December 26, 1965
Let's have this conversation WITHOUT getting into the silly Paul-is-Dead conspiracy, okay? Paul's official story about the moped accident was that on Boxing Day of 1965, he and his friend, Tara Browne, were riding mopeds around Liverpool. Paul had been there visiting his family for the holidays, and Tara was visiting him. Paul talks about how he was looking at the full moon when he suddenly realized he was going to smash his face into the pavement and couldn't stop. Bam! Paul gets all banged up and a semi-drunk doctor gets called and stiches him up without any pain killers. Paul's brother Mike takes some photos. While some people will tell you that there wasn't a full moon on December 26, 1965 -- that isn't even the part of the story that bothers me. What bothers me is the next part that Paul always tells.
He goes on to say how he had a bump on his lip, and so he grew a mustache. The other Beatles saw him with it and liked it, and that is why all of the Beatles had mustaches during the Sgt. Pepper era. WHAT??
Whenever Paul tells this story, he completely skips the year 1966. In January 1966, Paul did not have a mustache. We see him at George and Pattie's wedding, and I never noticed a bump on his lip when he is trying to kiss Pattie in the wedding photos.
So then I assume that Paul just got the year wrong. But check out this article Neil Aspinall wrote for a magazine called Fabulous208, which was published July 26, 1966. This leads me to believe it is the true story of what happened in 1965. Which then makes me wonder if Paul didn't have another moped accident or some sort of accident again in December 1966.
Of all the Beatles, Paul has always been the biggest believer in theatrical type disguises. As I was saying last week, he and a friend decided to go for a spin on a couple of mopeds around his father's place in the Wirral last July.
Paul put on an old raincoat, beret (to hide his Beatle mop), false mustache, and glasses. "How on earth will you be able to see through those?" asked his father. (The glasses had thick lenses.)
"I needn't wear these all the time", decided Paul slipping them in his pocket. "I'll shove them on if I have to stop for petrol or anything."
Inevitably, the moped ran low on petrol, and Paul had to pull in at a service station. Problem was he couldn't find the right pump for the special moped two stroke fuel mixture, because the lenses blurred his view. At last, he found the right pump.
A girl attendant came over at once. Paul put on one of his special accents, "Fill 'er up, please", he said in a mock American accent. "Sure, Paul," the girl replied at once. "What the.......? How did you recognize me?" "I'd know that voice anywhere, luv."
If he'd used his own voice and not worn such fantastic clothes, I guess Paul would have got away with it. You'd be amazed how different a Beatle looks with his hair brushed back. That's as far as Paul should have gone, just the beret to keep his long hair pulled back off his face.
Paul still has those two mopeds, by the way, he uses them every time he visits his father. A couple of weeks after the tour, he went up to Liverpool, just before Christmas, this time, there was a lot of ice on the roads around the Whirrl district, and Paul skidded violently. He came tumbling off and cut his lip. The gash healed up quickly, but Paul had to have stitches put in his mouth, and it was quite painful for a week or so.
