Word spread nearly 40 years ago that the musician had died in an accident in 1966 and a series of clues on the cover of The Beatles' last recorded album Abbey Road proved it.
''I think the worst thing that happened was that I could see people sort of looking at me more closely - 'were his ears always like that? said Sir Paul.
The story - which is still one of the most popular searches about Sir Paul on Google - circulated in October 1969 after a Detroit DJ made the claim that the band had recruited a replacement, William Campbell, following Sir Paul's death.
His lack of shoes as he crossed the zebra crossing on the album sleeve was used as a pointer to the fact the real bass player was no longer alive. The pose was said to represent a funeral procession and a car number plate containing '28IF' was said to refer to the fact Sir Paul would have been 28 when the album came out - if he had lived.
