Sunday, May 4, 2008

William

The commonly used name for the supposed Paul McCartney replacement is William. As the story goes, one William Campbell won a Paul McCartney lookalike contest and eventually ended up as Paul's replacement. I have never been able to find out where the name even came from, other than off the top of the head of one of the early proclaimers of the Paul Is Dead theory, Fred LaBour.


It was Fred LaBour who wrote an article for the University of Michigan student newspaper announcing the death of Paul McCartney as a joke in a review of the Abbey Road album. LaBour reportedly had originally wanted to name him Glen Campbell (same name as the replacement for Brian Wilson in that other popular band). It would have been much harder to find references to "Glen" in songs (other than maybe "Danny Boy").



The name William has persisted even though there has never been any documented proof that the lookalike contest ever took place. William is a convenient and versatile name because of its many variations. Any mention of William, Will, Willy, Bill, Billy, or even the words "will" or "bill" can be identified as references to the replacement. Besides Campbell, other potential replacement Bills were Billy Shears and Bill Shepherd (sometimes Bill Sheppard).



Iamaphoney cleverly showed us that another thing that makes the name Bill convenient is that it appears when you mirror the word Paul.



We first hear the name in the opening track to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (how appropriate) when the Beatles sing "Billy Shears" (interpreted by some people as "Bill Is Here"). If we really reach, we can point out significance in the line "Tonight Mr. Kite is topping the Bill. The following year the sweet love song from the White Album "I Will" was released causing no speculation at the time.

It is interesting that one of the many takes of "Let It Be" from January of 1969 features Paul saying the word "Bill" but I don't know what that is supposed to mean. Jump ahead to Ram and we have Paul singing:

Well I know my banana is older than the rest,
and my hair is a tangled beretta. (Beretta, beretta.)
But I leave my pajamas to Billy Budapest,
and I don't get the gist of your letter. (Your letter, your letter)


We also have the Liverpool lady saying "Hello Billy" in the James Paul McCartney television special. This clip has been shown in a few Rotten Apple videos.



A couple years later in "Venus and Mars/Rock Show," Paul refers to "Silly Willy and that Philly Band." Paul McCartney is notorious for stringing words together that sound good without regard to their meaning, but all of the other people and places named in this song are real (e.g. Jimmy Page, Madison Square, and even Concertgebouw, although it is misspelled in the lyrics). I wasn't able to find anything definitive for the Silly Willy from Philly reference although I got the willies when a Google search yielded this link.

This brings us to 1984 and the release of the movie "Give My Regards to Broad Street." This was the subject of Rotten Apple 35



The BBC person seems to either be introducing Paul McCartney TO William or he is introducing Paul McCartney AS William. Which is it? It is difficult to tell. There were a lot of people in Broad Street who were not actors, and it shows. When Ringo asks Eric Stewart how he likes his new house, Stewart's response is inaudible, as if he didn't know he was being filmed. The crazy thing is that those individuals in the movie who actually were professional actors almost seemed to be making an effort to act badly. Examples of bad acting range from Bryan Brown saying "We lost the types" "We're looking for the types" "We found the types" to Ringo Starr (the most accomplished actor of the Beatles) responding to Paul's question, "You don't think Harry would go and do a stupid thing like that, do you?" with the words "Yes I do" as if he had never uttered the phrase in his life. Even the great Sir Ralph Richardson sounded like a kid in a school play when he said, "A blue one?" when asked about the box Harry was holding. With all of that questionable acting, it is not surprising that we wouldn't know who is being referred to as William in the BBC scene.

"Give My Regards to Broad Street" was accompanied by a huge promotional blitz for a movie that stayed in theaters for less time than it took to get a bag of popcorn. One of those ancillary items was this 128-page book.



Even though the book consists mainly of pictures, the small amount of text in it contains just about every detail in the movie script, including the scene with William. The words in italics are quoted directly from the book.

The interviewer, a middle-aged seasoned broadcaster, who balanced his cynicism with the correct ratio of professional attentiveness, was already there. Both of them had long ago lost the chance of moving up the ladder to comfortable posts, and were stuck, providing radio shows for an audience with whom they had nothing in common. "Do you know William?" said Terry. "Of course," said Paul.

The book gives the rest of the dialog that you hear in the movie. The next paragraph that follows is:

It was not a programme that was going to win any prizes, but William in his polished, professional manner wound it up and cued the next item on the schedule. "What a bunch of cobblers," he said after Paul had left the studio.



So, clearly the William in the scene is the old cynical radio host and not some impostor for a famous bass player.

With such a flimsy foundation, it makes you wonder how the name William has stuck around for nearly 40 years. Fred LaBour must be very proud.

Postscript: One question remains after all of this debunking. Why the hell would George Harrison name his super group "The Traveling Wilburys?"

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post! I'd like to see a lot more debunkery.

Felipegcs said...

I had understood that the BIII image that you mentioned in iamaphoney's videos meant "Be THREE" (B III), not "B I LL"

I remember that a youtube video explained that Bill Sheperd was a pseudonym that musician "ghost writers" used when they helped to write a song. I remember to have seen a record of the Beats... or the pepperpots? (my memory fails :S but it was one of those) that have songs written by Lennon-McCartney, and some written by "Bill Sheppperd".
So... the name Bill maybe was a pseudonym, because he was a ghost writer of beatle songs.
But it's just a theory.

Felipegcs said...

Have you seen the "When we was fab" videoclip by George Harrison? it's in youtube. There is a part when a double of Lennon passes in front of the camera, and next to him supossedly "Paul" should pass next to him... but "Paul" passes with a distorted image!!! The walrus clue was NOT the only one. People has missed hundreds and hundreds of clues!!!

Tafultong said...

Hi felipegcs,

Yes, B III is another legitimate interpretation.

I have seen the "When We Was Fab" video many times and have always interpreted the distorted figure as a female. I considered the distortion to be a representation of the swirling strings in the song. Are we talking about the same figure?

Tafultong said...

anonymous,

Thanks for the comment. My intention is to share the information that I have whether it supports or debunks the theories. Greater scrutiny causes the bunk to fall, but the truth always will hold up.

mojollikins said...

Hi guys, mojollikins, here- on a hunch I mirrored the RAM vertically on the cover of RAM. From the middle up it makes two possible words, "bah" or "Bill", furthermore from the middle looking down it provides another double possiblity of "look" (seen that before) OR "I AM" checkitout for yourselves. I notice the BAH a while back then after iam's P*UL/Bill ref I looked again. Maybe it is all four? lol "Look! BAH! I am Bill." Have fun. also, sorry about all the typing mistakes, I type fast and I have a crappy space bar. ANd I don't fell like fixin' it. :)

mojollikins said...

Hi guys, on a hunch I mirrored the RAM vertically on the cover of RAM. From the middle up it makes two possible words, "bah" or "Bill", furthermore from the middle looking down it provides another double possiblity of "look" (seen that before) OR "I AM" checkitout for yourselves. I notice the BAH a while back then after iam's P*UL/Bill ref I looked again. Maybe it is all four? lol "Look! BAH! I am Bill." Have fun. also, sorry about all the typing mistakes, I type fast and I have a crappy space bar. ANd I don't fell like fixin' it. :)

mojollikins said...

aw man sorry for the x2 post...

Tafultong said...

No problem.

Tafultong said...

No problem.

mojollikins said...

Thanks. Well, since you're in thearea I thought I would also apologize for all those silly questions, after THOROUGHLY reviewing your site I see that most of them were already addressed and quite well I might add. SO, I think I will dig a little more before I do that again. :) Anyway, goodnight!

Anonymous said...

Saw on the "Nothing Is Real" forum that the registration info for iamaphoney.com lists the same building address as Ringo Starr's fanmail address but a different suite (666 vs. Ringo's 200)...

[whois.joker.com]
domain: iamaphoney.com
owner: Iama Phoney
email: peripetytime@live.com
address: 1541 Ocean Avenue, suite 666
city: Santa Monica, CA
state: --
postal-code: 90401
country: US
phone: +310.4588629
admin-c: CCOM-57483 hostmaster@b-one.nu
tech-c: CCOM-57483 hostmaster@b-one.nu
billing-c: CCOM-57483 hostmaster@b-one.nu
nserver: ns1.b-one.nu
nserver: ns2.b-one.nu
nserver: ns3.b-one.nu
status: lock
created: 2007-08-27 14:45:55 UTC
modified: 2007-08-27 14:45:55 UTC
expires: 2008-08-27 14:45:55 UTC

contact-hdl: CCOM-57483
person: Hostmaster Funktionen
organization: One.com A/S
email: hostmaster@b-one.nu
address: Kalvebod Brygge 45
city: Copenhagen V
postal-code: 1560
country: DK
phone: +45.46907100

source: joker.com live whois service
query-time: 0.012954
db-updated: 2008-03-26 02:47:53

==================

Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr
"Rocca Bella"
24 Ave. Princess Grace,
Monte Carlo
Monaco

Ringo Starr
1541 Ocean Avenue
Suite 200
Santa Monica, CA
90401
USA

Anonymous said...

it's funny you should bring this up... peripety eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2z6e7XF_lU

Unknown said...

HA! I knew it was only a matter of time before Monkberry Moon Delight was brought into the mix. Great Stuff!

mojollikins said...

And you may ask yourself what is a ringed star? LOL i dunno but you write him @ 666...also I know i should slow down, i will try but with work and school and everything...anyway I am sure ya' know that i meant HORIZONTALLY check the RAM on the RAM cover horizontally. is that BIll or Bah, or Iam or look...

mojollikins said...

Anonymous said...
it's funny you should bring this up... peripety eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2z6e7XF_lU
if a tree falls in the forest and there's noone there to hear it, does it make a sound ? isn't this precisely what this video is alluding to?

Anonymous said...

Maybe, what i got out of it was the london eye, the stephen hawking voice, the use of the word peripety & an interets in flexible (creepy) realities from a filmstudent in manchester whos'good at editing and has friends with intristing videos like these:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_sOX1G-J9jo <- how to confuse your public as a serial killer with little bits & pieces (edgar allen poe)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PfIUlq37upk <- notice the musical talent & abbey road poster


probably just a coincidence

Anonymous said...

Great post.I remember George Harrison saying that the band were called the Traveling Wilburys after an old musician's joke called "a case of the trembling wilburys" which is when you're playing a gig and you're hung over.The Hello Billy in the TV special is fake.Iamaphoney took that from another part of the clip and dubbed it on.All the various McCartney family are there and a lot of names are being shouted out as people say hello to each other.I think this was debunked on the NIR board a while ago.

-Aja

mojollikins said...

Dear Anonymous,
Sorry, I was just being silly and somtimes my humor is really only amusing to myself. Yes, the similarities are notable. (But if we weren't there to seethem would they be there?)
In other news, I am having a really hard time finding any decent coverage on this "burglar" that burgled Ringo's abode. It seems he is dead. All I would like to know is how, and maybe a name. Only I can't find any hits on MSN and 1 hit on yahoo. Neither gives this info.

Anonymous said...

Oh intristing, here is an article about it http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/05/04/ringo-starr-flat-intruder-dies-after-custody-collapse-98487-20404757/ i wonder how he died?

Anonymous said...

Youre right, theres not many coverage, just the one hit compared to 30+ about starr and mccartney 'reuniting', weird.

tygrefyfe said...

Good post! I was wondering myself about the name "Traveling Willbury's"...also, about Ringo intruder, there isn't much being said about it except that there has been a history of members of the Beatles being attacked by madmen."

John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman in New York in 1980, and George Harrison was stabbed in the chest at his mansion by schizophrenic Michael Abram in 1999.

Funny that Sir Paul has not has his life in danger that we know of all these years...

I wonder why?

Anonymous said...

felipegcs where did you come up with that?John is represented by the copy of the album with his face on it and there is an actor dressed up as the walrus that's supposed to represent Paul.Ringo was there in LA for the video shoot so all four Beatles are represented in some way.There are no doubles in that video.The people that pass by don't look anything like Lennon or McCartney.

-Aja

tygrefyfe said...

oh- this is really funny!

http://www.thesleaze.co.uk/kipper.html

Anonymous said...

And another thing if Paul is supposed to be a Crowley worshipper or the son or grandson of Crowley because Crowley's face is on the Seargent Pepper album can we then assume that Paul likes to write gothic horror stories because Edgar Allen Poe is on the cover?Or that he dresses up in a loincloth and swings through the jungle because Johnny Weissmuller is on the cover?Or that he stands above a subway grate and lets the breeze blow his skirt up because Marilyn Monroe is on the cover?Or that he and a fat friend push a piano up a hill over and over again because Laurel and Hardy are on the cover?

-Aja

Felipegcs said...

Tafultong and Aja are both right... I didn't see the boobs hehe. I searched for a higher quality video and it shows very clearly that "he" was a woman :P thanks for the info!

Tafultong said...

Traveling Wilburys definitely emerged out of the expression "trembling wilburys." Tom Petty defined trembling wilburys as those unexplainable technical glitches that occur while recording. Roy Orbison sang "trembling wilburys" in the song "Dirty World" much to the amusement of his fellow band members. There was a great story about them randomly dividing up those lines at the end of the song and Roy always ending up with the "trembling wilburys" line. There is a video of them gathered around the vocal mike and cracking up when it got to Roy.

Duane Eddy had a song called "The Trembler on his 1987 comeback album for Capitol. It was written by Ravi Shankar and Duane Eddy, but it was produced by Jeff Lynne and featured George Harrison on slide guitar. So, it's possible that the "trembler" was a trembling wilburys reference. Paul McCartney appeared on that same album for his participation on Eddy's cover of "Rockestra Theme."

I don't want to put too much emphasis on the name, but it does seem weird that it was spelled "wilburys" instead of the much more reasonable "wilberries."

Tafultong said...

Aja, let me try to answer your question about McCartney/Crowley association. Note that my tongue is firmly implanted in my cheek.

We assume that Paul is a Crowley worshiper, just like we assume that he uses ciphers in his works just like Poe, and that Johnny Weissmuller was checking out Paul's butt because the original Paul was gay, and that he died young under suspicious circumstances like Marilyn Monroe and, let's see, that leaves Oliver Hardy, who was there because gay Paul was replaced by a "straight man." Ah, I could go on and on.

Anonymous said...

(tongue firmly in cheek)Johnny Weissmuller was GAY???????That explains why he always liked Cheetah better than Jane.

-Aja

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure it's Diana Doors on the Sgt. Pepper cover. NOT M.M.

vince.

Tafultong said...

Both Diana Dors and Marilyn Monroe are on the Sgt. Pepper Cover. Monroe is right under Edgar Allan Poe.

Anonymous said...

My bad. (as the kids say)

mojollikins said...

tygrefyfe....LMMFAO......whew. The folks at this forum have sucha sense of humor. Truly strange story, thanks for sharing the link if anyone hasn't read it yet do it now. Get your medicine.
Yeah, the Ringo burglar, you would think there'd be more coverage on this. It actually irks me that there's not, I mean the man dies and there's no details. Very strange.
"and that Johnny Weissmuller was checking out Paul's butt" Taf, you're a hoot!