The evidence was contained in clues in the albums released by the Beatles, in the words and pictures they contained. Here then are those clues, and the evidence that claimed that Paul McCartney was dead.

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

This was the album that launched the "Paul Is Dead" mania. In it there were several supposed clues.

The Album Cover:

On the album, there is a flower display of yellow hyacinths, in the shape of a yellow left-handed guitar, Paul McCartney was left handed, so many believe that the guitar represents him. It only has 3 strings on - many believe that this represents that there were only 3 Beatles still alive. Many also believe the flowers spell out "Paul?".

• Another flower display is the name "Beatles" itself. Curiously, this was the first time the band had called itself "Beatles" and not "The Beatles". Many believe that the name "Beatles" is saying that they are no longer "The" Beatles, merely some, ie. 3, Beatles. Another view is that it spells out "Be At Leso" if you include the flowers on the right - supposedly the resting place of Paul McCartney's remains. However, nowhere with the name of "Leso" is listed in modern atlases.

• Issy Bonn, a member of the crowd, has his right hand rasied above Paul McCartney's head. This supposedly is a symol of death in many Eastern societies. This symbol is repeated several times in later albums, but only over Paul's head.

• Paul McCartney is holding a black cor anglais - the only member of the Beatles with a black instrument - and black is the colour of funerals. He is holding it with three fingers - does this symbolise only three Beatles?

• In the front of the cover there is statue of Kali, a goddess that symbolised rebirth and regenereation. Does this hint that there is a new member of the Beatles?

• On the doll on the right of the album there is an Aston Martin, which is considered the car of the accident. The doll sits on the lap of a grandmother figure. She has a (bloodstained?) driving glove on her left hand - symbolising the car accident, and the fact that Paul was left-handed?

• The biggest clue is on the drum in the centre of the picture. The drum was designed by a Joe Ephgrave - a name considered by some to be an amalgamation of "Epitaph" and "Grave". If you hold a mirror horizontally athrough the middle of "Lonely Hearts", the message "I ONE IX HE <>(diamond) DIE" - the "I One" has been interpreted to mean 11 - and so the mesage reads "11 9 HE DIE" or the 9th of November, the date of the accident. The <> is a diamond shape that points straight up at the figure of Paul McCartney, demonstrating who has died. But would the Beatles, being English, have used the American tradition of putting the month before the day?

• The album is also bright red - the colour of (Paul's?) blood.

• Sgt Pepper's - the first album after the accident - is also the first album by Apple. Many believe "Apple" sounds like "A-Paul", meaning without Paul in the same way that "amoral" means without morals and "asexual" means without sex.

Lyrics And Booklet:

• "I took her home, I nearly made it" - from Lovely Rita - one theory is that Paul was driving and gave a hitchhiker a lift, when he died in the crash.

• In the original album's lyric sheet (but sadly not in CD), the lyrics were written over the pictures of the Beatles.

  • George Harrison's finger distinctly points at a line from She's Leaving Home that reads "Wednesday Morning at five o'clock as the day begins" - this has been used to show the time of the death - the 9th of November was a Wednesday.

  • The words to Within You Without You were printed on the LPs lyric sheet over Paul's body. The words "We were talking about the space between us all/And the people who hide themselves behind a wall/of illusion never glimpse the truth/Then it's far too late - when they pass away." Does this mean no-one glimpses that Paul has died? Is Paul the one who passed away?

• 5 o'clock is also mentioned in Good Morning, Good Morning - "People running round it's 5 o'clock/Everywhere in town is getting dark/Everyone you see is full of life" - does this refer to the fact that Paul is dead, but his death was covered up? Another line in "Good Morning, Good Morning" is "Nothing to do to save his life" - does this mean that Paul could not be saved? Many believe that the title has "Morning" as a play on "Mourning", weeping for someone's death.

• There are many clues in the song A Day In the Life. The line "He blew his mind out in a car" can only refer to some form of car accident. "They'd seen his face before, nobody..." - had they seen his face as one of the Beatles? Some people interpret "nobody" to mean decapitation, or "no body".

• Who exactly is Billy Shears who is being introduced? And by saying "I don't really want to stop the show", does it mean the Beatles plan to carry on, regardless of Paul's death?

• One theory, that Paul McCartney is wearing a badge with the letters "OPD" (standing for "Officially Pronounced Dead") is, though, false. It quite clearly says "OPP" - and is the logo of the Ontario Provincial Police. (see P13 in the CD booklet). However, one theory says that sometime after Sgt. Pepper was released, a worldwide Paul look-alike contest was held. The winner was from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is in the area where the OPP work.

• However, on pages 9 and 23, Paul is the only one seen sitting in what is described as the fetal position - how people are buried in Celtic traditions. He is also interestingly the only Beatle whose back is turned to the camera - (page 11 & 13 of the CD booklet), meaning Paul won't be facing us anymore?

• Another theory was that on the photo where Paul turns his back (p10-11 of the CD booklet), the Beatles had changed their epaulets to their left shoulder, and not right as elsewhere in the album. This practice is appropriate for funeral possesions. Many believed that this was a clue in itself regarding Paul's death as they are ePAULets - however, this photo is merely the mirror image of the photo on page 12-13.

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    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A277328