Photo shoot of the “Paul Is Live” cover

In August 1969, The Beatles gathered outside EMI Studios to walk across the zebra crossing on Abbey Road. Photographer Iain Macmillan was positioned on a stepladder in the middle of the street, equipped with a Hasselblad camera, to capture what would become the iconic cover photograph of their album “Abbey Road“.

Over time, fans began to spot several supposed “clues” on the album cover fueling the “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy theory, which gained momentum following the release of “Abbey Road“. Among them were Paul’s barefoot appearance and the license plate of the white Volkswagen Beetle in the background reading “28IF” — interpreted by some to mean Paul would have been 28 if he were still alive.

On this day, in 1993, Paul McCartney and Iain Macmillan were back at Abbey Road to recreate the iconic image for his album “Paul Is Live.”

This time, Paul was wearing shoes and accompanied by Arrow, his Old English sheepdog and the offspring of Martha — the dog he famously owned during the 1960s.

The 1993 photograph was digitally superimposed over the original 1969 image. Notably, the Beetle’s license plate was altered to read “51 IS,” referencing Paul’s age at the time.

There had been this rumour, Paul is dead… In 1992, I went back to Abbey Road to record an album; it was a live album, so I called it Paul Is Live. So that’s when I went across the crossing with our old English sheepdog called Martha. I still go back to Abbey Road to this day.

Paul McCartney – From interview with Financial Times, 2019

Back in the Sixties, the wild rumour was that I was dead because of certain alleged ‘clues’ on the Abbey Road sleeve. Because I was barefoot, it being a scorching summer’s day, it was taken as a bizarre Mafia sign of death. Then they said that because part of the numberplate of the Volkswagen parked behind read 28IF, it meant I being 27 at the time – would have been 28 IF I’d lived.

So we’re having a little parody of that on the sleeve of PAUL IS LIVE. This time I’ve got my boots on (veggie Doc Martens, by the way, so they’re not dead either). The original Volkswagen is still there. This time the number plate reads 51 IS. […]

It was weird, strange to go back to the Abbey Road crossing all these years later. It was a summer’s day again, the cars held up in the traffic again, the crowd of surprised onlookers gaped again. But the only difference, instead of The Beatles, it was one man and his dog — but, please, don’t start reading anything into that!

Paul McCartney – From the liner notes of “Paul Is Live (Album sampler)“

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001

An updated edition of the best-seller. The story of what happened to the band members, their families and friends after the 1970 break-up is brought right up to date. A fascinating and meticulous piece of Beatles scholarship.

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