McCartney died in a car crash back in '66 and had been replaced by a look-a-like. 

The rumour spread like wildfire as fans searched for clues in album cover art, lyrics, and more. 

Rolling Stone called the phenomenon, "a permanent part of Beatles lore... that the band could only watch with amusement or exasperation". 

Paul himself seemed to find it amusing, telling Rolling Stone in 1974, “Someone from the office rang me up and said, ‘Look, Paul, you’re dead.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I don’t agree with that.’”

John Lennon, on the other hand, seemed more exasperated with the rumour as he focused on releasing his solo single Cold Turkey. Calling the same Detroit radio station on October 26th, he called it "the most stupid rumour I’ve ever heard" and denied any coded messages. 

Even though by 1970, nobody seriously believed Paul to be dead, the story lived on. And it's inspired many music artists since to leave hidden messages for fans in songs, music videos, and more. 

Let us know if you jumped on board the 'Paul is Dead' conspiracy theory back in 1969 in the Facebook comments!