Ringo Starr Says The Beatles Often Joked About ‘Paul Is Dead’ Conspiracy

Fans loved to speculate about The Beatles, and while some of the fascinating rumors were true, fans’ desire for news on the band led to some bizarre conspiracy theories. The most famous theory surrounding the fab four was that Paul McCartney died and was replaced with a lookalike still parading around as him today. The Beatles were fully aware of this theory, and Ringo Starr said they loved to laugh about it. 

Ringo Starr said The Beatles loved adding fuel to the ‘Paul is Dead’ conspiracy theory

The Beatles have a few conspiracy theories that fans love to analyze. One was that John Lennon had a strange connection to the number nine. Another suggested that “Helter Skelter” lyrics led to the Manson murders. However, the main one that stuck around was the theory that Paul McCartney died. 

The theory emerged in the 1960s and skyrocketed toward the end of the decade when Abbey Road emerged. “Paul is Dead” suggests that the singer died in a car crash in 1967, and The Beatles replaced him so fans wouldn’t know. The cover of Abbey Road added fuel to the fire as it contained hints that McCartney was dead. 

The Beatles learned to laugh about and often put intentionally confusing details into their songs to see if their audiences would think of them as clues. In an interview with Vulture, drummer Ringo Starr said John Lennon would sometimes play lyrics backward on a tape and see how The Beatles’ fans would react when listening to it. 

“There were some songs people pointed out as being ‘secret.’ John, by accident, learned how to play a tape backward, and we put that to full use,” Starr said. “So we’d just do something silly at the end of a track, and it’d be all over the newspapers and on the radio. They’re actually singing, ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ It just made us all laugh. All of those interesting things we said were not that interesting. We had a great laugh about that. Look at what they’re saying now.”

Paul McCartney became ‘paranoid’ over the rumors he was dead

While Ringo Starr and The Beatles learned to laugh about the “Paul is Dead” theory, Paul McCartney became concerned. In an interview for his website, Paulmccartney.com, the former Beatle said he grew “paranoid” about the theory after people would call him to check to see if he was still alive. 

Even when he responded yes, people still didn’t believe him. He started to think he couldn’t convince anyone he was still alive. 

“I know all the rumors… because I was being asked about them!” McCartney explained. “There would literally be someone ringing up to ask, ‘Are you dead?’ I said, ‘Well, no. I’m answering this phone call!’ And the reply would be, ‘Well, I can’t be sure it’s you. So, then you actually do get a bit paranoid about yourself. And you think, ‘How am I going to prove to them or to anyone that this is me?!’ I figured, in time, this look-a-like will be writing some pretty decent songs, and if it wasn’t me, how had I trained him to write songs?”