THE BEATLES 1969 PEOPLE 27
PAUL IS DEAD?
After the release of Abbey
Road, McCartney (at home in
London) hid out at his farm
in Scotland, furthering
rumors of his death fueled by
the album’s accidentally
provocative cover art—his
bare feet suggested, to some,
a corpse. “Absolute rubbish,”
the band’s press office said to
broadsheets like those
at right. An interview in a
November issue of Life
aimed to put minds at ease.
BACK TO YOU, YOUR MAJESTY
When the band were made members of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in
1965, John Lennon sent his insignia to his
aunt Mimi, who put it on the mantel. “I’m
glad I did,” he said, “because it meant that
four years later I was able to use it to make a
gesture.” In November 1969 he sent it back
(with the letter below) to the Queen.