Today in History - September 23: The tiny 'clue' in world's first conspiracy theory
MIAMI BEACH - FEBRUARY 16: THE ED SULLIVAN February, 16, 1964. Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida. The Beatles' second appearance, Paul McCartney. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) CBS via Getty Images
On September 23, 1969, leading British newspapers reported that legendary musician Paul McCartney was dead as a bizarre conspiracy theory hit its peak.
Rumours about the demise of the beloved member of The Beatles group began circulating when a student newspaper in the mid-western US published a report just a few days before.
It claimed he'd been killed in 1966 and replaced by a look-a-like.
READ MORE: 'Supreme Friend': Charities cut ties with Sarah Ferguson over email to Jeffrey Epstein
A student newspaper report falsely claimed the death of Paul McCartney, shown far left, was hushed up by other members of The Beatles. Nine Archives
The student paper, which ran the headline "Paul is dead", said McCartney had been tragically killed in a car crash on his way home from a studio where he'd been recording the Sgt. Pepper album.
The other members of The Beatles sought to shield their beloved fans from the shattering news by replacing McCartney with the winner of a Paul McCartney look-a-like competition, called William Campbell.
The story spread like wildfire: major US radio stations began reporting the death of McCartney before it spread across the Atlantic, and leading tabloid papers in the UK picked it up.
It soon became the world's first conspiracy theory.
Part of it was so-called clues in The Beatles' works that also added fuel to the bizarre story.
One example picked up by proponents was from the band's famous Abbey Road album cover. It shows McCartney as the only Beatle walking barefoot and out of step with the others. In some cultures, the dead are buried without wearing shoes.
READ MORE: Jimmy Kimmel to be reinstated after suspension following Charlie Kirk comments
The famous cover of the Abbey Road album by The Beatles. Supplied
Further fuelling the bizarre episode was the absence of McCartney from public view at the time.
He was in fact living on his remote farm in Scotland with his family, well away from the media spotlight.
It was only when McCartney granted several media interviews that established he was alive and well that the "Paul is dead" story subsided.
For more from our Today in History archive, click here
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
