10 Key Elements To The Paul McCartney Is Dead Theory

The "Paul McCartney is dead" theory has been around since the mid-60s. Although many believe it to be a ridiculous hoax concocted by fanatic Beatles fans with nothing else to do, there are certain key elements to the rumor that just can't be ignored.

Sure, we all know it sounds stupid. How likely is it that Paul McCartney died in a car crash only to be replaced by a lookalike? The chances are low, but anything is possible in the wonderful world of music. All you need to do is look a little closer, conspiracy theories don't just appear out of thin air and they always have a little element of truth.

The Beatles back catalog is chock block full of hints and signals that the legendary bass player popped his clogs. Plus, it has been suggested that The Beatles played on the ridiculous notion that Macca had died, egging on the rumor and gaining record sales as a result.

We all have our own opinions when it comes to the supposed death of Paul McCartney. Even if he did die his replacement still wrote "Hey Jude" so it wasn't all bad.

By 1966, The Beatles were fed up with their clean-cut image. To ruffle a few feathers they decided to shock the world with a provoking album cover.

The album in question was "Yesterday and Today" a collection of random songs built for the North American market. The cover to the album included a bunch of decapitated dolls draped over the band who were all appropriately dressed in butcher coats.

Unsurprisingly, audiences weren't quite ready for butchered babies, especially ones that were covered in fake blood, raw meat, and cigarette burns. Despite the band claiming that it was an abstract representation of them as real-life people, the world was outraged.

Due to a large amount of money spent on the album's production nothing much could be done apart from sticking a new image, the "trunk cover" over the offending picture. This then led to thousands of fans peeling off the pasted-on covers to see what they would find underneath.

The "trunk cover" was also controversial as it featured Paul McCartney in a coffin-like trunk with the rest of the band surrounding him. Was this The Beatles trying to tell us something?