‘Oh, untimely death...’ - A Look at the "Paul is Dead" Rumours (Part 2)
‘O, Untimely Death!’ - an examination into the ‘Paul McCartney is Dead’ Conspiracy Theory
Part 2
Hunter Davies
We have gained access to a complete collection of the official Beatles magazine, “The Beatles Monthly Book.” And we must admit that it truly is a goldmine.
The first thing we found was a fascinating interview with Paul McCartney from summer 1964, resurfaced in the November 2002 issue of the magazine, which reveals a telling statement:
"If anything happened to one of us, we wouldn't go on... We DEFINITELY WON'T PERFORM as three Beatles."
Then, the September 1986 issue of the magazine gives us some information which, keeping Paul’s statement in mind, might further confirm that something did happen to him around that time. It reports that 20 years ago previously, on the 28th of September, 1966, the Beatles' management cancelled their appearance at that year’s Royal Variety Performance, despite all four members technically being able to attend this concert on 14 November, 1966. This was the only cancellation announcement ever publicly given by the band’s management.
According to the BBC documentary "The Brian Epstein Story" (available on BBC iPlayer), the day before this announcement was made, Brian Epstein was hospitalised following a suicide attempt. This event seems particularly curious given that this was supposed to be the peak of Epstein's career as of yet. Multiple sources claim he said the 1966 tours were the Beatles' most profitable. So, September 1966 should have been a high point for Epstein. What triggered such a desperate act?
Nat Weiss, a friend of Brian, gives us an answer, earlier on during the documentary. Upon asking around late 1966 whether the Beatles would pursue another tour, just having finished their 1966 US tour, Brian told him:
“ ‘This will be the last time… This will be the last time the Beatles will ever perform together.’”
This wasn’t a decision that he, or the Beatles particularly liked, despite what they officially want to tell you. John Lennon was quoted in The Beatles Anthology (Chronicle Books, 2000) his September 1980 interview for Playboy and the documentary Yoko Ono: Then & Now (dir: Barbara Graustark, 1984) saying that he wanted to leave the Beatles since when they stopped touring because he “couldn’t deal with not being continuously on stage”
In the Beatles Anthology documentary (dir: Geoff Wonfor, 1995), Ringo Starr suggested that Paul McCartney would have continued touring longer than the other Beatles. He specifically said "would have," which should imply there was something preventing McCartney from taking a more active stance in the situation…
Also in late 1966, Brian Epstein inexplicably informed Sean O'Mahony, publisher of the Beatles Monthly magazine, that he would no longer provide new material for further issues. According to the book "Beatles vs Stones" (Simon and Schuster, 2013), “[Epstein] matter-of-factly told O'Mahony that it was time he should wind down his publication of The Beatles Book,” under the pretext that he was dissatisfied with the way the Beatles were portrayed in the magazine. One wonders why Epstein actually wanted to restrict information about the band's whereabouts in late 1966, because, as we all know, he was the person behind the Beatles’ ‘mop-top’ image.
According to actress Jane Asher, 1966 also marked the end of the happy years in her relationship with Paul McCartney. Asher had first met Paul McCartney when she was 17; her 21st birthday was on the 5th of April, 1967. However, she hadn't seen Paul at all since September 1966, when she left for a tour in the play "A Winter's Tale." Upon returning, she confided in journalist Hunter Davies that "Paul had changed so much."
In an interview with Godfrey Winn for the Australian Women's Weekly on the 23rd of April, 1969 (discovered by Diana Hammond, who runs the Paul is Dead: Examining the Life and Death of Paul McCartney group,) Asher expressed deep gratitude for "those FOUR years" she was in love with Paul. Since they met SIX years before the breakup, the four-year period she is talking about would have ended in 1966, two years before their official split. This raises the question: why doesn't she express gratitude for the following two years of their relationship?
Jane Asher, 30 October, 1966
(source: The Observer Weekend Review)
While all this was unfolding in London, John Lennon had just landed in Spain to begin filming his role as Private Gripweed in Richard Lester's comedic war film, 'How I Won the War.' However, it appears the experience wasn't very beneficial for John.
According to the book 'The Man Who Framed The Beatles: A Biography of Richard Lester' (Donald I. Fine Inc., 1994), upon arrival, Lennon confided in a reporter,
'I was just a bundle of nerves the first day [of filming]. I could hardly speak.'
In fact, he was spotted crying at Orly Airport the day before arriving in Spain – an incredibly rare moment of genuine sadness for him.
Courtesy of Max C
Now, knowing John Lennon's strong character, it's hard to believe he'd start crying because he was about to appear in a film.
As if the strange happenings surrounding the Beatles in September 1966 weren't puzzling enough, October saw even more suspicious events which made fans even more confused of the band's future. Paul's sudden disappearance from public view sparked rumours of his departure from the Beatles and a potential break-up of the band (some sources claimed he was to retire in Scotland and end his career as a musician.)
These rumours, documented in both the September 1986 issue of "The Beatles Monthly" and Barry Miles' book "Many Years From Now" (Secker & Warburg, 1997), overshadowed the concerns about Paul's death, however they became so persistent that Brian Epstein, recovering from his suicide attempt, felt compelled to take a short break from his stay in Portmeirion, Wales, and publicly deny them.
Apart from that, information about the Beatles' activities in October 1966 is scant at best. There’s barely any information about the surviving Beatles this month (all we really know is that Ringo Starr went on vacation to Spain on the 5th of October and George Harrison returned from his vacation in India on the 22nd.) Let’s try to make something out of the little information available on them, though.
In a December 1966 interview with The New Musical Express, George Martin, the Beatles' producer, mentioned that he went on a business trip to the United States around October '66. Similarly, in a March 1967 interview with DJ Murray the K Brian Epstein claimed he also travelled to the US sometime in October (Unofficial sources claim Brian's departure to the US took place on the 14th October.)
Both John Lennon and ““Paul”” have repeatedly claimed that the concept for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band emerged during a flight back from the USA, not Kenya, as some writers have speculated throughout the years.
In 2008, he stated that he came up with the concept of Sgt. Pepper while “flying back from America with [...] road manager Mal Evans,” John Lennon himself echoed this in his final Playboy interview (published in January 1981), saying, "’Paul’ wrote [Sgt Pepper] after a trip to America."
Misremembering such a pivotal moment in Beatles history seems highly unlikely. Therefore, ““Paul”” likely conceived the Sgt. Pepper concept on a US flight sometime before recording began on November 24th, 1966. October 1966 appears to be the most likely time frame for this flight, given he was busy travelling about in Europe with Mal Evans throughout most of November.
This places George Martin, Brian Epstein, Mal Evans, and ““Paul”” on a London-US flight sometime in October 1966. Why did they all go to the US that month? All we know is that, shortly after this so-called business trip, both Brian Epstein’s secretary Wendy Hanson and chauffeur Alf Bicknell quit working for the Beatles, for unknown reasons.
October also saw the announcement of ““Paul”” collaborating with John Lennon on the score for the Boulting Brothers film "The Family Way." In a December 1966 interview with the Daily Mirror, George Martin mentioned arranging an entire soundtrack based on a 15-second theme presented to him in late November 1966.
In my opinion this should destroy the myth that Paul's public disappearance in late 1966 was due to him being extremely busy composing the film's score. He only provided a 15-second tune, a month after being assigned the project. (“Paul”” allegedly seemed to have such a hard time composing this 15-second theme that John Lennon had to assist him with it, according to George Martin.)
According to Linda Mugnier, a fantastic researcher I met online through various Paul is Dead Facebook groups, despite all this activity from ““"Paul,"”” his recently renovated house on Cavendish Avenue in St. John's Wood appeared abandoned for a while, in late 1966 - The house had fallen back into disrepair, and no one appeared to be living in it.
When ““Paul”” “reappeared” in London in late October 1966, the fans who were visiting his house, hoping to meet the Beatle, were struck by a change in him. Christine, a frequent visitor to his house since the mid-1960s, testified in a Disc and Music Echo article on the 28th of November 1970:
"I think there might be some truth to [Paul] dying because he's just not the same person. There used to be girls around all the time. Some would come just for his birthday, but there was a core group of us who were always there. Nobody comes anymore."
She further noted that none of the other Beatles had visited him "in years," adding, "[“Paul”] must have had enough of it for five years." (Our guess is Christine might be basing this claim on when Paul moved to Cavendish, that being in April of 1966 - that would be about four and a half years before the interview was issued in the Disc and Music Echo.)
Two pictures taken by Christine, as published in the Disc and Music Echo
We originally planned this as a two-part series of articles, but we feel like this second instalment has gotten a bit too long. We're worried it might still take another article, maybe even two, in order to reveal everything we have unearthed. However, be rest assured that it will be worth the wait.
to be continued...
Written by Max C and Bernard L
“There is no doubt that the year 1966 had been a disaster for the Beatles.” - George Martin, 1995
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