What if the "Paul (McCartney) is dead" 1966 hoax was true?
OK. For a start I'll think they'll want Management FAST after Brian Epstein dies.. I'm going to go for Allen Klein to take over in early 1968.
John and George get a few more songs on The White album, which keeps their interest in the band strong. (Especially George, who gets far more of his songs on disc)
George Martin helps with writing the odd 'Macca-style' tune, and bass-playing replacement William Campbell goes along with band decisions, happy just to be a part of it all.. no-one really notices Paul's writing less songs, because they're all credited "Lennon-McCartney".
Still Klein is worried by Yoko. Keen to have his investment protected, he discourages John from working with Yoko.. eventually having her deported back to the USA on some trumped-up drugs charge.
The Beatles keep planting clues to Paul's death in their albums.. and the career keeps going more-or-less as in OTL.
However, during an interview after the release of Abbey Road, John is hounded about some mad rumour doing the rounds in the USA that Paul is dead.
He emotionally breaks and confesses that the rumours are true.
William Campbell has been living Paul's life for 3 years, and with the help of George Martin they've been faking McCartney songs since "Penny Lane".
Allen Klein keeps a tight lid on non-beatles activities - and under Klein's threats, Lennon actively participates in the damage-control that's needed in this situation.
Immediately Campbell is fired from The Beatles, in the interest of having a new start.
Klaus Voorman is drafted-in as bass player.
Campbell scores a hit or two (produced by George Martin), but soon fades into obscurity.
The others carry on.. another album is released in 1970 - a compromise, mixing some of George's "All things must pass" tunes with the less vitriolic tunes that John has to offer.. in an effort to get a hit album out.
BUT there is tension in the sessions...
Inspired by Led Zeppelin, The MC5, The Stooges & countless other heavy bands, John, Ringo & Klaus want to play loud ROCK with the odd weird jam. George wants to record mellower, more spiritual tunes.
Tensions come to a head when George vetos "Cold Turkey" being the next Beatles single.
At the end of 1970, George is fired from The Beatles.
Allen Klein abandons the band ("It was a f***ing mess!" he recalls years later in an interview. "No-one could manage it")
The others carry-on, renamed as Plastic. (After John's first suggestion of "Plastic Ono Band" is turned down by the others). They struggle with the first album, eventually pulling in Eric Clapton to help with sessions.
john Lennon is now totelly pissed-off. With all the to-ings and fro-ings, the cover-ups, the bullshit, the "cosmic" attitude of George Harrison.. and bullying then abandonment by Klein - not to mention grief for McCartney & bitterness at Yoko being taken away.
The resulting album is spiky, loud, full of attitude. The songs are there, only no-one can get past the transformation.
(On release, John refers to the music on the album as "grotty-rock" - "You got psychedelic what-ever-you call it, well I wanted something that blows that all away - all of that bullshit. It's 1990s music anyway.. a lot of people just aren't ready to move on")
By the late '70s, the album "Disposable" by Plastic is considered a high-point in pre-punk, and one of the great acts of artistic daring.
Buddy & Richie say, "I hate flying."
