The Beatles : Who Is This Now? (A Paul Is Dead documentary) - video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BNldAM_8fo

James Paul McCartney (1942-1966) was a founding member of The Beatles, arguably the world's most successful rock and roll band.

In the early morning hours of November 9, 1966, McCartney left a contentious recording session at EMI Studios in London. His wrecked Aston Martin convertible was discovered by police at 5 am. McCartney was "officially pronounced dead" (the British equivalent of American "dead on arrival"). He had been decapitated.

Exactly why McCartney's death was covered up is unknown. Some suggest that Parlophone and Capitol Records were making so much money from The Beatles that they would do anything to keep the group intact. Others suggest that the British government was making even more money (The Beatles were in a 95% income tax bracket) and had even more reason to keep the group intact. Certainly, the coverup of the death of such a well known entertainer would have required government assistance.

A singer/actor named William Shears Campbell (Billy Shears) had won a Paul McCartney lookalike contest a year earlier and was recruited as the standin. All records pertaining to Campbell end in 1966.

There was another problem. McCartney was famously left handed and Campbell was right handed. The Beatles announced an end to concert tours. They would spend their remaining three years together in recording studios.

The deception held up well over the next ten years but there was a weak point - John Lennon. Lennon was known for his drug use and antigovernment leanings. He threatened to go public. He might reveal the secret while under the influence of drugs. MI5 couldn't risk either. It easily recruited a mental patient, Mark David Chapman, to do the dirty work. Chapman has been locked in an institution to this day.