First Generation Fan Memories

[stellamayday]

Hi all! I’m a new member, and just finished reading the Nicholas Kollerstrom book. Being born in 1978, I’m very familiar with the guy we call Faul - and I’ve even seen him in concert twice.

So, I’m curious if there are any first generation Beatles fans on the forum who remember and can describe when they noticed something different or unusual with Paul’s appearance in the mid-1960’s.

Is there anyone who observed his “transition” in real time, and thought something seemed a little off - even before all the clues started to be discovered?

I remember seeing the Hey Jude performance video for the first time, and thinking to myself, “Wow, Paul just doesn’t look the same here.” This was before I was aware of the PID/PWR theories.

Thanks to anyone who can provide some “I was there” perspective!

[B]

Hi stellamayday! Welcome to the forum.

I was at college in October 1969, and heard the Roby Yonge discussion on WABC of the possibility that Paul was dead. The word spread across the country in less than

three days! But as you know, "Paul" issued a statement that he wasn't dead a couple of days later, and everyone pretty much believed it, and like most people, I was happy to hear it.

I hadn't noticed that Paul had been replaced earlier (in 1967), but what happened was that in 1970 I joined the navy, and when I came home in 1974 I saw

"Paul" on TV, and I remember thinking: That's Paul McCartney?! I don't remember him looking like that!

So for me, that's when I first noticed the difference. He didn't act or look like the Paul I remembered.

Even so, I thought it was the real Paul.

I know it's strange to say, because the news in October 1969 really shook me up, and I took it to heart. It felt the same to me as when John F Kennedy had been killed,

so I would have thought I'd have paid closer attention, but it wasn't 'til the late 1990s when I saw pictures of Paul on the internet that I realized that Paul had

been replaced by someone else.

photo borrowed from
Mike Williams' Paul Is Dead Channel