Officially Pronounced Dead? - The Great Beatle Death Conspiracy

Front Cover

The Funeral
The first thing you notice when you look at the front cover is how similar it looks to a grave scene. In the foreground we have what looks to be a freshly dug piece of earth (complete with floral decoration) with a grave-stone like bass drum facing it. The figures behind look like they're grouped around all paying respect to someone recently departed. But who?

The Death Association
There is one thing that every single member of that audience (bar the Beatles themselves) has in common, and that's death. Every person there had, at the time, either died, had a near-death experience or had portrayed death. For example, Edgar Allen Poe died a tragic death, Marilyn Monroe was a suicide victim, Laurence of Olivia was fatally wounded in a motorcycle crash and Bob Dylan was almost killed in a car crash in 1966. Also, we cannot forget the face of the other dead Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe. Was it mere coincidence that all of these people had death in common, or was it intentional? If so, why?

The Bass Drum

Remember earlier when I mentioned that the bass drum logo looked like a gravestone? This bass drum was designed by a fellow called Joe Epigraph. If you split his name in two you get Epi Grave, or Grave Epitaph. Usually they feature a death date and, with a little detective work, a date has been discovered on the bass drum logo. If you place a mirror along the middle of 'Lonely Hearts' so that the top half is being mirrored you get the clear message '1 ONE 1 X HE () DIE' (is it more than coincidence that the arrow between the words HE and DIE points directly up at Paul?). This could be interpretated as the three 1's being the live Beatles and Paul being represented as the X, meaning that he has been crossed out. However, this is not the case (although could be considered a clue). Could this be a coded date telling us when Paul died? If you take the first two numbers you get 11. November is the 11th month. The next two digits we get is IX which is Roman numerals for 9. Therefore could this be telling us that "November 9 He Die' with the arrow pointing right up to Paul?

Here Lies Paul?

A number of people and websites have all listed this particular clue, so I've decided to include it here. There appears to be a coded message hidden within the decoration on the Sgt. Peppers front cover. It starts with the bass drum where the 'HEAR' of HEARTS is used. Then, just under that the Rugby trophy betweens the L and E or Beatles is seen as the letter 'i', thus spelling 'LIES'. Finally, directly under this is the famous arrangement of yellow flowers that appears to spell 'PAUL?'. Tag these together and we're given the message 'HEAR (Here) LIES PAUL?'. Could this be further reiterating that the front cover does indeed depict a grave scene?

The Instruments

Each Beatle is holding an instrument. George, John and Ringo are all holding bright, shiny brass instruments but Paul is holding a black, wooden Cor Anglais. Was Paul made to hold this instrument because it's wooden like a coffin and the mouth piece shape resembles a scythes blade? Also, Paul is holding 3 fingers on it. A cryptic indication that only three members survive?

The Mourning Beatles

To the left of the current Beatles there are representations of the group as they were in 1964. They're all looking very upset and Paul looks to be comforting a very sad looking Ringo as they look down towards the 'grave'. Could they be mourning the death of Paul? Also, why is John looking towards the current Beatles? Is this telling us to look towards the future rather than stay with the sadder past?

The Wreath of Flowers #1

Just under the letters 'LE' in the title, there's this unusual and out of place arrangement of yellow flowers. This arrangements looks a lot like a left-handed bass guitar (McCartey's instrument). There are also 3 garden wire strips that look like the strings; but there are only three of them. The number 3 sure does come up quite a lot. Also, have you ever noticed that when this arrangement is seen 90 degrees anti-clockwise it looks like the letter P? P for Paul?

The Wreath of Flowers #2

Keeping with the wreath of yellow flowers, it seems to be spelling out 'PAUL?', putting a question mark over his existence.

The Flowers
The bands name has been written out in red Hyacinths which are apparently a mythological flower of death. Could the Beatles therefore be dead?

The Car

To the far right of the cover there's a doll and on her lap is a white toy car. It is said that this is a model of an Austin Healey - the same car that McCartney was allegedly driving when he had the fatal car crash. The inside of the car is blood-red.

The Death Association

The doll mentioned in the previous clue is sitting on what can only be described as a deathly looking figure in a black shroud. What makes this figure that little bit more sinister however is that it is wearing a blood-stained drivers glove on its left hand. Remember, Paul was left handed.

The Doll

Above the letter S there's a green doll looking down on what appears to be some kind of burning car. Could this doll be a representation of Jane Asher, and the symbollised power she now had over the Beatles? She was probably the only non-Beatle to know of what happened.

Face in the Car Crash?
Look closely at the burning car that was mentioned above. If you look closely at the seating area it looks like the side-profile of Paul McCartney. He also seems to be holding something up to his left (your right) ear, almost like a telephone. Is this emphasising that the apparent burning car crash is associated with Paul? Perhaps his face is shown in the driving area to symbolise him being trapped inside the car?

The Television

Behind the doll mentioned in the previous clue there's a turned off television set. Possibly referring to the media blackout of the news being reported?

Hand over the Heart

On the front cover Paul is the only person to have his hand placed over his heart which is allegedly a Religious symbol for blessing the dead.

The Open Palm

Like the Revolver cover, Paul is again shown with an open-palmed hand being held above his head. This hand belongs to a gentleman called Steven Crane, Most famous for writing the book 'The Red Badge of Courage'. However, another book that Steven wrote was called 'The Open Boat'. In this tale 4 men are trapped in a lifeboat at sea and the member most determined to keep the group together died during the ordeal. When the three remaining men reach shore they cover up the death and act as interpreters of the event. This plotline eeriely matches the notion that Paul was killed and the death was covered up.

The Smear Campaign

If the conspiracy was indeed true then surely fans across the globe would be furious that their beloved Beatles could dupe them in such a way. Therefore logic could suggest that some sort of smear campaign would be started against him so that if fans ever did find out he was dead then people wouldn't feel as sad (so to speak). Could this be the start of something? Behind Paul is a cutout of Johnny Weissmuller (best known for his portrayal of Tarzan) looking down at McCartney's rear-end, incinuating some sort of romantic link. Homosexuality was severely frowned upon back in the mid 60's and so perhaps the plot was to make people believe he was gay?

Be At Leso?
At the end of the word BEATLES there is a circular arrangement of red flowers that looks like the letter O. If this is added to the groups name and split up we get the phrase BE AT LESO. Could Leso be where Paul is buried?

Shiva the Destroyer

At the bottom of the cover there is a doll of Shiva the Destroyer. She has four arms - two of which are pointing a bunch of red hyacinths (which are apparently the mythological flower of death) up into the air. If you follow where she is pointing these flowers you'll see that they lead to both the current McCartney and to the waxwork of Paul. Could this mean that Paul, both currently and historicly, has been destroyed?

The Tri-Corner Hat

George is wearing a tri-corner hat. Could this be seen as yet another '3' symbol?

The McCartney Cutout
John, George and Ringo all have their bodies slanted at an angle, but Paul is faced straight on and almost looks like he could be one of the card-board cutouts behind him. Perhaps this is a cutout after all, being propped up by Ringo and George?

The Inside Joke
During the Tony Palmers TV series 'All You Need Is Love', John was asked about the Sgt. Peppers cover. He said "Two are flying, two are not." Could this have been some kind of inside joke?

The Split-Head Doll

Just above the B in BEATLES there's a doll with a split through its head. Could this be symbolising the head injuries that McCartney sustained in the car crash?

The Trophy

In the alcove of the L in BEATLES you can see Pauls old rugby trophy - further enhancing the distinct possibility that it's Paul that John's singing about in the song 'Come Together'. If you go have a read it'll all become clearer.

The Walrus

Could there be a hidden image of a walrus in the front cover of Sgt. Peppers? If you vertically mirror down the left elbow of Diana Dors you get what looks like a walruses snout, whiskers and tusks. If this was intentional, then what symbolism could the walrus (which John makes continual referrences to throughout the remaining Beatles career) hold?

The Back Cover

The Hidden Message
If you read the lyrics horizontally rather than in the preset columns you can find a cryptic yet understandable message that could be telling us of Paul's death. Starting from "Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly" you move across and get the lines "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock as the day begins.", "And life flows in within you and without you." and "And you're on your own, you're in the street.". Could the first line be Ritas pleas for a lift away from the pouring rain and Paul contemplating whether or not to pick her up? The next line is the famous lyric which tells us of Paul's supposed time of death, then we have a line about death and continuing on from it and finally a lyric about being alone in the street. Possibly Paul being trapped alone in the burning car?

Without You

Printed on Paul's head is the phrase 'Without You'. Are the Beatles without Paul?

The Tribute

All three Beatles wrote songs that in one context could be seen as tribute songs to Paul. Whilst John and Ringo's both appeared on the White Album George's appears on Sgt. Peppers. It's called Within You Without You and is a song about someone close dying and then having to come to terms with the loss. Is it more than mere coincidence that Paul is the only member to have every line of the song printed on just him?

The Point

George is pointing to a line of lyric from the song 'She's Leaving Home'. This line reads "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock". Is George showing us the time Paul was Officially Pronounced Dead?

The McCartney Cutout 2

As I mentioned previously, Paul is facing head-on whilst the others have their bodies turned at an angle giving the impression that Paul was a cutout. If you compare the body position to Paul on the front cover and Paul on the back you'll notice that they are in the exact same position, thus giving more credence to the 'cutout' theory. They couldn't have put him faced forward if he was in the same position - that would have looked too suspicious.

The Braids

On the front cover John and Ringo can be seen wearing their braids on their right shoulder yet on the back cover they're now on their left. This must have been consciously done, but was it done because wearing braids on the left shoulder is standard dress-code for a military funeral?

The Black Spots

On the back of Paul's uniform there are three black dots (again, the number 3). Could this be symbolising the three remaining mourning Beatles?

The Hole

The Beatles seem to be spelling a word. George's hand position looks like the letter L, John, with his hands tucked into the waistband of his trousers seems to be making the letter V, and Ringo, with his hands clasped together looks like he's making the letter E. That gives us L_VE. Has Paul broken the love within the group? Is the love now incomplete because he was killed?

The CD Booklet
When the CD of the album was released it was done so in a lavish set-up with a cardboard outer, the CD itself and a wonderfully illustrated booklet that detailed the history and production of the album. Inside, on page 4, there's a particularly interesting quote by Peter Blake, designer of the album cover. He states:

I asked them [the Beatles] to make lists of people they'd most like to have in the audience at this imaginary concert. John's was interesting because it included Jesus and Ghandi and, more cynically, Hitler. But this was just a few months after the US furor about his 'Jesus' statement, so they were left out. George's list was all gurus. Ringo said "Whatever the other say is fine by me", because he didn't really want to be bothered. Robert Fraser and I also made lists. We then got all the photographs together and had life-size cut-outs made onto hardboard.

Peter Blake

Why doesn't Peter mention Paul's choices? Paul was one of the main collaborators of the album and the driving force behind the project - it was his idea and wrote many of the songs included. Surely Paul would have had more input into the design! But Peter makes no mention whatsoever on his particular choices and ideas for the cover. Perhaps it was because it wasn't the real Paul, and any choices he did make may have looked out of place in regards to something said in press conferences of the past?

The Gatefold

The Foetal Position
Ringo, John and George all seem to be leaning in towards Paul making him the focal point of the photo. But why is Paul the only member to be sitting in the foetal position whilst the others all have their legs stretched out? Is it because Indians bury their dead in the foetal position?

The Badge

Paul is wearing a black badge on his left arm which has the initials O.P.D. on it. Could this be telling us that Paul is Officially Pronounced Dead?

The Cut Out

The OPP Officer

Recently I wondered if the uniform that 'Sgt. Pepper' is shown posing in was based on any real uniform design. Interestingly, the uniform he's wearing is very similar to the Ontario Provincial Police uniform. On the right is a comparitive image from the internet of an OPP uniform (Google 'OPP Uniform'). Notice how the hat is pretty much identical with the rich, blue band running around it and the golden peak. Could 'Sgt. Pepper' therefore be posing in an OPP uniform?

The Inner Sleeve

The Blood
The inner sleeve looks quite innocent until you realise that it looks like it's soaking up blood.

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