I know this may have been discussed before, and it’s an old rumour that I’m hearing since I was a teenager, but I’ve never believed it, ok, but how do you think about…:
I don’t believe it anyway, but I cannot find technical arguments against this very “convincing” work. I’ve never seen a very graphical study like this.
The only question that comes to my mind is… how did the fake Paul get the same undeniable composing talent of his predecessor?? According to that, the late Paul was more gifted than the first.
Note the photo from Sgt. Pepper has been clearly altered (red background, most obviously, and it looks like the chin on the original isn’t as pronounced). So it’s hard to be sure that that the guy hasn’t just been playing with Photoshop.
The concept is preposterous on the face of it – it just isn’t possible to keep something like that under wraps for more than a few months, let alone years. In addition, the “evidence,” was put forth by a DJ in Detroit who had no actual contact with the Beatles.
Hell, I was around when the rumor first started. No one then ever thought the “evidence” was anything more than a joke, or, at most, a publicity attempt.
That’s funny, my dad brought this up just last weekend I’d never heard of it before then, but it does seem less implausable in the wake of the Sadam look-alikes.
I’ve been meaning to post about this site for awhile now, but haven’t gotten around to it. I sent a letter to Snopes looking for a professional debunking, but haven’t heard back from them.
It’s so ridiculous- a rumor that is 35 years old, the idea that “Faul” has been touring as Paul for all this time, the number of people who would have to be complicit to this (the Beatles, management, Linda, etc.).
But this site is still somewhat… unsettling. The picture comparisons, that awful picture of “Faul” with the hanging upper lip, the “60IF” document that is attributed to a recently deceased George Harrison… very disturbing.
Don’t get me wrong- I still don’t believe in this little conspiracy. but I do get the willes reading about it. As I said, the photo comparisons are the strongest argument this site has going.
For me, when I got a little unnerved reading this site, I would just remind myself that the validity of any site that makes a point to scream about how their proof is LEGAL over and over again (read the site- you’ll see what I mean) is questionable at best, and that’s being charitable.
That said, I would still love to see a good, thorough, scientific analysis of this site. Preferable one that debunks it.
I guess the question is why anyone would bother to take the time to debunk the site. How would you go about doing so in a way that would convince somebody who could think that this is true in the first place?
I think the stupidest part of it is the idea that if any of this had really happened, the Beatles would drop hints to let people figure it out. I like that the guy has been current enough to find something in “Free as a Bird,” though.
The George Harrison thing reads like a spoof. "we were able to suppress the story from the Wednesday newspapers thanks to some acquaintances of ours. " (A Beatle kidnapped could’ve been kept out of ALL the newspapers? Uh-huh…)
Marley23, when I first read that 60IF “document”, I laughed out loud at that part that has John screaming “I am the Walrus”. Funny, funny stuff.
Exapno Mapcase (love that name, BTW): I don’t believe it, but I would still be interested in having the photos looked at. IMO, they are the only thing on that site that is believable enough for an X-Files episode.
For more fun, BTW, check out their message board. (Be nice!)
The whole Paul Is Dead rumor has always been ridiculous, but, just out of curiosity, I would like to see a debunking of the photographic “evidence” by somebody who knows about such things. But, if nothing else, the site has that bitchen “Badwrong Falsepaul” song.
This particular urban legend/conspiracy theory has always given me the jibblies, and I’m not sure why. Anyway.
I haven’t read through the whole thing yet, but I’m not convinced by some of this evidence. The photo-overlaying bit is a nice trick, but not compelling in light of photoshopping, different camera angles, and so forth. On the Sgt. Pepper’s cover, Paul is standing in front of the others, that’s why he’s taller. Also, the eyecolor thing - often people with green eyes (such as myself) will have eyes that vary in color depending on mood, time of day, and so forth. My eyes are hazel on my driver’s license and green on my passport.
The pictures do seem very different after the motorcycle accident, though. I wonder if an Occam’s razor for this isn’t that Paul had some additional cosmetic surgery in addition to repairing the lip injury.
And as a complement to what I said before: imagine, a guy who looks like Paul, sings like Paul, has the same talent as Paul… wow! I think they must have been very very lucky to find him…
Thinking it better, who I see different from his early years is Ringo.
This premise is so silly that it seems tongue-in-cheeck whenever it is brought up, though I admit it is a bit of fun to discuss. My Dad introduced me to his Beatles box set when I was twelve, I was amazed that their looks changed so dramatically in the span of only around 7 years. I had assumed the albums spanned 20 years at first glance, the road years and pressure obviously took thier toll on the boys.
I still respect Paul for the lessons learned from him on piano and guitar. His distinctive style shows through in recent concerts as it did in the old days. Many people (like me) can imitate his fingering, his voice remains unique. Like it or not, the one and only Paul is alive and well.
And his name is actually “James Paul”, or even “Sir James Paul.” And that into the conspiracy.
I would like to see a similar photographic comparion on someone who is NOT rumored to have died, perhaps even a fellow Beatle. I think one of the reasons the pictures are at all compelling is that there is no similar long-term, in-depth comparison that I can think of. Suddenly, when the normal aging process is exposed to scrutiny, it seems very sinister.
I’d also like to share with you all that I was scared last night of fake Paul McCartney jumping out at me from under my bed. I should really back out of this discussion.
I’d never heard of it before then, but it does seem less implausable in the wake of the Sadam look-alikes.
I like that the guy has been current enough to find something in “Free as a Bird,” though.