The Last Album

After the troubles on Let It Be, George Martin was surprised to receive a telephone call from Paul. The band wanted to make another album. Paul and Martin agreed to do one the 'old' way - in the studio. The album was named after the Abbey Road studio in London, and the Beatles worked on it there during July and August 1969.

John and Paul disagreed about some of their ideas for the album. Paul wanted to join all the songs together. John just liked to do different 'three-minute records'. To keep both men happy, only the songs on the second half of the record are joined together.

Abbey Road was a happy record to work on for most of the time. But not always. When Paul took three days to record 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', George told him, 'It's only a song.' STORY BEHIND THE SONG

Abbey Road's 'Something' was the band's first single written by George Harrison. Many people think that it is his best song. Later, Frank Sinatra often sang it on stage. He described it as his favorite Lennon and McCartney song. Telling this story, Paul once joked, 'Thanks, Frank.' Nobody knew it at the time, but Abbey Road was the last album. But the band ended it well. The last song was called 'The End.' John, Paul and George all played guitar on it. All four Beatles were playing together as a real band again. You can hear the fun in the music. Paul sang the last lines of the last album. They were about love.

Paul Is dead!

After Abbey Road arrived in the shops in October 1969, a radio station in the US started a strange story about Paul. He was dead! The 'signs' were on the album's cover. Paul wasn't wearing shoes. In some countries, dead people are dressed in clothes but not shoes. The story grew. The hand over Paul's head on the cover of Sergeant Pepper was, fans decided, a sign of death. A line in 'A Day in the Life' was also about Paul's death. More and more signs were found.

But if Paul was dead, who was the new person on the front of Abbey Road? The story became sillier. It was a man called William Campbell. Or it was Billy Shears (a singer's name from the title song on Sergeant Pepper). This new person looked exactly like Paul, of course.

Finally, Life magazine found Paul on his farm in Scotland. The magazine proved it. Paul wasn't dead. Paul described himself as 'the last to know' about his death.