Turn Me On, Dead Man

Some of the early Beatles albums are said to have "Paul is dead" clues, though these clues would not be consistent with the story as it has developed. The clues discussed on this page are from albums the Beatles released before November 9, 1966, which is, by most accounts, the date of Paul's demise.

On the cover of Help! Paul is the only one without a hat (as in decapitation). The cover photo of Rubber Soul shows the Beatles looking down with morose expressions on their faces, as though they were looking at a grave. Also, on the cover of Revolver the drawing of Paul is different from the drawings of his bandmates. Paul is shown in profile unlike the rest of the Beatles. The original cover of the album Yesterday and Today, the infamous "butcher cover," showed the Beatles posing with decapitated dolls and slabs of raw meat. On the cover photo Paul is seated with a headless doll on either shoulder. George, who is standing behind Paul, is holding a doll's head over the decapitated doll on Paul's left shoulder. Also, a set of teeth rests on Paul's right arm—he reportedly lost his teeth in the accident (not to mention his head!).

Capitol records, horrified by the offensive cover photo, pulled this album from circulation a day after its initial release. The album was rereleased with an alternate cover pasted over the original cover. The new cover photo showed the Beatles around a steamer trunk. While the rest of the Beatles are positioned above the trunk, Paul is seated inside it. When turned on its side, Paul looks as though he is lying in a coffin.
None of these clues, however, fit into the most widely accepted version of the rumor, which held that Paul's fatal accident occurred on November 9, 1966. All of these albums would have been released before Paul's death. If Paul's accident had, in fact, occurred in November of 1966, the first album that could possibly contain clues to that effect was A Collection of Beatles Oldies, a greatest hits album released only in Britain on December 10, 1966.
The figure in the foreground on the cover is a mod, nonspecific Beatlesque character. The face of this figure is shown in shadow, much like the images of the Beatles' faces on the cover of Please Please Me. This figure's head is roughly at the same place on this cover as McCartney's had been on the cover of Please Please Me. The car is heading directly toward the head of this Beatlesque character, which suggests some sort of tragedy, perhaps involving Paul McCartney.