5 ms·
Publius Enigma
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoWhen I was a teenager, this was the first example I encountered of fandom being thrilled by a phenomenon, only for the band itself to say they had no idea of it and it was a marketing department’s idea. In spite of whatever cachet of rebelliousness and individual creativity rock still had then, many bands were already functioning as whole corporations, with teams of assistants producing much of the band’s image.
- floren 3y ago> When I was a teenager, this was the first example I encountered of fandom being thrilled by a phenomenon, only for the band itself to say they had no idea of it and it was a marketing department’s idea. Incredibly appropriate that it happened to Pink Floyd, too.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bragr 3y ago>many bands were already functioning as whole corporations, with teams of assistants producing much of the band’s image That's hardly a new phenomena. Even the Beatles had their Apple Records
- max_ 3y agoThe same pseudonym "Pubilus" was used by James Madison & crew to write the federalist papers.
- jhoechtl 3y agoGiven the time I suspect there was to much dope involved. Also the internet was the wild west so I suspect a guerrilla action from EMI records.
- andyjohnson0 3y agoPerhaps just an early attempt at viral marketing?
- cafard 3y agoAbout 1970, there was much speculation that Paul McCartney was dead. Offered as evidence were the album cover of Abbey Road, in which Paul walks barefoot, the others shod, and a song that played backwards might include the words "Paul is dead." There may have been other bits of evidence, but those are the only I remember. The speculation ended after some days when McCartney, who had been relaxing on one of his properties, returned to the public eye. It did not occur to me then that this might have been somebody's publicity stunt, but I was a lot younger and hadn't heard the word "marketing".
- frutiger 3y agoThere was also a separate claim in 1967 that Paul had died and was replaced by William Shears (the “Billy Shears” referenced in Sgt. Pepper lyrics). Some experts were saying the bass guitar’s style had fundamentally changed between the prior records and later records as more evidence. The line “the Walrus was Paul” in “Glass Onion” was apparently a reference to this.
- pigeons 3y agoAnd there is a clip from I think King Lear in I am the Walrus saying, "Bury my body." that people claimed was Paul saying it instead of the movie clip.
- matt3oblev3 3y agoAs another user pointed out, the internet was the wild west at the time. So it could very well be a guerrilla action from EMI records.
- burnte 3y agoCraig Wright did it.
- danw1979 3y agoIf you think this is cryptic, just check out some of the numerology around Boards Of Canada.
- arpa 3y agoEh, the world is full of cryptic stuff. Coil comes to mind immediately.