Livermore Lab scientist concocts Beatles book

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 13, 2006 | by Simon Read, STAFF WRITER

SAN RAMON -- What if the man millions of fans worldwide knew as Paul McCartney was not really McCartney, but an impostor hired by The Beatles years earlier to conceal a tragic accident?

That is the premise behind a "A Day in the Life," a thriller by San Ramon resident John Perkins, a nuclear physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In the 1970s, rampant rumors suggested McCartney died in a freak auto accident caused by a malfunctioning traffic light. To conceal the disaster, The Beatles held a secret look-alike contest and eventually hired William Campbell to take McCartney's place.

It sounds somewhat wild today. In 1969, however, the rumors reached a frenzied pitch.

Perkins' book asks the question, "What if the rumors were true?"

"A Day in the Life" follows an investigation by freelance writer, occasional Rolling Stone journalist -- and devout Beatles fan -- Daniel Ferro.

The book opens in November 1980 with Ferro receiving a phone call from an anonymous tipster, claiming John Lennon is threatening to expose the conspiracy. As a result, Lennon's own life is in jeopardy.

A native of Britain and longtime Beatles fan, Perkins said he always had wanted to write about the Fab Four.

"Everything in nonfiction that can be written about The Beatles has been written," Perkins said. "But I thought, 'wouldn't it be neat to write a fictional novel.'"

Perkins works on the nuclear fusion project at Livermore Lab. But to appease the wannabe rock star in him, he plays keyboards for Jukebox Heroes, a bar band that performs throughout the Bay Area.

"A Day in the Life" is available on Amazon.com. For more about the book, visit http://www.paul isdead.us.