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.

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 Campb

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