Was Paul REALLY the Walrus??
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LOL - John said "the walrus was Paul" in the song Glass Onion on "The White Album" (The Beatles). It would seem that my attempt at making Macca fans (and myself) smile by posting the joke asking whether anyone had found any "Paul is dead" clues on the album NEW has prompted me to receive at least one hate PM
from a forum member so it seems that this topic may generate some lively submissions (but please keep within the forum rules!). So please post any "clues" that you are aware of from Beatles (or other albums) that hint at Paul being dead or alive! 
I've heard of a lot of clues especially from a special on WPLJ that aired back in the late 70s regarding the "Paul is dead" myth, but it's always interesting to learn more from my fellow fans. Paul is obviously alive and well (thanks God!!) so let's have some fun with this just like Paul and the Beatles did! -
the only clue regarding the Walrus was Paul is that he and John were 'as close as can be, yeah."
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Erik in NJ:
LOL - John said "the walrus was Paul" in the song Glass Onion on "The White Album" (The Beatles). It would seem that my attempt at making Macca fans (and myself) smile by posting the joke asking whether anyone had found any "Paul is dead" clues on the album NEW has prompted me to receive at least one hate PM
from a forum member so it seems that this topic may generate some lively submissions (but please keep within the forum rules!). So please post any "clues" that you are aware of from Beatles (or other albums) that hint at Paul being dead or alive! I've heard of a lot of clues especially from a special on WPLJ that aired back in the late 70s regarding the "Paul is dead" myth, but it's always interesting to learn more from my fellow fans. Paul is obviously alive and well (thanks God!!) so let's have some fun with this just like Paul and the Beatles did!I don't know where you got the idea the Paul and the Beatles had "fun" with the "Paul is Dead" rumor. Paul got very angry when the Apple office called him about it, and when a Life reporter showed up at his farm in Scotland to question him, he chased him off the property. If you're gonna post about junk like this at least do your research first!
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beatlesfanrandy:
Erik in NJ:
LOL - John said "the walrus was Paul" in the song Glass Onion on "The White Album" (The Beatles). It would seem that my attempt at making Macca fans (and myself) smile by posting the joke asking whether anyone had found any "Paul is dead" clues on the album NEW has prompted me to receive at least one hate PM
from a forum member so it seems that this topic may generate some lively submissions (but please keep within the forum rules!). So please post any "clues" that you are aware of from Beatles (or other albums) that hint at Paul being dead or alive! I've heard of a lot of clues especially from a special on WPLJ that aired back in the late 70s regarding the "Paul is dead" myth, but it's always interesting to learn more from my fellow fans. Paul is obviously alive and well (thanks God!!) so let's have some fun with this just like Paul and the Beatles did!I don't know where you got the idea the Paul and the Beatles had "fun" with the "Paul is Dead" rumor. Paul got very angry when the Apple office called him about it, and when a Life reporter showed up at his farm in Scotland to question him, he chased him off the property. If you're gonna post about junk like this at least do your research first!
:When Paul was first notified of that 'issue', he was in the middle of his little temporary sabbatical...he may very well have flipped out if someone had asked him what his favorite flavor of ice cream was...and later on, he most definitely had fun with it (the pseudo tongue in cheek interview with Chris Farley, the cover of his 'Paul is Live' album, and more recently, his appearance on Dave Letterman just prior to his 'Good Evening New York City' concerts...and probably dozens of other occasions that's slipping my mind) And regarding the Walrus thing, the only reason I discount that as John poking fun at the PID thing is because as far as I know, the said hoax hadn't hit the airways yet...but if the timing was better, I'd have zero problem believing John's lyric 'here's another clue for you all' was a jab at the entire PID thing...it would be 'too John' not to be
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remember what I said 'clues' used to mean when talking about a celebrity?
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Thanks Randy -- very civil reply and in the spirit of the forum (not)! Just for the record Beatle fans, Freda Kelly wrote in a 1967 (!) fan club letter that the rumors of Paul being dead were not true. So Life magazine breaking the story in 1969 is nonsense. Second, Paul didn't like any uninvited guests coming by the farm invading his privacy while he was there with his family! He shortly afterwards apologized to those reporters and let them take his picture. John and Paul both had a bit of fun with the rumor both during and after the Beatles as Rich N pointed out (thanks Rich!). How else could one explain the line "here's another clue for you all..." Whether you like it or not the rumor sold albums and that was what they wanted!
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Kathryn O:
remember what I said 'clues' used to mean when talking about a celebrity?
Kathryn, There no chance that John was even hinting at him and Paul being "funny" (using the term that you said John often used). Cynthia Lennon in her book is quoted at saying John was 100% interested in women and at a party when a Liverpool club owner teased him about going on vacation with Epstein (he only went with him as a friend), John slugged him quite hard in response. So the use of the word "clue" in Glass Onion was definitely in the literal context without a doubt.
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FYI, the guy John slugged (at Paul's 21st birthday party) was Bob Wooler, the DJ at the Cavern Club (and he was gay) Are there any British fans on here who can corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter 1967 story? This flies in the face of everything we American fans have ever heard.
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Like, "Wearing a face that she keeps in a jar (or "in ajar") by the door". Perhaps the line is, "And here's another clue for you, All the Walrus Was, Paul". ...
Could be "Scrambled Eggs". Could be "Marnie". -
Nancy R:
FYI, the guy John slugged (at Paul's 21st birthday party) was Bob Wooler, the DJ at the Cavern Club (and he was gay) Are there any British fans on here who can corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter 1967 story? This flies in the face of everything we American fans have ever heard.
Yes, the whole story is recanted by Cynthia in her book "John" complete with names, who's party it was, etc. as well as her assessment of the rumor of John being "funny." Not sure why you would need British fans to corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter story as you can see it yourself in the DVD "Good Ol' Freda."
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Erik in NJ:
Nancy R:
FYI, the guy John slugged (at Paul's 21st birthday party) was Bob Wooler, the DJ at the Cavern Club (and he was gay) Are there any British fans on here who can corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter 1967 story? This flies in the face of everything we American fans have ever heard.
Yes, the whole story is recanted by Cynthia in her book "John" complete with names, who's party it was, etc. as well as her assessment of the rumor of John being "funny." Not sure why you would need British fans to corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter story as you can see it yourself in the DVD "Good Ol' Freda."
Well, I guess I will just have to watch it then. Wasn't aware that that info was in there.
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Nancy R:
Erik in NJ:
Nancy R:
FYI, the guy John slugged (at Paul's 21st birthday party) was Bob Wooler, the DJ at the Cavern Club (and he was gay) Are there any British fans on here who can corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter 1967 story? This flies in the face of everything we American fans have ever heard.
Yes, the whole story is recanted by Cynthia in her book "John" complete with names, who's party it was, etc. as well as her assessment of the rumor of John being "funny." Not sure why you would need British fans to corroborate the Freda Kelly fan club letter story as you can see it yourself in the DVD "Good Ol' Freda."
Well, I guess I will just have to watch it then. Wasn't aware that that info was in there.
There were PID rumors in England as of 1967, initially stemming from a car accident early in the year that involved Paul's car, but Paul wasn't driving it (and no one died). The rumor was soon dismissed, though, and didn't spread elsewhere at the time. The 1966 car crash story wasn't dreamed up till late '69, though, and that was invented ? along with the William Campbell name ? by a college student writing a satirical piece for his paper in the wake of the new round of rumors at the time. But of course the joke piece was taken seriously by some people and off it went. I still don't believe the Beatles planted all those clues, though. If they had, somebody would have come clean by now. There would have been far too many people involved for them all to keep quiet. I mean, surely John in his Rolling Stone interview, or George at some point would have gotten fed up if they were part of a cover-up. Besides what I've already said about the four of them not being that close anymore after touring stopped. Just my humble opinion, plus... http://www.beatlesbible.com/features/paul-is-dead/ http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/paul_is_dead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_LaBour
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Favoritething, Thanks for your informative post and confirmation! Well there wasn't really a "cover up" per se because Paul wasn't dead. The lads were having a bit of fun with the rumor that started in '67 from time to time. As Rich pointed out Paul still is occaisionally having a bit of fun with it. John (the primary clue dropper) has been gone a long time now and George rarely spoke about things Beatle. I mean "here's another clue for you all..." and why would someone overdub the word "cranberry sauce" over a track (hint: if you speed it up it becomes much clearer)? I agree that most of the clues weren't planted, but were just coincidence, but some were definitely put there as a laugh. If you don't believe that especially John liked to mess with people's minds then read the story about "I Am The Walrus" and why those obscure lyrics were originally penned and for what purpose. No doubt the "cluesters" weny way, way overboard, but hey, it sold many, many additional albums and probably still does!
P.S. The car crash story came primarily from the lyrics to "A Day in the Life" and to some extent from "Don't Pass Me By"...he must've blown his mind out in a car, man... LOL ... and then there was Billy Shears! -
Well, I meant a "cover-up" of the clue planting. If they were covering up his death, then the cover-up would make sense to me.
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Can't you clearly see John "taking the mickey out" (teasing) the cluesters by over dubbing "I buried Paul" over quotes from King Lear "oh, untimely death" in lyrics to "Strawberry Fields" (I had erroneously written "I Am the Walrus"...had Walrus on the mind due to prior post...oops
) or did he really say hey I'm gonna overdub the phrase "cranberry sauce" or "I'm very tall" here? Let's apply Occam's Razor shall we? Which do you think is more in the spirit of John's personality?? BTW, you can be darn sure if fans in the UK heard rumors about Paul being dead in '67 that Americans did too--it was before the internet but it sure wasn't the Dark Ages! Americans were in the fan club too! -
The evidence I've seen is that there weren't any cluesters in '67, just some fans who thought Paul might have died in that early '67 car crash. So there wasn't any reason for John to be responding to clues when no one was talking about specific clues till late '69. "Cranberry sauce" was in "Strawberry Fields Forever," not "I Am The Walrus," or am I missing some joke here? In reality, I could see John, or one of the others, making a deliberate joke out of it maybe once and then getting bored with it, but again, the evidence I see shows no one even looking for specific clues until late '69, by which time the band was all but broken up already, so that's why it all seems implausible to me.
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Yes, Strawberry Fields, not Walrus, sorry
... long day ... had "Walrus" on my mind from prior post! Same album though. Well the rumors caused enough of a stir for Freda to address it in the newsletter, so it wasn't just a couple fans theorizing--it was a rumor that was fervently propagating (or as we would say "going viral" ). You can be sure that if Freda heard about it that the Beatles did too, after which Lennon started dropping hints starting with the White Album...the stuff on Sgt Pepper later found was just coincidence. John became aware of the rumors and started fueling the "Paul is dead" fire (I wish I knew what Paul's involvement was as he was really driving the Beatles albums starting with Revolver). There weren't that many deliberate hints really, just a few, mainly on White Album and MMT and most likely cover of Abbey Road. Some of the coincidences are the most fun though ! I love the one with a mirror reflecting back half of the letter in "Lonely Hearts" in the drum on the cover! Too cool! -
Well, I'm done theorizing. I understand your enthusiasm; I just disagree.
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Well thanks for engaging me...it seems you know your Beatles history well! I have a great special that was re-broadcast on New York's WPLJ (95.5) back in the late 70's that tries to debunk all of the "clues" and is quite clever. I should digitize it some time for a laugh. It's just no one can seem to counter the existence of Glass Onion's "here's another clue for you all..." and the backwards "Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him, miss him" on the White Album. And the "I buried Paul" and "Oh! Untimely death" on MMT. The cover to Abbey Road is similarly contrived by trying real hard to make Macca stand out...but then again he designed it and maybe this was his first attempt at having a first and last bit of fun with the fans as a Beatle.
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People are just being curmudgeons! Glad you're having fun with it. According to Ferris Bueller, the walrus was John Lennon.
